Are the Toronto Blue Jays for real?

Many people never thought they would see the day where people were asking this question. It’s been a brilliant display of baseball from the 34-24 Blue Jays, who have won 14 of their last 17 games. Edwin Encarnacion has been lights out, hitting a whopping 19 home runs, including 16 in the month of May. So are they for real? Lets look at the positives and negatives:

Positives:

1. Offense: This is by far the most potent offense in the Major Leagues right now. Besides the home run fire power of Encarnacion, he has also produced 50 RBI’s, part of  Toronto’s 291 runs scored, which is second in the MLB. In addition, his partners in crime are no slouches either. Jose Bautista has 14 HR’s and 40 RBI’s, and Melky Cabrera is batting an impressive .308 with 30 RBI’s. If anyone is going to stop the Blue Jays, they will need to get some impressive pitching out of their starters.
2. Mark Buehrle: The 35 year old veteran has been the crown jewel of this rotation. He is 10-1 with a 2.10 ERA. But perhaps the most impressive thing about him is that he is a true location pitcher. He does not have overpowering stuff and his fastball tops out at about 88 MPH. He is able to pick his spots exceptionally well and works really hard to fool his opponents at every turn.

Negatives:

1. Starting Pitching: Despite the success of Mark Buehrle, this rotation still isn’t quite there yet. R.A Dickey has been inconsistent with a 4.30 ERA. J.A. Happ has been great in his last three starts, but the jury is still out on whether or not he will revert to his early season, shaky form which he seemed to do on Friday, allowing 6 earned runs. The Blue Jay’s overall amount of quality starts is in the bottom half of the league. The back stretch of the season is about quality pitching, and if the Blue Jays want to maintain their lead, they have to tighten the lose ends in their rotation. Eventually, Encarnacion will cool down and they won’t be getting the consistently amazing run support they are getting right now.
2. History: The Toronto Blue Jays have done this before. They were 27-24 at the end of May in 2012, and 31-22 in 2010. Because of the lack of playoff experience for this squad, they are typically passed by proven winners in the super competitive AL East like the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. In order for them to finally take this next step, they are going to need to address their demons, as other teams in the AL East have done in years prior.

Overall, this is a very talented squad up in Toronto that shows a great deal of promise. I hesitate to give them the benefit of the doubt, but if they keep this up through June, you have to call them a serious contender. As time has shown, the leaders of the AL East don’t truly appear until late in the season. As we approach the All Star break, look for us to have a clearer picture.

Note: Stats from ESPN.com
[Photo Credit: AP]