Very interesting that you have d'Arnaud as already the equal of Arencibia in terms of OPS+. Slightly more OBP, slightly less power. I think you might be underrating Henderson Alvarez a touch, but on the whole, very interesting.

What the heck happened to Kyle Drabek? And Travis Snider? Were they not that good to begin with? I remember more than a few Royals fans being pissed they didn't get those two in return for Greinke.

Barry Zito and Wilson Alvarez are Romero's top comps. That doesn't bode well for him having many more good seasons in him.

Jeff Mathis might be able to live up top those comps, especially if his role is limited, say to only get down in a crouch on Friday.

Would we be able to get Litsch, Pererz and Cerrano as relievers? Litsch and Perez are starting the season in the pen, and Cerrano is likely first righty up in it.

Also another season with 7 guys hitting 20 dingers? Should be a fun season.

I'm not surprised, but that's a really nice looking projection for Lawrie.

Bautista is the best player in the sport.

Yep, ZiPS loves it some Lawrie. And another 22-year-old with a better projection than Montero.

Anybody think Encarnacion might be able to handle LF?

And not getting the Rebecca Black comp -- she was a one-hit wonder; Mathis is a no-hit mainstay.

For fun... Bautista's 2010 ZiP: .227/.324/.389

It's probably me being a negative nervous nelly nincimpoop, but I will, with trembling hand, take the under on Bautista. I have no idea why, but I fear the magic may be ending.

Eric Thames is depressingly almost exactly where I figured. I'd really love for him to be a legit starting OF, but I fear it is not to be.

This suggests what I already believe - that D'Arnaud is ready to be the starting catcher now. But I'm guessing it's Arencibia for 2012 (to build trade value and also to give D'Arnaud some more seasoning)

Lawrie = yay!
Rasmus I'd be happy with that

On the pitching side, Henderson Alvarez is an odd guy. He throws very hard, and with crazy movement, but has the K/BB ratio of a Mark Buehrle. He certainly LOOKS like a good pitcher in person...but we all know how much that means.

I've always avoided asking for more projections as I don't want to come off as unappreciative of all the hard work. But this time I'll risk it! Where does Drew Hutchison stand? Or is only 80 innings above A not enough.

Anybody think Encarnacion might be able to handle LF?

Interesting thought. What makes him so horrible at 3B isn't his athleticism so much as it is his inability to throw so it's not as crazy as it sounds at first. I'd suspect no, but who knows. Though oddly enough with all the guys the Jays have talked about playing OF (Rasmus, Thames, Snider, Francisco even Kelly Johnson!) DH seems like the only spot open for E5.

A little disappointed. Was hoping for slightly better for d'Arnaud. Was also hoping to see what ZiPS thought of Deck McGuire. Guess I have to wait another year to see his projections...

Can we get a Frank Francisco projection, since he signed w/ the Mets after their release?

What the heck happened to Kyle Drabek?

Seriously. As a Phils fan I was afraid I would be hitting the Brandy Vann every time I thought about the trade by now.

Calm down folks. :-)

It's not like 253/299/421 is exactly light years better than 229/281/442 ... or anything to get excited about. ZiPS makes D'Arnaud the better defender but it's not like he couldn't use more AAA time to work on the hitting.

Arencibia's debut was against the Rays so I keep getting confused when I see somebody saying something about him not being a very good hitter.

I wouldn't be surprised if Arencibia improved his offensive game this year. Guy won the PCL MVP award; he should be able to do a bit better than this. Maybe not a lot. But some.

Did anyone not notice that Mathis' 3rd comparable is Rebecca Black

Did anyone not notice that Mathis' 3rd comparable is Rebecca Black

See comment 8.

How the hell did that song go viral?

I like the Gose projection.

Blah. The Jays should have taken JA Happ

Though oddly enough with all the guys the Jays have talked about playing OF (Rasmus, Thames, Snider, Francisco even Kelly Johnson!) DH seems like the only spot open for E5.

I might be wrong, but I seem to recall talk last year that the Jays were thinking about putting Encarnacion at left and he was even getting some practice time there, but nothing ever came of it. If I had to guess, I'd say that he could play LF, but I wouldn't necessarily want him to. With the current roster I'd almost rather just sit him down, tell him he's DHing all the time except in case of emergencies so he could just focus on hitting the ball.

What the heck happened to Kyle Drabek?

I feel like a bad Jays fan for being more interested in Chris Woodward's defensive projections than Drabek's line. Although I have to say that I found it fun last season to see how long Drabek could last on the league leaders lists for walks and wilds pitches after he was demoted to Las Vegas. I think it was at least two, maybe three weeks before he dropped off the lists.

