The Toronto Blue Jays had a rough first half of the 2011 season
The Toronto Blue Jays are in 4th place in the A.L. East at the All-Star break with a 45-47 record which has them 11 games behind the Red Sox in the A.L. East and 10 games behind the Yankees for the A.L. Wild Card. The Blue Jays have played hard every night but they just seem overmatched in the A.L. East a lot of the time and the Jays have been unlucky with injuries so far in 2011. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact in the first half of 2011:
Team MVP: This was an easy choice as 30-year old righty swinging RF/3B Jose Bautista is the man in Toronto. Bautista played in 84 games in the first half of the 2011 season for the Blue Jays and he is 100 for 299 (.334 avg, 1.170 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 31 homers, 65 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Bautista has already walked 74 times while whiffing 54 times this year. If Adam Lind stays healthy behind Bautista in the second half of 2011, he’s going to still see a lot of fastballs to hit.
Biggest Surprise: 27-year old righty starter/reliever Carlos Villanueva has been great this year no matter what role the Blue Jays have needed him in. Villanueva has pitched in 22 games (9 starts) for the Blue Jays so far in 2011 and he is 5-1 with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has only allowed 62 hits in his first 78 1/3 innings as he is further cementing his job in the starting rotation.
Biggest Disappointment: The Blue Jays dealt for 31-year old righty reliever Frank Francisco to close for them but it just hasn’t worked out yet. Francisco has pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 1-4 with 10 saves, a 5.92 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. He has given up 31 hits and walked 14 batters in his first 24 1/3 innings while whiffing 29 batters. The stuff is there but the location has been way off.