28-year old righty swinging Edwin Encarnacion will likely be the starting DH for the Blue Jays when the 2011 season starts. He played in 96 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 81 of 332 (.244 avg, .787 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 21 homers, 51 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Over his career, Encarnacion is averaging a homer every 22.5 at bats and an RBI every 6.68 ABs so far in his major league career. If Encarnacion can handle DHing and plays in 140+ games in 2011, he’s going to put up good power numbers. Think 25-30 homers with 80-95 RBIs in 2011.

34-year old lefty swinging Scott Podsednik might get some ABs at DH for the Blue Jays in 2011 and his speed would be an asset in that role.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BLUE JAYS DH IN 2011: B

The Blue Jays gave 30-year old righty swinging 3B Jose Bautista a nice new 5-year deal, so they hope 2010 wasn’t a mirage. Coming into last season, Bautista has career highs of 75 runs scored, 16 homers, 63 RBIs and 6 stolen bases in the majors. Last season, Bautista played in 161 games for the Blue Jays in which he was 148 of 569 (.260 avg, .995 OPS) with 109 runs scored, 54 homers, 124 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Bautista wasn’t just up at the plate hacking either as he was walked 100 times last season while whiffing 116 times. It’s hard for me to believe that Bautista hit so many homers in 2010, but I think he is capable of hitting 30+ in 2011 and that would probably be more than enough to keep the Blue Jays happy. Bautista had 4 errors in 48 games at 3B last season while showing excellent range there. I personally think that Bautista will again be an All-Star type 3B in 2011.

28-year old righty swinging Edwin Encarnacion will back up Bautista at 3B this season while serving most of his time at DH in 2011. Encarnacion had 18 errors in only 95 games at 3B for the Blue Jays last season while showing good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BLUE JAYS 3B IN 2011: A

28-year old righty swinging Yunel Escobar came over in a deal with the Braves (for Alex Gonzalez) in the middle of last season and he did well with the Jays. Escobar played in 135 games overall last season for the Braves & Blue Jays and he was 127 of 497 (.256 avg, .655 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 4 homers, 35 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He is a better hitter than he showed last season as he is a career .289 hitter (.762 OPS) in his first 506 games (4 years) in the majors. Escobar did make 18 errors in 134 games at SS last season but he showed off pretty good range which helped make up for that. I think Escobar is going to have a nice bounce back year for the Blue Jays in 2011.

36-year old righty swinging John McDonald might be the best defensive shortstop on the planet. No telling how many Gold Gloves he would have if he could just hit a lick. Last season, McDonald was hitting the ball very well but it didn’t get him a whole lot of P.T. He played in 63 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 38 of 152 (.250 avg, .727 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 6 homers, 23 RBIs and 1 stolen base. McDonald only had 1 error in 19 games at SS for the Blue Jays last season while showing out of this world range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BLUE JAYS SS IN 2011: B

The Blue Jays have signed 34-year old lefty swinging outfielder Scott Podsednik to a minor league deal. He played in 134 games for the Dodgers & Royals last season and he was 160 of 539 (.297 avg, .724 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 6 homers, 51 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. Podsednik has now played in 1,016 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,036 of 3,707 (.279 avg, .721 OPS) with 544 runs scored, 41 homers, 300 RBIs and 301 stolen bases. It’s amazing to me that Podsednik was still available and at such a bargain price. It will be interesting to see how the Blue Jays use Podsednik because he’s going to make the team. This was a great addition by the Toronto Blue Jays.

28-year old righty swinging Aaron Hill is going to try to rebound from a tough 2010 season for the Blue Jays. Hill played in 138 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 108 of 528 (.205 avg, .665 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 26 homers, 68 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Blue Jays expect Hill’s batting average to rebound in 2011 as he is a career .270 hitter with a .752 OPS over his first six years in the majors (771 games). Hill made 10 errors in 137 games at 2B last season but he showed above average range. Hill could eventually move to 3B down the road but he’s entrenched at the Blue Jays’ starting 2B in 2011.

36-year old righty swinging John McDonald is a natural shortstop. The light hitting McDonald is an excellent defensive 2B also as he made 1 error in 23 games there for the Blue Jays last season while showing good range. He will be one of the backup infielders for the Blue Jays once again in 2011.

29-year old righty swinging Mike McCoy had a rough rookie year with the bat for the Blue Jays in 2010. McCoy played in 46 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 16 of 82 (.195 avg, .511 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He didn’t make any errors in 14 games at 2B for the Blue Jays while showing good range. He’s going to have a hard time making the Blue Jays’ roster this spring.

21-year old righty swinging Brett Lawrie could very well be the Blue Jays’ starting 2B in the near future. He was acquired from the Brewers over the winter in the deal for Shaun Marcum. Lawrie played in 135 games in AA-ball last season and he was 158 of 554 (.285 avg, .797 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 8 homers, 63 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Lawrie made 25 errors in 131 games at 2B last season so he will have to tidy up his defense a bit before getting his chance in Toronto.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BLUE JAYS 2B IN 2011: B