Top 5 Toronto Blue Jays’ Players of April

Toronto Blue Jays' Top 5 Players of the First Month

The first month of the 2013 season is not what the Toronto Blue Jays had in mind when they went out and signed Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Melky Cabrera in the off season. This was supposed to be the year the Jays would be contending for their first AL title in 20 years, but instead they are sitting dead last with a record of 9-17 with one game left in the month.

This is the team’s poorest showing in the month of April since 2004, when they finished 7-15. Coincidentally, that was the same year that John Gibbons took over for then-manager Carlos Tosca, in his first stint as bench boss for the Jays.

This year started off on the wrong note when Brett Lawrie was injured at the World Baseball Classic, and it hasn’t stopped from there. From Reyes’ ankle injury that will keep him out until the All-Star break, to minor injuries from Jose Bautista, Johnson and R.A Dickey, the Jays have seen their fair share of the disabled list in the first month.

Not to mention, the starting pitching has been horrific, the fielding has been nothing special, and the bats haven’t been able to get anything going. But for once, we’re not going to talk about the negative anymore, and take a look at the bright spots for the Jays in April. Even sitting last place in the AL, the Jays have had a few welcome surprises to start the year.

Here are the top five players for the month of April.

Follow Blue Jays Writer Robert Johnson on Twitter: @robert337733

5. Brett Cecil

Brett Cecil has been the best Toronto Blue Jays’ reliever this season. The 26-year-old has found his home in the bullpen and is making the best of it. He leads the team with appearing in 13 games this year, second in both ERA (1.23), and hits allowed (8). The only thing that could be a concern to the Jays is that Cecil usually comes in when the other team is winning by multiple runs. It should be interesting to see how he does in tighter games down the stretch.

4. Casey Janssen

Casey Janssen has seen very limited action in the first month of the season due to the fact that the Jays are rarely leading heading into the ninth inning. But when Janssen has got the call from the bullpen, he’s been lights out. In eight appearances, he has yet to allow a walk while striking out eleven. He has six saves in as many chances, while only allowing three hits. It will be a treat if we get to see more of Janssen throughout the year. He’s the real deal.

3. Adam Lind

This may come as a surprise to some people, but Adam Lind has been really good in April. If you look at his main offensive stats, home runs (0) and RBIs (3) he’s not having a good season at all. But it’s the other things Lind is doing at the plate that make him No. 3 on this list. His on base percentage is .404, which is almost a full point higher than the next closest. He’s walked 12 times, while only striking out five times. He’s finally getting into hitter counts, and taking full advantage of it. If Lind can keep these numbers up, his offensive stats will come shortly.

2. Edwin Encarnacion

Edwin Encarnacion started off the season slow with only two home runs and eight RBIs in the first 20 games, but since then, he’s been on a similar pace to his breakout season of last year. He has eight hits in his last seven games, with five of them coming from the long ball. He currently leads the team with 16 RBIs and second in home runs with seven. His play at first base has been solid as well with no errors in the first month. The only thing that’s a bit of a concern is his batting average: he’s currently hanging around the Mendoza line.

1. J.P. Arencibia

J.P. Arencibia is No. 1 on the list of the best Toronto Blue Jays’ for the month of April. He started the season off with a rough first game where he couldn’t handle Dickey’s knuckleball, but since then he has been a man on a mission. Sure his strikeouts are high (37) and he is well on pace for his third straight 100+ strikeout season, but Arencibia has brought so much to the team in the first month. He leads the team in slugging and home runs with eight, and is second in RBIs with 15. Despite his all-or-nothing approach, he still has a very respectable .242 average, which would be a career-high for him. If he keeps these numbers up, he’ll finish with 52 home runs and 100 RBIs. Not too bad at all.