BY 5THSTARTER - FAN FUEL BLOGGER
In my life outside of baseball, I run into benchmark reports almost every day. Comparing objects and processes has a lot of use in looking for continuous improvements.
I thought that this would be a useful exercise for the 2012 Blue Jays. The following is a position-by-position comparison of the Blue Jays and their AL East division rivals.
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With the Rays existing stable of young power arms, there is a clear winner in this category. The Yankees added depth behind CC Sabathia with the young power arm of Michael Pineda and the veteran Hiroki Kuroda. The Red Sox are inconsistent and thin behind Jon Lester, and the Orioles have a plethora of unknowns.
With an established ace in Ricky Romero, and a newly aggressive Brandon Morrow, I think this year's team is middle of the division.
Jays Ranking: Third
Relief Pitching:
No single area of the 2012 roster made a larger improvement than the Jays' bullpen. They have two established closers, and a wealth of reliable and battle tested arms. The Yankees still have the ageless Mariano Rivera to count on, but aside from the emergence of David Robertson have little known commodities in their bullpen. The Red Sox acquired Andrew Bailey, but will be thinner in the 'pen when Daniel Bard moves to the rotation. The Rays always seem to compile a decent group of unspectacular veterans, who will likely remain fresh due to the strong rotation. Again, Baltimore is a confusing group.
Easily best bullpen in the division, at almost every level.
Jays Ranking: First
Catcher:
J.P. Arencibia had an incredible debut as a rookie, and I thought he deserved more consideration for rookie of the year. That said, the division has several established catchers in Russell Martin, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Matt Wieters. Arencibia has arguably the most offensive upside, but since I'm ranking based on current levels of performance, I'll have to defer to Martin and Wieters.
Jays Ranking: Third
First Base:
The AL East is where all the big hitting first basemen reside. Adrian Gonzalez and Mark Teixeira are perennial MVP candidates, and while Carlos Pena and Mark Reynolds may strike out a lot, they bring serious power upside. Adam Lind still has potential to be as good as any of them, except for his limitations against left-handed pitching. Lind could rank as high as third, but I can't realistically rank him above anyone but Reynolds.
Jays Ranking: Fourth
Second Base:
Now here's a real powerhouse position. Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia, and Ben Zobrist represent all-star talent on each of their respective teams. It's scary to think that despite being an all-star in 2010, Kelly Johnson would probably rank fifth if Brian Roberts were healthy. Not to take away from Johnson's ability, but even at his best, he's still the fourth best second baseman in his own division.
Jays Rank: Fourth
Third Base:
Alex Rodriguez is aging. Quickly. He had to fly to Germany to have an "experimental treatment" on his knees this winter. He still has to be respected as a threat, but nowhere near the caliber he once was. Kevin Youkilis will likely get most of his playing time at third in Boston, although defensively, that's not his ideal home. Evan Longoria is the clear star in the group of AL East third basemen, but Brett Lawrie's star is rising fast. If he can even come close to replicating his numbers from last year, he could be the best in the group. Until then, however:
I'd take Lawrie over Youkilis, because Youk has more of a track record.
Jays Rank: Tie for second
Shortstop:
Finally, a category where the Jays are clear winners. Yunel Escobar is the best SS in the division at this point. Derek Jeter is well past his prime, Mike Aviles has never proven anything, nor have the trio of Elliot Johnson, Sean Rodriguez or Reid Brignac in Tampa. J.J. Hardy is wildly inconsistent and a defensive liability. Yunel provides Gold Glove caliber defence, with a power and on-base combo that rivals the best in the league.
Jays rank: First
Left Field:
In a division featuring Carl Crawford (who will rebound), Brett Gardner, Desmond Jennings and Nolan Reimold, one of Eric Thames or Travis Snider will have to perform well above expectations to move above last in these rankings. Not that they can't, it's just that they haven't yet.
Jays Rank: Fifth
Centre field:
Another position in the AL East that's full of all-stars. Curtis Granderson and Jacoby Ellsbury were MVP candidates last year. "Bossman Junior" (B.J.) Upton is always a 30-30 threat. Adam Jones has already been an all-star. Even if Colby Rasmus could duplicate his best season's numbers, he'd still rank fifth. He has more potential than that, but it really shows how strong the division is.
Jays Rank: Fifth
Right Field:
Obviously, no team in Major League Baseball can compete with the incredible performance of Jose Bautista. Overdue to be recognized as MVP for his performances, he will continue to power the Jays offence, while contributing on defence with his strong throwing arm. Other notables in the division are Matt Joyce, Nick Markakis and Nick Swisher, but this category belongs to Jose.
Jays Rank: First
It's a sobering analysis of how tough this division really is. The Jays only rank first in three categories, and are mostly in the lower half of the division at other positions. Obviously, many of these players can, and should, perform above the levels I've ranked them at, and the team should be very competitive every night. If things break right, and the starting pitchers perform to their high potential, the team could win the division. If things go wrong, they likely still can't fall past Baltimore.
I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Follow @5thStarter on twitter.
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