The Team: Toronto Blue Jays
The Year: 2019
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W/L Record: 120-42
Run Differential: 997 RS vs. 604 RA +393 Runs
Awards: AL Win Leader: Steve Eickholt (20), AL Save Leader: Rob Wood (41), AL Gold Glove: Brandon West 2B and Adeiny Hechavarria SS
All Stars: C Jose Castillo and 1B Thomas Neal
League Leading Stat Categories: 58 Away Wins, .987 Fielding Percentage, 62 Home Wins, 997 Runs scored
Lineup/Bench Rotation/Bullpen
LF Keith Curtain Steve Eickholt
RF Jared Mitchell Corey Bosworth
CF Kenny Wilson James Senft
1B Thomas Neal Adam Smith
SS Adeiny Hechavarria James DeRose
3B Brett Wallace CL Rob Wood
DH Jeff Anderson SU Shawn Bauer
2B Brandon West SR Brian Kartman
C Jose Castillo SR Jesse Perry
MR Brett Jacobsen
LR Wade Miley
1B Don Cutting
IF Allen Lehman
C Mike Vanner
OF Brett Gardner
1B Duque Ortega
IF Charlie Siegel
The Key Players: In 2019 the Blue Jays were coming off their first World Series title in FCM. 2018 was the year they finally got over the Yankee hump and 2019 promised to be another shot at the title. Going into the season, though, was the expectation of a team that would be lead by 2B Charlie Siegel and 1B Jeff Anderson. And yet, by April 24th Siegel was down with a rotator cuff for a year and by June 13th they had lost Jeff Anderson for the entire season. What was left was a cobbled together young squad that still managed to win an unbelievable 120 games on the season. (120 wins being tied for the second most ever) In the wake of those injuries the Blue Jays turned to a huge trade acquisition and their stalwart SS to lead them on.
Thomas Neal hit his way into the Hall of Fame with an absolutely torrid decade of hitting starting in 2012. That run was in service of San Francisco where he lead the team to a World Series Title in 2013. But in 2019 the Giants were floundering and needed to reload on young talent, which gave an opening for the Blue Jays to trade for Jeff Anderson's replacement at first base. The deal ended up being slugger Chris Carter and prospect Garret Barnes for Thomas Neal and a first rounder. (Kinda fleeced this one, especially since that pick got flipped for future contributors Efrain Luquis, Juan Sanchez, and Lucas McCullar) Neal, once he arrived in Toronto, he had 375 at bats and managed to score 79 runs, hit 34 doubles, 3 triples, 23 home runs, 85 RBI, and slashed .325/415/616 with a 1.031 OPS. He was an absolute stud for the team and a huge part of their win total.
The other key contributor was a long-standing major force for the Blue Jays in shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. Hechavarria was an absolutely amazing defender with incredible range and consistently performed as an elite defender. Coupled with that was an offensive game that could post big numbers in all statistical categories. In 2019, Hechy hit .258 with 26 home runs, 26 doubles, 5 triples, he scored 109 runs, drove in 102, stole 12 bases, and posted a .791 OPS. He wasn't supposed to hit fifth in the lineup but because of injuries he had to slide up into a run producing role and he filled it beautifully for the Jays.
To win 120 games with a banged up lineup meant you had to have guys that could contribute in a variety of ways and the Jays had that with their three table setters for Hechy and Neal. Leading the way was speedster Keith Curtain who hit .285 with 9 home runs, 40 stolen bases, 98 runs, 73 RBI, and a .352 OBP to go with great LF defense. His partner in the other outfield corner was Jared Mitchell who hit .279 with 12 home runs, 31 stolen bases, 90 runs scored, 68 RBI, and a .356 OBP. Lastly was Kenny Wilson in centerfield - Wilson was a great defensive player and balanced hitter and contributed a .272 average, 22 home runs, 19 stolen bases, 104 runs scored, 93 RBI, and a .373 OBP. None of those players posted elite numbers but as an offensive outfield they gave the team a ton of balance in their attack.
