The 2015 Toronto Blue Jays have a certain buzz around them thanks to some deft work via the trade and free agency markets, along with the team's reserve of young talent ready to send shockwaves through The Show. Doubters and critics may point to the franchise's 21-season playoff drought as reason enough to discount them, but we're not buying that line of thinking. Here's 3 Reasons Why The 2015 Toronto Blue Jays Can Win The World Series.
1. A true offensive fireworks display
You want runs, Jays fans? You're getting runs. Adding 2014 AL MVP candidate Josh Donaldson and veteran backstop Russell Martin (along with underrated pickup Michael Saunders) to an already potent offense anchored by Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion makes for a starting lineup guaranteed to strike fear in the heart of opposing pitching coaches. One of a few teams in this new dead ball era of Major League Baseball that can bludgeon its way to success at the plate, Toronto's going to be shorting out scoreboards around the league all summer long.
2. Ageless wonders
Yes, RA Dickey is 40 years old and Mark Buehrle is 36. Regardless, both Dickey and Buehrle posted statistical outputs in 2014 on par with some of the work from their "prime" seasons. Both guys have the arsenal of junk and deception to lead this staff once again, and they'll have plenty of young, talented arms (sans Marcus Stroman, sadly) helping them. Those pointing to the rotation as a sign of potential weakness very well could be in for a major surprsise.
3. Russell Martin calling the shots
Here's your Blue Jays X-factor. Martin shuts down opposing running games with his great arm, but it's his pitch-calling and pitch-framing skills that will earn him his money tenfold in Toronto. We're just starting to be able to quantify via statistics just how much a great catcher means to a team when it's in the field, but suffice to say that Martin is the perfect example of a catcher that can make good pitchers great by stealing strikes and masterfully piecing together effective pitch-by-pitch gameplans.
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