32-year old righty swinging Randy Ruiz and 26-year old righty swinging Brian Dopirak will likely battle for the DH job in spring training. Ruiz has the edge based on how well he hit for the Blue Jays at the end of the 2009 season. Ruiz played in 33 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 36 for 115 (.313 avg, 1.019 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 10 homers and 17 RBIs. Ruiz also had a strong season in AAA last year as he played in 114 games in which he was 148 for 462 (.320 avg, .976 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 25 homers and 106 RBIs. Ruiz was finally rewarded last September for a solid minor league career. Ruiz has played in 1,088 games in his minor league career and he is 1,249 of 4,103 (.304 avg, .909 OPS) with 685 runs scored, 192 homers and 807 RBIs.

Brian Dopirak has yet to play in the major leagues but that should change this season. He played in 139 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 173 for 546 (.317 avg, .921 OPS) with 77 runs scored, 27 homers and 102 RBIs. Dopirak has now played in 795 games in his minor league career and he is 855 for 3,346 (.281 avg, .826 OPS) with 416 runs scored, 145 homers and 543 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: C

27-year old righty swinging Edwin Encarnacion will be back at 3B for the Blue Jays in 2010. He played in 85 games for the Blue Jays and Reds last season and he was 66 for 293 (.225 avg, .730 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 13 homers and 39 RBIs. The Blue Jays really hope that Encarnacion hits more to his career norms of .260 with a .789 OPS. The Blue Jays would also like Encarnacion to tighten up his defense in 2010. He played in 85 games at 3B last season for the Reds & Blue Jays and he made 11 errors in only 85 games there while showing below average range.

29-year old righty swinging Jose Bautista will be the Blue Jays’ backup 3B and 4th outfielder for the Jays this season. He played in 26 games at 3B for the Jays last season and he made 3 errors there while showing good range. If something happened to Encarnacion, Bautista would likely take over as the starter at the hot corner.

35-year old righty swinging John McDonald didn’t look too comfortable in 10 games at 3B for the Blue Jays last season as he made 2 errors while showing poor range. His bat would be a liability if he had to play too much at 3B for the Jays in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: C-

The Blue Jays signed 33-year old righty swinging Alex Gonzalez to start at shortstop in 2010. He played in 112 games for the Reds and Red Sox last season and he was 93 for 391 (.238 avg, .634 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 8 homers and 41 RBIs. Gonzalez has random power and if he gets enough at bats he will likely hit around 15 homers and hopefully hit around .250. Gonzalez made 7 errors in 112 games at shortstop last season but he showed pretty poor range. He still makes a highlight reel play once in a while but overall he’s starting to fade a bit defensively.

35-year old righty swinging John McDonald will be the backup shortstop again in 2010. If the Blue Jays were smart they would have just let him start and spent the money they used on Gonzalez somewhere else. McDonald played in 73 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 39 for 151 (.258 avg, .655 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs. McDonald is a wizard with the mitt at shortstop. He played in 33 games at shortstop for the Blue Jays last season and he only made 1 error while showing off out of this world range. I have little doubt that if McDonald could have just hit well enough to start at shortstop that he would have won multiple Gold Gloves at the position.

GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: C-

27-year old righty swinging Aaron Hill came back from a injury marred 2008 season with a vengeance in 2009. He played in 158 games last season for the Blue Jays and he was 195 for 682 (.286 avg, .829 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 36 homers, 108 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Hill had a “career” year in 2009 but I really think that his power is legit and that he will put up outstanding power numbers again in 2010. Hill is also a really good defensive player. He made only 7 errors in 156 games at 2B last season while showing outstanding range.

35-year old righty swinging John McDonald will likely be Hill’s primary back-up in 2010. He played in 8 error-free games at 2B last season for the Blue Jays while showing outstanding range. He’s not much of a hitter though.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: A

The Blue Jays have been trying to trade 32-year old lefty swinging 1B Lyle Overbay all winter to no avail yet. That doesn’t mean they will quit looking to trade him because they are moving 23-year old lefty swinging Jeff Wallace to 1B from 3B. He was a big part of the Roy Halladay trade so there will be pressure to get him on the field. Overbay played in 132 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 112 for 423 (.265 avg, .838 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 16 homers and 64 RBIs. Overbay only made 2 errors in 130 games at 1B as he is a really solid defender there.

23-year old lefty swinging Brett Wallace played in 138 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 156 for 532 (.293 avg, .822 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 20 homers and 63 RBIs. Wallace was a solid defender at 3B so there is no reason to think he won’t play well at 1B. The question is: Does he have enough power to play full-time at 1B? I have a feeling that will be found out at some point in 2010 by the Blue Jays.

PROJECTED GRADE AT FIRST BASE FOR 2010: C