Morrow's IP look a little bit low for the number of starts he's projected to make.

I was going to say that it's nice to see Bautista's top comp go from Jack Voigt to Tom Brunansky to Ralph Kiner, but after checking his baseball reference page, I'd be rather upset if Bautista produced 2.7 more WAR and retired after 2013.

See comment 8.

Better yet, see comment 4

Morrow's IP look a little bit low for the number of starts he's projected to make.

Seems about right for a guy with both a lot of K's and a lot of BBs.

Interesting that ZiPS likes Bautista's defense better at third base than in right field.

What the heck happened to Kyle Drabek? And Travis Snider? Were they not that good to begin with? I remember more than a few Royals fans being pissed they didn't get those two in return for Greinke.

Snider always struck out way too much, and eventually he got to a level where it caught up with him. And Drabek, for whatever reason, has never been all that good at missing bats - his record is probably a lot weaker than you remember it being, if you go back and check.

And Drabek, for whatever reason, has never been all that good at missing bats - his record is probably a lot weaker than you remember it being, if you go back and check.

He's also got work ethic issues-- from what I've heard about him, he likes to party, and doesn't take his talent seriously enough.

I did not realize the state of Blue Jay pitching had gotten so bad. Any chance McGowan ever turns back into something useful?

Any chance McGowan ever turns back into something useful?

Well, he pitched a little last year. That's a good start.

I did not realize the state of Blue Jay pitching had gotten so bad.

It's not exactly bad. They've still got a bunch of guys for whom it should never be a surprise if they throw a good game. All kinds of upside potential. But, yes, they could just as easily not work out too.

It's not exactly bad. They've still got a bunch of guys for whom it should never be a surprise if they throw a good game. All kinds of upside potential. But, yes, they could just as easily not work out too.

Morrow didn't take the huge step forward a lot of people were hoping for, Cecil was mediocre, and Drabek tanked. I know the minors look good, but the talent in the majors didn't seem to take any steps forward last year. I think this team can be competitive, especially with all of the upside in the lineup, but I don't expect big things from the pitching until 2013.

I did not realize the state of Blue Jay pitching had gotten so bad.

Big deal, they'll still finish as league average anyway.

I just wanted to voice my appreciation for the Arn Anderson shoutout.

And Drabek, for whatever reason, has never been all that good at missing bats - his record is probably a lot weaker than you remember it being, if you go back and check.

I second this. I never thought of Drabek as the centre-piece of the trade. In fact, he was he piece I was least interested in from the get go. (as it turns out Gose looks like the most promising of the Wallace/Taylor/Gose swaps as well...if only because he hasn't had the opportunity to be a gigantic disappointment yet). For me D'Arnaud was always the guy and Drabek was an interesting, if thoroughly unremarkable arm.

if only because he hasn't had the opportunity to be a gigantic disappointment yet

Trust in the K rate... he'll get there.

I did not realize the state of Blue Jay pitching had gotten so bad.

Big deal, they'll still finish as league average anyway.

I was going to say. Toronto's pitching always looks like a pile of dung coming into the season, and somehow they always seem to find lightning in a bottle.

It's probably me being a negative nervous nelly nincimpoop, but I will, with trembling hand, take the under on Bautista. I have no idea why, but I fear the magic may be ending.

I'll second that, and I don't know why either.

Not much to get excited about in Jays land.

For some reason I have a hunch that this is going to be an up year for the Jays. By which I mean I wouldn't be surprised if they got around 85 wins or so and finished 3rd in the East.

Not much to get excited about in Jays land.

There's Lawrie and Bautista at the core, and a really strong supporting cast-- Escobar, Johnson, Rasmus, and some other still-young hitters who could still develop. Not sure what more you can want out of a team. Lawrie, in particular, should be worth the price of admission. Add in a strong/deep farm and you've got a team that's at least interesting.

I was going to say. Toronto's pitching always looks like a pile of dung coming into the season, and somehow they always seem to find lightning in a bottle.

I wouldn't exactly call it lightning in a bottle. The Jays seem to always find random pitchers than will give them 180 innings with a 96 ERA+ or something. It's helpful, but not so much lightning in a bottle as much as, I dunno, a lit match.

I suppose Cordero signed too late to be included here

I suppose Cordero signed too late to be included here

He's in the Reds ZiPS -- 110 ERA+. That will be lower in the AL.

Any chance at a Wil Ledezma projection?