Toronto Looks to Continue Winning Ways

Just weeks ago, the Jays were the MLB’s media darlings by finalizing a blockbuster trade that sent much of the Marlins’ core to Canada. They didn’t stop there, signing Melky Cabrera to a two year deal. With these bold moves, the message was now clear, Alex Anthopoulos has decided that the future is now.

With the Argos just winning the Grey Cup a day ago, fans are sportswriters are now starting to wonder if the sports fans in Toronto can finally rejoice. Can the Jays follow suit by bringing another championship home? The Jays have an excellent core now, boasting tons of power and speed. If the team can stay healthy for the duration of the 2013 season, there’s no reason why Jays fans won’t have something to cheer for.

Here’s the “go-to” lineup of the Jays projected by most people. An ideal season for Toronto’s batters next season statistically would look like this:

	LINEUP	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
SS	Reyes	99	11	52	39	.301	.368	.455
LF	Cabrera	106	19	78	17	.312	.384	.502
RF	Bautista	105	41	119	6	.303	.409	.561
1B	Encarnacion	87	33	108	9	.283	.376	.538
3B	Lawrie	85	28	106	18	.297	.357	.487
DH	Lind	54	26	83	5	.252	.299	.432
CF	Rasmus	71	25	80	5	.248	.411	.436
C	Arencibia	49	27	77	1	.243	.292	.442
2B	Bonifacio	81	3	31	59	.254	.335	.321

Consistency will be an issue that has yet to be addressed in the pitching staff. Following a disastrous season by Ricky Romero (And the rest of his staff too), he’s entering the next season with lots of question marks. The Jays can add insurance by bringing another steady veteran into the team. A good season by the Jays’ staff should see numbers like these below.

	ROTATION	W-L	SV	K	BB	ERA	WHIP
R	Johnson	15-5	0	192	45	3.01	1.17
R	Morrow	13-8	0	207	82	3.89	1.26
L	Romero	14-8	0	185	86	3.45	1.22
L	Buehrle	12-10	0	114	42	3.73	1.31
L	Cecil	11-13	0	133	47	4.16	1.33
	BULLPEN	W-L	SV	K	BB	ERA	WHIP
L	Janssen	1-1	25	65	9	2.48	0.88