Veteran Brett Wallace held down third base in 2019 for the Blue Jays and 2019 represented the 9th straight season in which he contributed at least 20 home runs. In 2019 he hit .309 with 21 home runs, 28 doubles, 7 stolen bases, 85 runs scored, and 84 RBI to go with an .851 OPS. At 2B was the versatile Brandon West who was scheduled to platoon with Wallace until the injury to Siegel force the team's hand. Siegel was a right handed 2B with A+ defense and a speed game, but with much more offensive upside. West brought a great glove, but didn't promise to be anything special with the bat. His season was very impressive, however, as he managed to hit .297 with 19 home runs, 5 stolen bases, 93 runs, 109 RBI and an .854 OPS as a rookie injury fill-in. It might not be an overstatement to say he was the key reason the team stayed as good as it did without Siegel.
Rounding out the lineup was catcher Jose Castillo and an up and coming slugger named Mike Vanner. Castillo was a high level defender who had a career RTO% of 29 with excellent handling. He was the classic get-on-base machine with surprising pop and 2019 was his best season yet. He hit .302 with 93 runs, 38 doubles, 12 home runs, 87 RBI, 9 stolen bases, and an .830 OPS. The youngster pushing him was Vanner - a catcher that would eventually move to 1B to leave Castillo in his spot. Vanner was only part time, with the DH spot splitting reps for him Duque Ortega and Brett Gardner to varying degrees. The group never quite put up as much production as hoped for from the DH spot.
The team's productive play wasn't just lead by the offense, they had a tremendous season from their bullpen and starting rotation. The Jays, for many years, had a two horse rotation that helped produce multiple championships lead by Corey Bosworth and Steve Eickholt. These two guys were inseparable from the moment they were taken in the same draft by the Jays. Bosworth was typically the ace while Eickholt slotted in as the workhorse.
In 2019 they actually pitched a similar amount of innings with Eickholt pitching 188 innings and striking out 190 while posting a 4.25 ERA and a 20-7 record. Meanwhile Bosworth pitched 192 innings with 149 strikeouts and a 2.95 ERA on the way to a 16-5 record. The two of them were incredibly important to the team's run, especially since both were able to stay healthy for the entire season.
The rest of the rotation was occupied by guys that wouldn't have been labeled anything close to "sexy" but they were brutally effective. Lefty James Senft was signed for a measly 2 years and 1M but managed to post a 2.97 ERA in 124 innings and went 14-2 for the team on the season. Veteran Adam Smith had been a 2018 trade deadline acquisition from Milwaukee in his first full season with the team and he managed a 3.18 ERA in 147 innings with a 12-2 record. Swing man Wade Miley pitched 119 innings for the team and manged a 12-5 record despite his 4.69 ERA. Lastly was a man we had talked about before - the immortal James Derose. Derose went 14-2 on the year with a 3.34 ERA in 172 innings for the team.
The bullpen for this team was incredible and it started with the closer - HOFer Rob Wood. Woody, at the ripe age of 26, was beginning his first year as a closer for the Blue Jays. A career that would see him post over 500 saves despite not taking up the mantle of a closer until then. He started his career off with a bang, however, by saving 41 out of 45 opportunities in 2019 on the way to a 2.10 ERA in 64 innings with 60 strikeouts and only 2 losses. He'd go on to have a very long, very productive career in FCM with several teams as the Jays took a very modern approach to the closer position - cycling through them every 6-8 years to a younger, cheaper option.
Supporting him in the bullpen was a group that, all except Brett Jacobsen, managed to keep their ERAs under 3 on the season. Setup man Shawn Bauer pitched 85 innings for the club with a 2.87 ERA, an 8-2 record, and 6 saves. Brian "Cheesy Poof" Kartman pitched 88 innings for the team with a 2.45 ERA, a 6-4 record, and 6 saves of his own. Jesse Perry was the lefty specialist who threw 73 innings with a 7-5 record and 3 saves to go with his 2.82 ERA. Lastly was Brett Jacobsen who pitched 101 innings with a 4.53 ERA and a 7-2 record with 3 saves.
Interview with the Owner: Thoughts sprinkled in
What Sets Them Apart: Well, let's start with the obvious - 120 freaking wins. This is a team that might have over-performed it's talent more than any other on this list. Were they good? Yeah, really good. But the talent on this team came together in a way no one else on this list did. They had a nearly +400 run differential, played in a division with a rival who won 111 games, and managed to make the World Series before losing to a tough Cubs team. And they did all this despite losing arguably their two best bats for the entire season. If there was a "Gut Check" award for this list - this is it. So much working against them and still posted the second best record in FCM history - remember - this list is about teams that kicked ass and this team truly did.
Coming Next: 7th Best Team in FCM History: Speed Kills
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