Making the Grade: The Outfield

The fourth and final segment of "Making the Grade" will be Toronto's outfielders. Beyond Jose Bautista (who even split time at third base), the outfield saw a lot of new faces throughout the year, with the end of season outfield looking vastly different than the Opening Day version. This list will be for outfielders who finished the season with the major league club, or played in 40 games with the club throughout the duration of the season.

Part I Making the Grade: The Starters
Part II Making the Grade: The Bullpen
Part III Making the Grade: The Infield

RF Jose Bautista (31)
513 AB, .302/.447/.608 (1.056 OPS), 24 2B, 2 3B, 43 HR, 103 RBI, 9 SB, 132/111 BB/K

I wrote a post in June describing how Jose Bautista is the Toronto Blue Jays, and while his final slash line is slightly less impressive than his midseason slash line, nothing has changed. Bautista is the premier offensive player in Major League Baseball. While the home runs dropped off from his franchise record 54 in 2010, he still led baseball in the category once again, while putting together a much better all around season. American League pitchers and managers took notice, intentionally walking him 24 times (132 total) after doing so only twice (100 total) last season. Prior to the season I predicted a .272/.391/.563 (.954 OPS) slash line with 39 home runs and thought myself bold. Joey Bats exceeded even the most demanding expectations.

Grade: A+

RF Adam Loewen (27)
32 AB, .188/.297/.313 (.610 OPS), 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 3/13 BB/K

Loewen put together a strong season with Triple-A Las Vegas, earing himself a September callup. While he displayed a nice swing and impressive power, I was a little confused by his plate approach. He often seemed more inclined to work the count than to swing, even when the pitch was very hittable. As a former pitcher he obviously wants to try and think along with the opposing pitcher to discover the pitch sequence and get an edge, but such an approach put him in far too many two-strike counts. Loewen would do well for himself to show a bit more aggression early in the count.

Grade: C+

CF Colby Rasmus (25)
471 AB, .224/.298/.391 (.688 OPS), 24 2B, 6 3B, 14 HR, 53 RBI, 5 SB, 50/116 BB/K

While the sky is the limit for Rasmus, he didn't look great in his brief stint with Toronto late in the season. Across 35 games (133 AB), Rasmus hit only .173/.201/.316 with an ugly 5/39 BB/K ratio. The struggles are understandable, as he was moving to the American League for the first time and was in the middle of the most stressful season of his life. Given the disrespect LaRussa shows Rasmus in the media, it's difficult to even fathom the venom that was spewed behind closed doors. With a fresh start Rasmus should be much better in 2012, but his late season struggles left a bit of a sour taste in the mouths of Blue Jays fans.

Grade: C-

CF Rajai Davis (31)
320 AB, .238/.273/.350 (.623 OPS), 21 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 34 SB, 15/63 BB/K

Rajai's season got off to a poor start with a pulled hamstring in the season opener, and he was never able to fully get on track before eventually tearing his hamstring in August. Despite the injury and offensive struggles, we did learn where Davis can be effective moving forward. The leadoff experiment failed miserably (.483 OPS in 24 games hitting 1st), but Davis did show some comfort hitting in the back of the lineup (.720 OPS in 17 games hitting 9th). He hit lefties extremely well (.288/.367/.463), but was a black hole against righties (.221/.239/.313). This translates into an obvious 2012 platoon in left field, splitting time with whoever of the two lefties (Thames, Snider) makes the team out of spring training.

Grade: C

LF Eric Thames (24)
362 AB, .262/.313/.456 (.769 OPS), 24 2B, 5 3B, 12 HR, 37 RBI, 2 SB, 23/88 BB/K

Despite putting together an impressive spring, Thames was sent to Triple-A in April. He crushed PCL pitching with a 1.033 OPS in 53 games, earning a promotion to Toronto that he would not relinquish. While there was a stretch in late August in which he looked positively awful, Thames still had a solid debut season. His bat speed and power are unquestionable, but his plate coverage is poor with a lot of holes in his swing. He probably won't ever be a full time player. His defense came as advertised, which is not a good thing. According to FanGraphs, Thames was the 5th worst defender (minimum 350 PA) in left field, behind only Raul Ibanez, Logan Morrison, Michael Morse, and Juan Pierre.

Grade: B+

LF Travis Snider (23)
187 AB, .225/.269/.348 (.616 OPS), 14 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 9 SB, 11/56 BB/K

If Brandon Morrow was the biggest disappointment on the pitching side, Travis Snider takes the cake for the hitters. Snider was expected to step in as the full time left fielder and work his way into the heart of the Blue Jays lineup. That didn't happen. Snider was demoted to the minors in late April to "simplify his swing". After a couple months on the farm, Snider rejoined the big club during the summer. He got off to a hot start, demolishing the Red Sox in his first series back. Things went downhill after that, culminating in a demotion back to Triple-A as a roster spot was needed for the phenom, Brett Lawrie. Snider was expected to return as a September callup, but a wrist injury ended his season prematurely. Many Blue Jays fans have soured on Travis, but he's still only 23 and deserves another chance to prove his worth. His tools are miles ahead of Eric Thames' (power included), and I have no doubt he can win the left field job next season if given a fair opportunity. With that being said, 2011 was a colossal failure.

Grade: F