Five players from the Jays.

And happily we’re back to a much more exciting team to write about! Do I dare talk about Dustin McGowan for the 576th time? Nah, I think it’s all been engrained in your brains by now how much I like him and why. So you’ll just have to read on to find out who I did decide to discuss.

Aaron Hill Patrick seems to love him, and I always like kissing up to him, so I figured I’d praise him as well. Just kidding. But in all honesty, it’s tough to come to a conclusion about what to expect in 2008. On one hand, he pumped up his power to a PX of 114, from only 61 in 2007, as well as his HR/F from 4% to 9%, and hit more flyballs. On the other hand, his contact rate, walk rate, and BB/K ratio all dropped, so it’s possible he became more aggressive to tap into that power. It did seem to work as he increased his OPS by about .080 points, but it’s always tough to believe in a new performance level when a player goes from 6 HRs to 17 in only 60 more ABs. I would probably pay for about 15 HRs with 150 RBIs + RUNs, a couple of steals, and a .290 average, with the knowledge that the power progression could be for real providing for some nice upside.

Alex Rios He continues to put up huge 1st halfs and then dive in the 2nd. Last year it was 17 first half HRs and only 7 in the 2nd half. On the whole, he increased his walk and contact rates and BB/K ratio for the 2nd straight year, while hitting more flyballs. If he could just avoid whatever has plagued his power in the 2nd half and maintain his 1st half level of performance, he could easily hit 30 HRs with a .300 average and 15+ steals. He’s also that magical age of 27, so we all know that will give him a guaranteed boost in production (wink, wink). He’s not being undervalued or anything, but with his power/speed combo, an absolutely monster season can come any year now.

Jesse Litsch Not a pitcher I normally target, but GB rates consistently in the mid 50’s and over in the minors is not something to gloss over. He doesn’t have a great K rate and has only pitched 15 innings in AAA, but he has superb control. The Jays have a pretty good defense which should help him avoid an inflated BABIP. He isn’t going to post another sub-4 ERA, but a low-4 ERA with a WHIP around 1.30-.135 is certainly possible, making him a solid end game pick in AL-Only leagues.

Shaun Marcum I’m really not much of a fan of his. I know he’s been labeled as a sleeper by some, but I don’t see too much upside. He allows too many flyballs, and doesn’t have a high enough K/9 or low enough BB/9 to compensate. He’s certainly a solid pitcher, but I think last year’s ERA is the best we’re going to see unless he figures out how to induce more grounders.

Travis Snider Compared to a young Matt Stairs, he’s considered one of the best hitting prospects in baseball. Only 19 in single-A last year, he posted a .902 OPS following up a .979 OPS in Rookie ball in ‘06 at the age of 18. He still needs to work on making better contact as he struck out 129 times in only 457 ABs, equating to a low 72% contact rate, but he does take a walk, putting up a 9.7% rate last year. I will also caution that his performances have been inflated by a .382 BABIP in ‘06 and .407 in ‘07. Overall, he should be a fun one to follow this year to see if he could improve on his weaknesses.

Questions, comments, criticisms, praise, expert league invitations? Email me at FBGeneralsMike@gmail.com.