The Toronto Blue Jays are the most underrated team in the American League, period. With the combination of hitting and pitching they have this might be the season that they win the American League East. I’m calling for the Blue Jays to win at least 90 games this season so take the over.

31-year old righty Roy Halladay is the unquestioned ace of the Blue Jays starting rotation. He started 31 games last season for the Blue Jays and he was 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He pitches deep into ball games and gives the bullpen a rest every five days.

31-year old righty A.J. Burnett has the best stuff on the team but he can never stay healthy for a whole season. He started 25 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 10-8 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. If he could just pitch a complete season his stats would be eye popping.

26-year old righty Dustin McGowan burst onto the scene last season in Toronto due to injuries. He started 27 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 12-10 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. His stuff is right there with Halladay’s and Burnett’s so the sky is the limit for him.

26-year old righty Shawn Marcum also had a solid year. He pitched in 38 games (25 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 12-6 with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He doesn’t have quite the stuff of the pitchers ahead of him in the rotation but it’s more than good enough to succeed.

23-year old righty Jesse Litsch won the #5 job in spring training for the Blue Jays. He started 23 games last season for the Blue Jays and he was 7-9 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He has to be real fine with his stuff because his arm doesn’t match up with the rest of the Blue Jays’ rotation.

27-year old Gustavo Chacin will start the season in AAA-ball until he builds his arm back up. He started in 5 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 2-1 with a 5.60 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He was 22-13 combined in 2005+2006 so that proves that he can get the job done when healthy.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A-

The Blue Jays have placed 3B Scott Rolen on the 15-day disabled list with a non-displaced fracture of his right middle finger. Marco Scutaro will take over as the starting 3B until Rolen is ready to return with John McDonald serving as his backup. This will hurt the Blue Jays all-around as Rolen is way better than Scutaro is in every facet of the game.

27-year old righty swinging Alex Rios started to finally live up to his vast potential last season. He played in 161 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 191 for 643 (.297 avg, .852 OPS) with 114 runs scored, 24 homers, 85 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He did not play well on defense however. He played in 147 games in RF last season for the Blue Jays and he made 5 errors while showing poor range. Rios needs to start to focus when he’s in the field as he has too many skills to be as poor of a defender as he is right now.

26-year old lefty swinging Buck Coats will likely be his backup in RF. Coats played in 20 games for the Reds last season and he was 7 for 34 (.206 avg, .587 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Coats also played in 127 games in AAA last season and he was 145 for 471 (.308 avg) with 82 runs scored, 11 homers, 63 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

29-year old righty swinging Vernon Wells had shoulder issues last season and it caused him to have an off year. Wells played in 149 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 143 for 584 (.245 avg, .706 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 16 homers, 80 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Vernon Wells has averaged 90.2 runs scored, 25.8 homers and 94.5 RBIs and the Blue Jays expect him to reach those numbers in 2008. He also has a career batting average of .281 with a .809 OPS and the Jays also expect him to achieve those numbers in 2008. The Blue Jays also hope that Wells plays better defense this season. Wells played in 148 games in CF last season and he made 3 errors while showing very poor range.

If anything happens to Vernon Wells this season Alex Rios will shift from RF to CF. He played in 22 games in CF last season and he made 2 errors while also showing below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B