Season at a Glance #1 – Ken Giles & Vlad Jr.

Welcome to the first instalment of Season at a Glance. In this series, each week we will highlight the performances of two Blue Jays players over the previous season. We’ll take a look at their individual numbers, analyze how they’re progressing, and evaluate them in comparison to the rest of the league. Today we are going to look at closing pitcher Ken Giles and star rookie third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

When the Blue Jays traded previous closing pitcher Roberto Osuna to the Houston Astros in exchange for Ken Giles in late 2018, it was met with heavy criticism. Osuna was young, and many thought him to be the long-term closer for the Blue Jays. Giles on the other hand was slightly older, and was coming off his worst statistical season as a closing pitcher. Well in 2019, Giles did his best to prove everyone wrong by putting up one of the best seasons in his career. Thanks to his above average fastball that regularly hits 100mph and his devastating slider, Ken reminded us all why his nickname was “100 Miles Giles.” Let’s take a look at some noteworthy stats from his 2019 season:

• Converted 23/24 save opportunities (95.8% conversion rate – ranked 1^st in MLB     among all qualified closers)
• 14.09 K/9 (ranked 4^th in MLB among all qualified closers)
• 1.87 ERA over 53 IP

Giles is entering the last year of his contract and will become a free agent for the 2021 season. If he is able to put up another season with similar numbers to 2019, the Blue Jays will need to give some serious thought to resigning him long-term.

Vlad Jr. was perhaps the most highly touted prospect the Blue Jays have had in decades. He was ranked the top prospect in all of baseball, and it is safe to say there was a bit of hype for his debut season. He was destroying minor league pitching to the tune of a .381/.437/.636 slash line in 2018, and everyone wanted to see what he could do at the major league level.

Considering the amount of hype surrounding Vlad’s debut, many call his first season in the big leagues a disappointment. Here’s some notable stats in his 2019 season:

• .272/.339/.433 slash line across 123 games
• 15 HR and 69 RBI
• 2.1 WAR

Perhaps the most memorable moment of Vlad’s debut season was his participation in the Home Run Derby at the 2019 MLB All-Star game. Many believed it was premature to have Vlad in the Derby, since he was only still a rookie. Vlad put any doubt to rest by setting a new single-round record of 29 home runs, and a new record for total home runs hit in a single Derby (91). Though his final placement in the contest was 2^nd, he put on one hell of a show, and we’re looking forward to seeing what he has in store for the 2020 season.