Toronto Blue Jays: Randal Grichuk
Randal Grichuk is a talented young player who could finally get closer to his ceiling. The Cardinals traded Grichuk to the Blue Jays back in January for pitchers Dominic Leone and Conner Greene.
Like Stephen Piscotty, Grichuk burst onto the scene in a big way for St. Louis. But since his first full season in 2015, in which Grichuk was one of the best Cardinals hitters, his production has fallen way off. In 2016 and 2017, Grichuk got on base at just a .287 clip.
Grichuk is only 26, though. And there’s still plenty of potential with him. Even though he hasn’t reached base enough lately, he still sports a powerful bat. Over the last three seasons, he’s hit 63 long balls. He’s a solid defensive outfielder as well.
For Grichuk, developing better plate discipline will be the key to marked improvement in 2018. He owned a 30.1% strikeout rate in 2017. So the young outfielder apparently made pitch recognition one of his top priorities this offseaon.
Grichuk is currently slated to be the Blue Jays’ starting right fielder this season. Toronto isn’t expected to compete with New York and Boston for a division title this year. But it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that they win one of the AL Wild Card spots.
This could very well be the season Randal Grichuk gets back on track. If he does, he’ll be an impact bat for a Blue Jays team that already has one of the best hitters in baseball in Josh Donaldson.