Every Friday, Blue Jays Talk host Scott MacArthur will weigh in with his observations on the Blue Jays from the past week.
What more can you say about Mike Trout?
Michael Nelson Trout. Is there anything more to say? I could spit out his numbers from the just-concluded four-game series with the Angels. I’d rather point out an inning of his work, which changed the game (but ultimately didn’t change the result, I’ll acknowledge, as Los Angeles ended up losing), on Thursday night.
In the bottom of the sixth, with the Blue Jays up 5-4, Freddy Galvis led off with a single. Luke Maile followed, drilling a 1-1 pitch toward the right centre field gap.
Trout, who, if you’ve never had the opportunity to stand close to him, is built like a middle linebacker, took off in pursuit. He closed the gap and made a diving catch, robbing Maile of extra bases and the Blue Jays of a likely second-and-third, nobody out situation. Trout, effectively, saved a run.
Then, in the top of the seventh, Trout hooked a frozen rope lead off double into the corner. After Justin Upton struck out, Trout noticed Jays reliever Tim Mayza wasn’t checking him out of the stretch. He stole third base without a throw and later scored the tying run on Albert Pujols’ sacrifice fly.
You need only look at Trout’s statistics on his Baseball Reference page to see proof of his brilliance. But when you watch him, including the power his compact swing generates and his ability to track down baseballs in centre field in spite of his massive frame and his general awareness, his baseball IQ, in all moments, you truly appreciate how those numbers have come to be.
Trout is the Mickey Mantle of our time. No exaggeration. We’d pay more to watch Connor McDavid or LeBron James. Mike Trout is in that category. Heck, wasn’t that Kawhi Leonard, sitting in the pricey seats behind home plate, recording one of Trout’s at-bats on his phone Thursday night? Yes it was.
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Where will Bo Bichette play when he joins the Blue Jays?
We’re all looking forward to Bo Bichette’s arrival and it gets me to thinking what the batting order will look like. I’m sure Bichette will have the same get-your-feet-wet period offered to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio; that is he’ll hit lower in the order and then we’ll get to the park one day and see his name higher up.
Did you notice Bo had five RBI in the same inning in Buffalo’s win over Indianapolis yesterday? He hit a three-run home run to contribute to that total.
The factors which will play into Bo’s call up aren’t limited to Bichette’s performance; how the team is playing will matter too. Given that it’s not hitting enough and given that there appears to be no imminent solution to the performance and attrition issues experienced by the pitching staff, it stands to reason the losing will continue to far outpace the winning.
So, soon then? And if so, where does Bo play?
Due respect must be paid to incumbent Freddy Galvis, who surely knew what he was getting into when he signed with the Blue Jays but who also has proven to be his usual defensively reliable self and a good teammate. Not every veteran, especially one who’s still in his prime years age-wise, is willing to be gracious to the younger guys.
I’d play Bichette at shortstop. Seems obvious, doesn’t it? They’ve been grooming him for that position. Why would he shift to second base upon call up? Perhaps Galvis gets traded. Don’t expect much in return, however.
What will the Blue Jays get in return for potential trade chips?
Which is a good segue into what to expect in return for other potential trade chips.
As I see it, right now, Ken Giles returning last night and throwing 97 miles-per-hour fastballs and his wipeout slider is the best news the club got this week. Giles, with due respect to Marcus Stroman, is the Blue Jays’ best trade chip.
Playoff games in this day and age are predicated on elite bullpen arms. Giles has one of those and he seems to be in a better place since coming to Toronto.
Eric Sogard offers positives amidst the losses
When a team isn’t winning much it’s easy to ignore the positives.
How about Eric Sogard? He has back-to-back multi-hit games, multi-hit games in five of his last six games and seven of his last nine. In the nine-game stretch Sogard is hitting .417 with an OPS of 1.158.
Sogard isn’t long for this team, which is to say he won’t be here when the going supposedly will get good, but he needs to stay at the top of the order for as long as he’s going well.
His at-bats are consistently high quality, making him one of the few veterans on the team, in this regard, to which the kids can aspire.