Five Blue Jays players to keep an eye on throughout spring training this year
As March drudges on, there’s no disputing the decreasing charm of spring training baseball—that being said, characters always make the games entertaining, no matter how pointless they may be.
There are a lot of Blue Jays players to watch closely this season before Opening Day. Fans can watch their favorites with curiosity, whether it’s guys writing their comeback story arc, the hottest prospect, or an enigmatic man with a mustache.
While some players come into this camp with a ton of evidence, others start from scratch. These Blue Jays spring training players are worth keeping an eye on, even if you’re not interested in the actual games.
1. Manoah battles for a position in the Blue Jays rotation
Everyone enjoys a good redemption story, and Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays may have dropped the lowest of any player on the squad. As he battles to regain his rotation slot, he’s one of the players to watch closely this camp.
Thus far in spring training, he has behaved honorably and expressed no public ill will or hatred toward the Blue Jays franchise. After a terrible 2023, Manoah seems to have adopted a “turn the page” mentality, which should be encouraging for him.
The starting rotation of the Blue Jays will be a formidable force in the American League, even if he offers them somewhere between his top-three Cy Young finish in 2022 and his 5.87 ERA season last year.
Manoah, a 26-year-old pitcher who destroyed the opposition just two seasons ago, is too good to be written off at this point in his career. A 2024 season of recovery is very likely.
2. Can Guerrero return to his MVP form?
When Vladimir Guerrero Jr. last showed up to spring training in impressive form, he hit 48 home runs and was in second place for the AL MVP award. Even though he hasn’t batted in the Grapefruit League yet, he is already projecting 2021 this season.
Guerrero’s poor performance in the previous season served as a microcosm of all the issues facing the Blue Jays in 2023. Insufficient offensive play, cognitive errors in the field and on the base paths, and unrealized potential.
Guerrero’s departure affects the Blue Jays as well. Guerrero has two years left before becoming a free agent, so he has every incentive to have a fantastic season and establish himself as one of the American League’s top sluggers once again. Although, success in the regular season isn’t typically predicted by spring training outcomes, a good performance in these early games will allay many concerns about his ability this year.
3. Tiedemann gains ten to fifteen pounds of bulk.
Ricky Tiedemann will soon become an appointment viewer, so start preparing your popcorn. It appears as though Tiedemann, the best left-handed pitcher in baseball and a top-30 overall prospect, is just a step away from making an impact at the major league level.
The Blue Jays’ top prospect is causing quite a stir around camp after gaining 10–15 pounds of muscle, according to Scott Mitchell of TSN, after injuries hindered his progress last year.
He’ll begin the season in Triple-A Buffalo’s starting rotation, but if all goes according to plan, he might get to start for the Blue Jays before the All-Star break. Tiedemann’s name will be on the list of pitchers to fill in if and when injuries alter the rotational plans.
4. Schneider seeking a position as a starter
It’s amazing to consider that Davis Schneider wasn’t even there at Blue Jays spring training camp a year ago. He’s going into this season determined to earn a spot in the starting lineup, and he should at the very least arrive at training as a utility player.
He is not expected to sustain his 14.5 at-bats per home run pace and 1.008 OPS, but in the few games he played with the Blue Jays last season, there were enough positive things to see.
For the Blue Jays, Davis is the perfect utility player because of his pull-side power, defensive versatility, and plate discipline. It would be intriguing to watch if he becomes a pumpkin or becomes a reliable member of this team.
5. How Rodriguez, the newcomer to the Blue Jays, fits in
Yariel Rodriguez, one of the newest Blue Jays, is a player who possesses an unparalleled air of mystery and intrigue. He will be around for a while because the team signed him to a $32 million, five-year contract.
The 26-year-old Cuban’s position on the squad is rather unclear because not much information is known about him. Will he start off as a starter or take on the role of swing man or high-leverage reliever? As the Blue Jays’ spring training continues, his role should become clearer, although the strategy currently appears flexible.
Rodriguez had not pitched professionally in the previous season, but when representing Team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic, he looked fantastic. The Blue Jays signed a relative unknown to a five-year contract in the offseason with the expectation that he would pay off for the team over the following few years.