Blue Jays First Half Report Card
Offense Grades
Min. 60 at-bats
OF Jose Bautista: A
Stats: .237/.361/.543, 24 HR, 56 RBI, 54 BB
Comment: Low average, but his walk rate, surprising power and versatility on defense has been a blessing in his All-Star season.
C John Buck: A
Stats: .272/.306/.502, 13 HR, 41 RBI
Comment: Performing better with the bat than expected and earned a spot on the All-Star team for the first time in his career.
SS Alex Gonzalez: A
Stats: .259/.296/.497, 17 HR, 25 2B, 50 RBI
Comment: Signed for his defense, but surprising with his bat. Probably should’ve been on the All-Star team.
CF Vernon Wells: B+
Stats: .265/.319/.524, 19 HR, 26 2B, 49 RBI
Comment: Solid overall numbers and strong in center, but has been slumping for the past month or so. Made third All-Star team.
OF Fred Lewis: B
Stats: .276/.334/.444, 5 HR, 24 2B, 25 RBI, 10 SB
Comment: Late arrival filled uncertain leadoff role. Average in the field, but adds another element to the order.
C Jose Molina: B
Stats: .282/.351/.400, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3.13 ERA
Comment: Pitchers love to throw to him and he has done better than expected with the bat.
SS John McDonald: C+
Stats: .231/.254/.431, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Comment: Little playing time at shortstop, taking away his strongest trait. Has done as expected at the plate.
1B Lyle Overbay: C
Stats: .250/.329/.417, 10 HR, 18 2B, 31 RBI
Comment: After ugly start at the plate, has been one of the Jays’ best hitters for the past month and a half.
OF Travis Snider: C
Stats: .241/.323/.483, 6 HR, 15 RBI
Comment: Starting to break through offensively before a right wrist injury sent him to the disabled list.
3B Edwin Encarnacion: F
Stats: .221/.304/.463, 10 HR, 24 RBI
Comment: Inconsistent both at the plate and in the field. Has been given every chance to succeed and has not taken advantage.
2B Aaron Hill: F
Stats: .189/.272/.359, 12 HR, 12 2B, 33 RBI
Comment: After All-Star 2009 season, Hill has labored through an ugly slump in the first half. Reaching Mendoza Line remains a goal.
DH/OF Adam Lind: F
Stats: .214/.271/.370, 12 HR, 12 2B, 40 RBI
Comment: Strikeout rate is up and average is down. Has looked confused at the plate at times as pitchers adjustmented to him.
Pitching Grades
Min. 15 innings pitched
ROTATION
LHP Brett Cecil: B+
Stats: 15 GS, 8-5, 3.97 ERA, 67 K, 27 BB, 93 IP
Comment: The surprising team wins leader entering the break. Joined rotation late and had one rough stretch of starts.
RHP Shaun Marcum: B+
Stats: 17 GS, 7-4, 3.44 ERA, 88 K, 27 BB, 107.1 IP
Comment: Strong start to the season before tailing off some prior to disabled list stint. Great leadership both on and off the field.
LHP Ricky Romero: B
Stats: 18 GS, 6-6, 3.71 ERA, 108 K, 46 BB, 116.1 IP
Comment: Recent struggles marred an otherwise strong first-half showing that was not helped any by poor run support.
RHP Brandon Morrow C+
Stats: 18 GS, 5-6, 4.86 ERA, 111 K, 47 BB, 100 IP
Comment: One of the better starters of late, but a rough early-season showing skewed his overall numbers.
RHP Jesse Litsch: D
Stats: 6 GS, 0-4, 6.54 ERA, 12 K, 10 BB, 31.2 IP
Comment: Has as many rough showings as good. Searching for consistency in his return from Tommy John.
LHP Dana Eveland: F
Stats: 9 GS, 3-4, 6.45 ERA, 21 K, 27 BB, 44.2 IP
Comment: Opened season in rotation and looked strong early, only to fade swiftly off the staff and out of the organization.
BULLPEN
RHP Shawn Camp: A
Stats: 40 G, 3-1, 2.53 ERA, 29 K, 9 BB, 46.1 IP
Comment: Arguably the most reliable reliever for the Blue Jays throughout the first half. Has handled pressure situations well.
LHP Scott Downs: A-
Stats: 41 G, 2.65 ERA, 29 K, 8 BB, 37.1 IP
Comment: A solid option out of the bullpen, as he has been for the Jays for the past few years.
RHP Kevin Gregg: B
Stats: 34 G, 0-3, 3.67 ERA, 20-23 SV, 27 K, 18 BB, 34.1 IP
Comment: Has had his rough moments, but otherwise has performed as would’ve been expected given recent history.
LHP David Purcey: B
Stats: 14 G, 2.12 ERA, 15 K, 8 BB, 17 IP
Comment: Used primarily in mop-up duty, but has put up solid numbers in his first experience as a big league reliever.
RHP Casey Janssen: C+
Stats: 33 G, 4-0, 4.10 ERA, 39 K, 12 BB, 41.2 IP
Comment: Great in spurts and subpar in others, the righty has been a solid, yet inconsistent, contributor out of the bullpen.
RHP Jason Frasor: C
Stats: 38 G, 3-2, 4.67 ERA, 3-6 SV, 38 K, 18 BB, 34.2 IP
Comment: Lost the closer’s job early in the season and has been inconsistent out of the bullpen late in games.
LHP Rommie Lewis: C-
Stats: 13 G, 4.91 ERA, 15 K, 7 BB, 18.1 IP
Comment: Looked strong in spurts, but otherwise had an underwhelming first stay in the bullpen for the Jays.
LHP Brian Tallet: F
Stats: 14 G, 5 GS, 1-3, 6.59 ERA, 31 K, 24 BB, 13 HR, 42.1 IP
Comment: Started the season as the No. 2 starter, lost his spot in the rotation and has been inconsistent out of the bullpen.
~JB
Major League Bastian 
Hill is having one of the weirder seasons I can remember. His walk rate is up while his strikeout rate is steady – usually this indicates improvement. His BABIP is so low (.182) that I keep expecting him to come out of the slump, and it keeps not happening.
Looking deeper into his batted ball profile, his line drive rate has plummeted over 10% and all of those line drives have turned into fly balls. Hill needs to level out his swing, but I still think that BABIP is unsustainably low.
Good article, Jordan, thanks!
Wells on making All-Star team: “It’s good but it’s still lacking something.” Meaning? “Ultimate goal is to be playing somewhere in October.”
Does that mean that he wants a trade? I hope so, because he’s going downhill just like Hill and Lind, if he wants to make it to October maybe he should be helping the team win which he hasn’t been doing for the past month or 2 which he’s really started showing his 09 form again.
JS0101: Wells’ comments were not intended to mean he wants to be traded. He was simply saying that every year there are two goals: making the All-Star team and making the playoffs. Obviously right now, the second goal is not realistic.
~JB