Blue Jays Grades by Position Pt. 2

 Picking up where we left off yesterday because this is a fun one! I also want to quickly note that this is my 100th post on this blog! It doesn't really mean anything other than being a round number, but I am glad I was able to stick to this long enough to pump out 100 of these. There's not many readers on here, and that's by design as I'm mostly just doing this for myself, but to those of you who are reading, thank you! I have had a great time getting my sports opinions out there, especially when exciting stuff is happening. With that being said, lets continue our position grades!

Second Base: B-

Andres Jimenez, Davis Schneider, Utility Guys

This one is a bit difficult to grade because I had to decide whether or not to grade the position in the context of the team or in a vacuum. Andres Jimenez was one of the additions of the offseason and his glove is elite. He's coming off 3 straight Gold Glove seasons including 2022 where he was an All-Star and a good hitter. Second base is a good position to have strong defenders and Jimenez by all accounts will be that for the Jays this year. The problem is, the last 2 seasons Jimenez has not been the best hitter. He's not going to kill you out there with his bat, but you shouldn't expect solid production from him unless he has a surprise bounceback to 2022 form. And that's the issue with my grades. If Jimenez was on a team with a ton of offensive talent, this would probably be a B+ or A-. Playing on a team that already struggled offensively all of last year, we're just adding another below average bat to the lineup. You definitely need good defenders, but finding the balance with guys who can hit is also important. That being said, any team can be reasonably happy running Jimenez out there for 162 games and he provides the most stability the Jays have had at second base since Marcus Semien.

I wanted to take this section to give a quick shout out to Davis Schneider since he figures to likely be a super utility guy for the Jays this year and won't have a section of his own in this series. We saw last year over a full season that Schneider is a super hot and cold player at the plate. When he's hot he legitimately can be the best hitter in the Jays lineup and the streaks can last weeks. When he's cold he legitimately can be the worst hitter in baseball and the streaks can also last weeks. Players like this are abundant in the MLB and it's one of my favorite things over a long 162 game season. Random players getting super hot is fun, and Schneider does that as well as anyone. 

Third Base: D

Ernie Clement, Rookies, Vlad?

This is by far the Jays weakest position coming into the season and something I expect them to address before the trade deadline if they're serious about competing. I will be the first to say that I am actually a pretty big Ernie Clement fan, and he actually had a pretty decent season last year. A guy who hits for average pretty well and plays reasonably decent defense, if this is your super utility guy off the bench you're thrilled starting him every night to spot your starters nights off. The issue with Ernie is even though he hits for contact, he basically never walks and has pretty much no power. These are things you could stomach if he had an elite glove and arm at 3rd or if the rest of the team was filled with guys who get on base a ton, but neither of those things are true. I'll still be a Clement fan for the vibes, but this is a position where the Jays definitely need to look to upgrade. 

There is a chance that a rookie takes off and surprises everyone. Addison Barger has been a solid hitter in the minor leagues and will get a shot this season to earn his spot in the big leagues. I will not pretend like I know anything about him, but random rookies pop off all the time in the MLB so who the heck knows. There's also the chance that Vlad gets a look at third base, which I think could be fun. There's mobility concerns with Vlad but his arm definitely plays at the hot corner. That option would require getting someone with a bat at first base and it does raise a lot of defensive concerns, but screw it, it'd be really fun. 

Short Stop: B+

Bo Bichette, Utility Guys

Toughest position to grade on the entire team. There have been seasons where Bo Bichette is the Jays best player. While he's not the best defensive short stop at a position that gets the most action in the infield, Bo's bat in the past has been amazing. Bo is a hilarious player because he basically never walks, but his plate coverage is so good that his on base percentage is usually awesome. Bo shows a lot of power for a short stop too and has been an above average hitter overall every year of his career until last season, Bo's season from hell. Last year Bo hit .225, and if you remember, he never walks so that basically means he was terrible last season. He was in and out of the lineup with injuries and never really found a rhythm, which was a large reason for the Jays offensive struggles last year. If Bo can get back to form, it adds another legit bat to the lineup and starts to make the Jays look scary again. If he has another season like last year then we're running out a below average hitter with a below average glove at a premium position. I am cautiously optimistic that Bo will bounce back thus my B+ grade. I think this could swing all the way to A if he plays the way he has every other season of his career. Hopefully he does because the Jays have nobody meaningful behind him in the organization. 

That's that! I'll be off tomorrow like I usually am on Fridays but we'll be back Monday to cover pitchers which I can't wait for. Once again, 100 posts, I can't believe it, if you're reading this far thank you so much! I don't proof read any of these, but I like to think they're getting better so knowing someone out there is looking means a lot! Go Jays!