30-year old righty swinging starting catcher John Buck has had a career year for the Blue Jays in 2010. He has played in 110 games for the Blue Jays this year and he is 103 of 382 (.270 avg, .775 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 18 homers and 61 RBIs. Buck has fit right in with the free swinging Jays as he has only walked 14 times this year while whiffing 107 times. The Blue Jays have to be careful when thinking about bringing Buck back over the winter because their is likely to be competition for him on the open market. Buck has played in 694 games in his 7 years in the majors and he is 553 of 2,295 (.241 avg, .717 OPS) with 263 runs scored, 88 homers and 320 RBIs. So you have to wonder if this was really a “career year” or if Buck will start hitting consistently like he has this year.

The Blue Jays will be without 29-year old lefty swinging LF Fred Lewis for the year as he needs surgery on a bunion on his left foot. Lewis played in 110 games for the Jays this year and he was 112 of 428 (.262 avg, .745 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 8 homers, 36 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Look for Travis Snider to play every day the rest of the year with Lewis out of action.

22-year old lefty swinging outfielder Travis Snider has a ton of pure power and I have a feeling that the Blue Jays will find a starting job for him in 2011. It will likely be RF with Jose Bautista moving to 3B and Edwin Encarnacion finding a new home. Snider has played in 72 games for the Blue Jays this year and he is 61 of 254 (.240 avg, .710 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 9 homers, 24 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 173 games in parts of three years with the Jays and he is 141 of 568 (.248 avg, .738 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 20 homers, 66 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. His main problem has been whiffing which he has done 169 times already in his major league career but I don’t think the Jays want to tinker with his swing too much.

The Blue Jays gave new contracts to 28-year old righty swinging 2B Aaron Hill and 26-year old lefty swinging DH/OF Adam Lind last winter. And why wouldn’t they? After all, Hill & Lind combined to go 374 of 1,269 (.295 avg) with 196 runs scored, 71 homers and 222 RBIs between them in 2009. But this season has been a struggle for both players. Hill has played in 124 games for the Jays this year and he is 102 of 481 (.212 avg, .680 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 23 homers and 60 RBIs. Lind has played in 137 games for the Blue Jays this year and he is 119 of 519 (.229 avg, .698 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 22 homers and 68 RBIs. Jose Bautista’s rise to stardom has overshadowed the failures of Lind and Hill this year but they need to pick up the pace in 2011.

The Blue Jays have claimed 28-year old righty reliever Taylor Buchholz off waivers from the Rockies. Buchholz pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he was 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He has now pitched in 133 games (27 starts) in his four years in the majors and he is 19-21 with 1 save, a 4.42 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. This was a outstanding move for the Blue Jays as Buchholz has a nice upside if he can stay healthy.