Kevin Pillar is probably going to be the opening day centre fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays. With the recent upheaval in the Jays outfield (making this piece hilariously outdated), the certainty Pillar provides may be of some comfort to John Gibbons. He’s a plus defender in a position that demands it and has been durable […]
Tag: Kevin Pillar
Angles In The Outfield: How the Jays Can Survive With Their Current Outfield
In a mostly barren offseason (so far) for the Blue Jays, recent comments from general manager Ross Atkins (parsed in tweet form here by Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling) drew some attention: Atkins on Blue Jays outfield: “We feel like we could start the season with the outfielders that we have. But we’ll definitely look to see […]
It’s Time for the Blue Jays to Trade Kevin Pillar
I’ve written my fair share of articles on Kevin Pillar over the years, most of them praising him and looking optimistically at his future with the Blue Jays. However, this one is not going to be like the others. This one is going to advocate for the Blue Jays to trade Kevin Pillar. Everybody knows […]
Which of 2017’s Disappointing Blue Jays are Poised to Bounce Back?
It should go without saying at this point, but just in case you weren’t paying attention for the last six months or so, not a lot went right for the Blue Jays this season. It could also be said that way more than expected did go right for the team in 2015 and 2016, but […]
Imagining the Ridiculously Athletic Jays Outfield of the Future
We’ve seen Anthony Alford in the big leagues. He struck out a bunch and reached base just once, but the hit tool isn’t why he was 93rd on Baseball Prospectus’ annual prospect rankings. Baseball Prospectus’ latest eyewitness scouting report from Steve Givarz gives him a 55 glove grade and 70 speed grade. Alford was fresh off […]
Which Blue Jays are Putting the Barrel on the Ball?
Back in February I wrote an article around the Statcast ‘Barrels’ metric and how the Blue Jays (new and returning) stacked up in regards to that metric. If you haven’t heard much about Barrels and their ‘official’ definition, that article would be a great spot to brush up on them. You can see the leaderboard here. Just […]
Kevin Pillar Needs to Do Better
I wasn’t watching the game last night. I was cursorily following along on Twitter when I saw that tensions between Atlanta and the Blue Jays were getting high. It started because Jason Motte quick pitched, and in response, Kevin Pillar appeared to have yelled a homophobic slur at him. That’s unacceptable. That should be grounds for […]
Kevin Pillar Is Making Good on his Offseason Promises
Every week in this space, we’re going to be running down the “Hitter of the Week” for the Toronto Blue Jays. This won’t always be the best hitter, but it will always be someone who did something notable that we can break down further. Using information from games through Friday (Saturday-Friday), we will try to […]
How Kevin Pillar Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Plate Discipline
DUNEDIN – Compared to years past, the Blue Jays Spring Training camp this season has been relatively quiet. There have been no outlandish contract demands from star players, no soul-crushing injuries to fan favourites, and no prospects taking everybody by surprise. That’s probably a good thing. Spring Training narratives tend to be distractions for players, and […]
One Potential Fix for Kevin Pillar’s Hitting Woes
Late last week, Gideon Turk wondered what would happen if Kevin Pillar were more like Vladimir Guerrero. The seemingly ridiculous question was actually anything but, predicated on the idea that Guerrero was unnaturally good at getting hits when he made contact on balls out of the zone, whereas most of Pillar’s such contact turns into […]