Toronto Blue Jays 2012 Preview

Will this be the year the Jays can finally overtake New York and Boston in the AL East?  The team will need all its big name players to have big years.  Jose Bautista who has been the teams best player the past few years, should again put up good power numbers and be an All Star.  Toronto will need Ricky Romero to improve on his 11 loss season to lead to the staff that is full of young promising arms.  Colby Rasmus and Kelly Johnson will look to have bounce back years after both struggling and being shipped away from contending teams.  Second year Manager John Farrell will have a solid squad to send out everyday and a deep organization to lean on if needed.  Let's take a look at what the Jays will look like come Opening Day.
Starting Rotation- Romero will be the Opening Day starter and will lead the pitching staff, if he can avoid missing by inches, see MLB.com for video, he should easily eclipse 15 wins again.  Brandon Morrow should be an innings eater and be the #2 man for the rotation.  Brett Cecil will look to return to his 2010 form and hopefully get more than 20 starts.  Henderson Alvarez and Kyle Drabek will round out the rotation and in their first full big league seasons should do big things.
Bullpen- Newly acquired closers Sergio Santos and Francisco Cordero will both compete for the 9th inning job, whoever loses the battle will be the 8th inning setup man.  Another new face, Darren Oliver, will serve as the lefty specialist and a possible setup man role as well.  Casey Janssen will look to duplicate his post All Star game performance.  Veteran Jason Frasor is back in Toronto and will a quality fit in the 'pen.
Catcher- The Jays are stacked at catcher this season, with J.P Arencibia, Jeff Mathis and youngster Travis d'Arnaud.  Arencibia looks to be the starter but will definitely get some competition from Mathis. d'Arnaud will probably start the season in AAA but they are very high on him and should be called up sometime during the season.
Infield- Up the middle the Jays will have to solid veterans in Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson, Escobar will look to build on a good first season in Toronto.  Third base will go to youngster Brett Lawrie, who impressed many in his short stint with the team last year.  Adam Lind will be at first and should provide plenty of power and protection in the lineup.  Look for veteran Edwin Encarnacion to be the infield utility man.
Outfield- This group will be lead by power hitting Jose Bautista, who not only hits the ball well but also plays a good right field.  Rasmus will be center and hope to show the promise he showed in St. Louis in 2010.  Left field will go to Eric Thames but he will have plenty of competition in Spring Training from Rajai Davis and Ben Francisco.
Lineup-
1. Colby Rasmus- Back to 2010 form?
2. Kelly Johnson- Should hit .300+.
3. Yunel Escobar- Not much pop but a good on base guy.
4. Jose Bautista- Another HR Crown will be a tough task.
5. Adam Lind- 30 HR season easy with Joey Bats in front of him.
6. Brett Lawrie- Youngster with lots of pop.
7. Travis Snider- At DH will see lots of pitches to hit.
8. J.P Arencibia- Needs to put up big numbers or will be on the pine.
9. Eric Thames- Nice bottom of the order spark plug.

The Jays are starting to come around in the AL East but look to be a few years away from taking out Boston and New York, heck even Tampa Bay.  Look for them to fall in behind these teams, but with a good young core of guys they will not make it easy.  Expect around the same win total of last year, 80+.  Blue Jay fans have a lot to look forward to, with the rest of the division getting older they are young and will be on top in a few years.  Good luck in 2012 Blue Jay Fans!

-Buddy