32-year old lefty B.J. Ryan will start the season on the D.L. for the Blue Jays as he continues to recover from Tommy John Surgery. He will likely share closer duties with righty Jeremy Accardo when he returns from injury to protect his elbow. Ryan pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 0-2 with 3 saves, a 12.46 ERA and a 2.54 WHIP. Ryan has now pitched in 475 games in his major league career and he is 18-23 with 83 saves, a 3.28 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Ryan has also whiffed 554 batters in 458 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has.

26-year old righty Jeremy Accardo was stolen in a trade with the Giants last season. He will be the stopper to start the season for the Blue Jays and he will then share the job with B.J. Ryan when he returns. Accardo pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 4-4 with 30 saves, a 2.14 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.

32-year old lefty Scott Downs was one of the best set-up men in all of baseball last year. He pitched in 81 games (#1 in the A.L.) last season for the Blue Jays and he was 4-2 with 1 save, a 2.17 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He also whiffed 57 batters in 58 innings showing that he has now adjusted to being a full time relief pitcher after starting earlier in his career.

30-year old Jason Frasor will need to rebound in 2008 as the Blue Jays need to replace the great innings that Casey Jannsen gave them last year. Frasor pitched in 51 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 1-5 with 3 saves, a 4.58 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.

25-year old Brandon League will be looking to rebound in 2008 now that he is healthy. League pitched in only 14 games (0 starts) last season for the Blue Jays and he was 0-0 with a 6.17 ERA and a 2.23 WHIP. League pitched in 33 games in 2006 for the Blue Jays and he was 1-2 with 1 save, 12 holds, a 2.53 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. If League can pitch like he did in 2006, the Blue Jays will be in great shape in the bullpen.

30-year old lefty Brian Tallet will be the lefty specialist for the Blue Jays in 2008. He pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 2-4 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Tallet should be effective again in 2008.

27-year old righty Brian Wolfe will give the Blue Jays bullpen great depth. He pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.

Lefty John Parrish and righties Lance Carter & Shawn Camp will start the season in the minors and await a call up to the majors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A

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-

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