MLB Betting – Toronto Blue Jays 2020 Season Preview

• Blue Jays hopeful young core of position players continue to develop

• Rotation led by Hyun-Jin Ryu could be more productive in 2020

• Toronto to win AL East pays out $5000 for every $100 bet

You don’t often see teams go from 67 wins to competing for a playoff berth. The Toronto Blue Jays are a club with an upward trajectory behind the offspring of three former MLB All-Stars and a revamped starting rotation. Winning the AL East is a longshot since the dreaded Yankees added the biggest free agent prize in Gerrit Cole to an already stacked roster. However, the Jays are hopeful their young core of position players continues to develop and the rotation, led by former Dodger Hyun-Jin Ryu, gives more than what the Jays got last season. If so the new season promises to be an interesting one north of the border.

2020 Toronto Blue Jays At A Glance

Toronto Blue Jays World Series Odds +12500
Toronto Blue Jays AL Pennant Odds +5500
Toronto Blue Jays AL East Odds +5000

2020 Toronto Blue Jays Overview

Nobody is mistaking the Blue Jays for a World Series contender. In a best-case scenario pushing for a wild card would be at the top of the list. Toronto is clearly a team headed in the right direction, though, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looking to expand on his 2019 campaign after finally reaching the Show.

The Jays expect offensive improvement after placing last in the AL with a .236 average last season. Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio look to build on impressive debuts giving the team optimism that it can improve on its 23rd ranked scoring offense. Another reason for optimism is the rotation. The mound was a black hole last year after the Jays dealt their top two starters. Ryu was one of the top hurlers available this winter and the Jays will have at least three new starters when the bell rings.

There’s a wide gap between the Jays and the Yankees, and the other top teams in the AL for that matter. Winning the division is out of the question with Tampa and Boston also projected to finish higher. A lot has to go right for the Jays to even sniff a wild card so you might want to hold off on putting down on them this year.

Pitching

This area wasn’t a strong spot for the Jays in 2019 and it got worse after dealing Marcus Stroman. The Jays placed 21st in ERA at 4.79 using a whopping 39 pitchers proving that quantity isn’t better than quality. So in an effort to address the latter the team acquired three front line starters during the offseason.

The group is highlighted by Ryu, who went 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 182.2 innings last year with the Dodgers. He’s penciled in as the ace as long as he stays healthy. Injuries have been a concern over his career.

Newcomers Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson are slated behind Ryu. Roark won 29 games between 2016 and 2017 with the Nats, but the numbers have dipped since. He started 31 games with a 4.35 ERA for Oakland and Cincinnati last year. Anderson has been good enough to keep a spot during his career. He’s started at least 25 games in each of the last five seasons.

The rotation isn’t great but it’s an upgrade from last year. There are better arms and more options with top prospect Nate Pearson waiting for his opportunity. The bullpen took a beating with the Jays having the third-worst quality start percentage in MLB. An upgraded rotation relieves some of those issues and should help getting to closer Ken Giles, who saved 23 games and amassed 83 strikeouts in 53 innings.

Hitting

Everybody’s waiting to see what Vlad Jr. does in his second season. He settled in nicely after the ballyhooed debut hitting .272 with 15 homers and 69 RBIs while playing a solid third base. He’s a fixture for years to come. But like most of the roster last season, Junior often failed to make contact. He fanned 91 times which was actually a low number. Seven regulars whiffed over 100 times and as a team the Jays were struckout 1,514 times.

An impressive start to his big league career has Bichette slotted as the everyday shortstop. Dante’s kid hit .311 with 11 homers and a .930 OPS in 212 plate appearances. It’s a lot to ask for him to stretch that out over a full slate, but we probably won’t have one of those this year. Biggio plays like his dad but he doesn’t hit like him, not yet at least. Cavan hit .234 with 16 homers in 2019 showing a keen eye with 71 walks.

2020 Toronto Blue Jays Season Pick

If anything the Jays are going to be fun to watch. They have the potential to make a huge leap offensively with Lourdes Gurriel being another player to watch. An improved rotation will benefit from the young bats and the Jays could be in the wild card mix. More likely this is a club that’s at least a year away from serious consideration.

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com