Blue Jays win rematch with Mariners in Teoscar Hernández’s return to Toronto

Two likely contenders in the AL, a pitching rematch from last year’s playoffs, and the return of Teoscar Hernandez were among the handful of storylines in tonight’s Blue Jays-Mariners game. The two teams kicked off a weekend series north of the border tonight with better than 41,000 people in attendance.

George Springer had a clutch two-out RBI single in the 6th inning to give Toronto the lead for good as the Blue Jays downed Seattle 3-2 on Friday night. It’s no secret that Springer has been struggling at the plate, but he came through when it mattered tonight, something we’re accustomed to seeing from Toronto’s leadoff man.
The Blue Jays also got a stellar outing from their bullpen, who locked up the back half of the game to secure the win.
Blue Jays Nation’s Player of the Game: Alejandro Kirk
The broadcast tonight mentioned how Kirk felt like he was still in Spring Training mode once the regular season started due to him arriving to Dunedin late because of the birth of his first child. He told reporters that it wasn’t until the series in Houston last week that he felt like he was caught up to speed, per se.
Tonight was certainly Kirk’s best night of the season, going 3-fo …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

Blue Jays Nation’s 2023 Preseason Top 50: Prospects #45-41

Do you like pitching prospects, oh boy do we have an article for you today.

If you missed the last article which featured prospects ranked #50-46, you can read that here. Alternatively, it will also be linked at the bottom of the article.
Brennan’s criteria:
Instead of writing this out every time I did for the mid-season Top 60, I’ll copy and paste my criteria for how I rank and scout these players.
There are many factors that determine a top prospect. The eye test is the biggest driver in determining a top prospect, but proximity to the majors, ceiling, and floor is also important. Moreover, statistics are another key ingredient, as everything works together to give you numbers.
As for the grades, it’s important to remember that they are relative to the league in which they play. A kid from Dunedin is not going to have a 50-grade hit tool if he were placed in the big leagues. But relative to the league in which he plays, a .300 hitter is eligible to have that grade.
For these prospects, I’ll be going over their background, numbers in the minors, pitch mix (if they’re a pitcher), and giving a scouting report (if feasible, rookie league guys are difficult).
Let’s jum …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

Blue Jays, Position by Position: The starting pitching conundrum and how the Jays may have to fill two spots

As we learned this season, pitching is crucial

I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the Jays had a solid pitching core in 2022, both with starters and the bullpen. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t concerns heading into the 2023 season, especially with a few spots in the rotation.
Let’s look at who’s penciled in, which pitchers are depth pieces, and which prospects could impact the Jays in the 2023 season.
Side note: I’m not including Hyun-Jin Ryu in this article. There’s an outside chance he’ll be able to pitch in the back end of the season, but I find it super unlikely. Would be nice to get the 2020 form of Ryu though.
Penciled in starters for the 2023 season:
There are three starters that are already penciled into the rotation. I think it’s likely another one will come via trade, while they’ll sign a fifth starter. Here’s the rotation as it stands:
Starter 1: Alek Manoah
Starter 2: Kevin Gausman
Starter 3: N/A
Starter 4: Jose Berrios
Starter 5: N/A
Swingman/Longman: Yusei Kikuchi/Mitch White/Casey Lawerence
So as you can see, the #3 spot in the rotation will have to be filled (likely via trade), while the #5 spot could be filled via signing, or by way of Yusei Kikuchi or Mitch White.
2022 starters, a flashback:
Thankfully enough, starting pitching wasn’t really a problem for the 2022 Blue Jays. They had two aces, a pitcher who pitched well two-thirds of the time, and a hero that stepped up when the team needed him most. Granted, they also lost a lot of games because of a lack of a fifth starter, but it wouldn’t have changed muc …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

Blue Jays claim Matt Peacock off waivers from Royals

Some pitching reinforcements are on the way for the Toronto Blue Jays. But don’t get too excited just yet.
On Wednesday, the team claimed right-hander Matt Peacock off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by the Royals earlier this week. To make room for Peacock on the 40-man roster, Shaun Anderson has been DFA’d.

ROSTER MOVE:
We’ve claimed RHP Matt Peacock off waivers from the Royals
RHP Shaun Anderson has been designated for assignment pic.twitter.com/pDvgYHJMS7
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 6, 2022

Peacock becomes the latest pitcher to be added to Toronto’s roster in recent days, as the club acquired Anthony Banda from the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 2 and signed Sergio Romo in free agency last month.
Though, the 6’1″ hurler didn’t fare overly well during his brief time with the Royals earlier this season, posting a 5.40 ERA across 10.0 innings in nine appearances. Opposing batters were hitting .286 against him before he was DFA’d.
There could be some untapped potential with Peacock, however, as he registered a 3.74 ERA and was unlucky at times via his .314 OPP BABIP. Considering he induces plenty of ground balls, resulting in a 60.0 per cent clip, and his hard-hit rate against sits at 36.1 per cent, his overall results could improve with better fielding behind him.
Or at least, that’s what the Blue Jays’ coaches are hoping for.
In total, Peacock’s arsenal includes a low-90s sinker, which he’s throwing 58.4 per cent of the time this season. He also features a high-80s slider and a high-80s changeup.
With two minor-league options remaining, Peacock can be optioned to the minors this season and in 2023.
On another roster-related note, the Blue Jays recalled pi …

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Author: Thomas Hall / Blue Jays Nation

Report: Blue Jays claim Matt Peacock off waivers from Royals

Some pitching reinforcements are on the way for the Toronto Blue Jays. But don’t get too excited just yet.
On Wednesday, the team claimed right-hander Matt Peacock off waivers from the Kansas City Royals, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by the Royals earlier this week.

The Toronto #Bluejays claim pitcher Matt Peacock.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 6, 2022

Peacock becomes the latest pitcher to be added to Toronto’s roster in recent days, as the club acquired Anthony Banda from the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 2 and signed Sergio Romo in free agency last month.
Though, the 6’1″ hurler didn’t fare overly well during his brief time with the Royals earlier this season, posting a 5.40 ERA across 10.0 innings in nine appearances. Opposing batters were hitting .286 against him before he was DFA’d.
There could be some untapped potential with Peacock, however, as he registered a 3.74 ERA and was unlucky at times via his .314 OPP BABIP. Considering he induces plenty of ground balls, resulting in a 60.0 per cent clip, and his hard-hit rate against sits at 36.1 per cent, his overall results could improve with better fielding behind him.
Or at least, that’s what the Blue Jays’ coaches are hoping for.
In total, Peacock’s arsenal includes a low-90s sinker, which he’s throwing 58.4 per cent of the time this season. He also features a high-80s slider and a high-80s changeup.
On another roster-related note, the Blue Jays recalled pitcher Casey Lawrence, who’s expected to start Thursday for the injured Kevin Gausman, from triple-A Buffalo and have sent Trent Thornton …

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Author: Thomas Hall / Blue Jays Nation