The Toronto Blue Jays/MLB Thread.

[Joey]

There have been rumblings that he might be their best prospect in a system laden with great pitching prospects. Superior to Norris. If not for the TJ he would have been the #1 overall pick (likely), so there's that.

He's got a fastball that goes 92-96 and, apparently, a hammer of a 12-6 curveball. He's only 22, so, you know, patience.....

So awesome. He's the #6 Prospect in all of baseball according to Yahoo... thats massive.

[slaw]

Forget about d'Arnaud. Noah Syndergaard looks like a future ACE.

Bottomline - you don't trade BLUE CHIP prospects like Syndergaard and d'Arnaud for a 38 year old pitcher. That trade was beyond dumb.

Except, first, the vast majority of prospects, even blue chip ones, never make it in baseball. And, two, neither of those players was going to help the Jays win in 2013, 2014 or 2015, which was the plan. Syndergaard was 3 years away and D'Arnaud was too far away and too often injured to relied upon. Dickey has given them two good, if not great, seasons at a very, very reasonably price. Yeah, in retrospect, you'd love to have the pitcher back but it's not as though the Jays are bereft of great young pitching (Hutchison, Norris, Sanchez, Stroman, Nolin, Osuna, Castro, Hoffman, etc.). With D'Arnaud, he's good, when he plays. Guy can't stay on the field.

[Mack North]

What a win for the Jays tonight! Battled the whole game with the Chi Sox, then Josh Donaldson comes through with a 3 run homer to win it in the 9th. Huge game for JD who had 5 runs scored and Joey Bats had 3 doubles and 5 RBI. 3 game win streak, hopefully gaining some momentumum and healthy bodies too. Yea, I watch the Jays over this years NBA playoffs.

[KeonClark]

8 straight. Above .500!

[raptors999]

Every year. Long winning streak then guys go down with back and hamstring injuries. At least the turf doesn't look goofy with loose shards poking out eyes

[Mack North]

8 straight. Above .500!

Hopelessly optimistic, my man!!!! What a stretch... guys are starting to get healthy, so the lineup is almost where it should be and the starters are gettin' the job done.

[KeonClark]

Hopelessly optimistic, my man!!!! What a stretch... guys are starting to get healthy, so the lineup is almost where it should be and the starters are gettin' the job done.

If the starters can even me mediocre-good, we should be a playoff team. Biggest difference this year too in the the batting order is Josh Donaldson being a contact and power hitter, instead of just relying on Jose and Edwin to swing away every 3rd inning, and getting rid of strikeout batters like Rasmus, Arencibia (I know that wasn't last year) and Lawrie has really helped. That's why I feel this year is a bit different. Just imagine a healthy Stroman, bumping everybody down a notch in the rotation and bumping Sanchez to the bullpen/closer role.

[Mack North]

I had a 4 paragraph response til my computer decided to backpage twice on me, so all lost!!! lol Long story short...

I have hope and strong confidence in the pitching staff moving forward, with all the good, young arms.

JD is the real fucking deal!! I'll admit, I didn't know what we were getting with him cause he played in Oakland and I didn't see him much. I wanted to believe in Lawrie as well as Graveman, who sounded like a good young pitcher. All that is erased with what Donaldson has done so far. Dude is going to be an MVP candidate for years to come. Wow!

[Mack North]

Jays are second to only the best team in the majors, STL Cardinals, in run differential. STL +63, Jays +59, Dodgers +58, Pirates +42, Yankees +34 with next best after that being the Giants at +13. The starters are finally starting to turn things around and it's noticeable with the current 8 game win streak, where the Jays have outscored some division leading teams(Wash/Hou) and a formidable young lineup with the best young player in the game(Miami-Stanton) 57-21(7.1-2.6/game).

Question to you Jays fans: With the Jonathan Papelbon rumors heating up, what type of package would you be willing to sacrifice for him, should he waive his no-trade clause? He's almost lights out this year, with a 1.13 ERA over 24 innings, allowing 16 hits, 1 HR, 6 walks and 29 K's with 12 saves. The Jays have 6 saves as a team, so we could really use a closer of his pedigree. Cecil ain't the guy and there's really nobody else on the roster, save for Sanchez, who could do the job. I prefer keeping Sanchez as a starter, as he's just starting to build up his confidence in his last few starts. Aroldis Chapman and Tyler Clippard may also be available for the right price...

Alex Anthopoulos is in a tough predicament here. Does he sacrifice some good prospects in order to try to win now in his lame-duck season as GM to get the deal done? Does he give up one of Joey Bats or Edwin, in this deal or another, to try to better the Jays in the future? I'm cautiously optimistic he won't mortgage too much of the future for a win-now team, but on the other hand I think this is the year to do it, given how weak the AL East is at the moment. That Josh Donaldson deal was nothing short of genius, so I have faith in him at the moment. He doesn't strike me as the type of guy who would destroy the club's future in order to get a new contract with the Jays.

[Bendit]

When the JD deal was made I read where he was the best offensive position player after Trout in the AL. I thought it was a mistake and if not there must be a reason Billy Beane was getting rid of him. All is good so far!

I am wary about Papelbon. He is good as a closer but a bit of a hothead so chemistry in the clubhouse might be a problem. Seems Norris maybe the cost. For that I would rather a frontline starter and bump Sanchez into the closer role....he is going to be over extended soon (innings pitched) and as a young pitcher this can be "dangerous".

Hope the BJs crack some balls over the monster next 3 games!

[white men can't jump]

Wow, what a crazy rally! 9 runs in one inning!

[Mack North]

Jeez... Jays are like the Warriors of baseball. Never out of it! #BuckFoston

[Bendit]

Jeez... Jays are like the Warriors of baseball. Never out of it! #BuckFoston

Buck the Yankees too

[tonious35]

The Jays dropped a 9-Ball on those Boston Schmucks to make their streak go NINE. #GOJAYS

[Mack North]

10 in a row. I said 10!!

I just did my part... spent the better part of about 8 minutes using my phone to vote Martin, Travis, Reyes, JD, Joey Bats and Edwin into the ASG. We all gotta do our part!