Welcome back to our ongoing series of MLB team previews. As part of RotoBaller's ongoing effort to help you win your leagues, we're previewing all 30 MLB teams. Today we'll cover the 2017 Toronto Blue Jays Team Outlook, and preview their potential fantasy baseball contributions.
As part of this column, I'll take a look at the team's offseason moves, their hitters, pitchers, and prospects that you should be keeping an eye on. Let's get to it.
Editor's note: for even more draft prep, visit our awesome 2017 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. It has lots of in-depth staff rankings and draft strategy columns. You will find tiered rankings for every position, 2017 impact rookie rankings, AL/NL only league ranks and lots more. Bookmark the page, and win your drafts.
Offseason Moves
After the Blue Jays lost in the ALCS for the second consecutive season, they faced an uncertain future as both Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista were due to hit free agency. The front office elected to sign Kendrys Morales, a move that was questioned at the time. It only looked worse after Encarnacion wound up signing with the Indians for less than expected. They did manage to bring Bautista back and signed Steve Pearce as well as Cuban expat Lourdes Gurriel, but Michael Saunders and R.A. Dickey both left for the NL East (Philadelphia and Atlanta, respectively).
Hitting Overview
Bautista missed significant time with injury for the third time in five years, and had his worst season since his 2010 breakout. At 36, a return to form is far from guaranteed. Troy Tulowitzki missed time, as usual, and has now been league-average with the bat in back to back years. It’s fair to wonder if we’ve seen the last of him as an elite hitter. His health issues plus the influx of talent at shortstop make Tulo the least appealing he’s ever been as a fantasy option. Russell Martin salvaged his 2016 with a strong showing after the break, but still finished the season with an ugly 27.7 K%, easily a career worst.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Josh Donaldson is still awesome, and if Devon Travis can finally play a full season, he could be one of the better second basemen in the game. Also, Melvin Upton might be a decent option in fantasy leagues again, assuming he gets enough opportunities to run.
Pitching Overview
Toronto should have a pretty decent rotation. While I’m not entirely buying Aaron Sanchez’s breakout, he’s still just 24 and the upside is obvious. J.A. Happ followed up his Cinderella turn in Pittsburgh with a 20-win season and solid ratios. Marcus Stroman’s strong performance after the break reminded fantasy owners why they were so excited about his potential. Marco Estrada continued his weak contact black magic and even got his strikeout rate back up to playable levels. Finally, though he struggled last season, Francisco Liriano was quite useful in the preceding three years.
In the bullpen, Roberto Osuna had a fantastic sophomore showing as the Jays’ closer. Jason Grilli and Joe Biagini will be the primary set-up men, and both are mildly interesting in holds leagues. The only other reliever with potential fantasy relevance in this group is Danny Barnes.
Prospects Overview
Dalton Pompey is still around, and could find his way to consistent at-bats if Upton turns back into a pumpkin. He’ll have to show he can hit at the major league level, though. Gurriel could be anything; we’ll have to wait and see how he looks in spring training. Otherwise, there’s not much here for non-dynasty owners as the Jays’ most talented farmhands are still a year or two away.
Conclusion
For fantasy purposes, the only clear elite players here are Donaldson and Osuna. Bautista, Martin, and Tulowitzki aren’t far removed from being upper-tier options at their positions, but there are legitimate questions about each of them in 2017. Sanchez and Stroman are young and talented enough that either or both could make the leap to stardom, and the rest of the projected rotation could be core performers.
Toronto faces an uphill climb in their quest for a third straight playoff appearance. Losing a hitter like E5 is tough, though Morales and Pearce should help soften the blow a bit. Perhaps more importantly, the Blue Jays will be counting on bounceback seasons from multiple regulars on the wrong side of 30. With the Red Sox again looking like a juggernaut, the Jays are likely relegated to battling for a wild-card berth. The window is rapidly closing for this core, and 2017 is probably their last real shot at the franchise’s first championship since 1993.