Yeah, going after the 41 year old Blanco is an easy target.
For some reason Henry is still at the major league level. Why? Well, I’m sure we could fall back on the Dickey personal catcher, maturity, clubhouse leader traps. But the fact is, Blanco’s internal pitch statistics just SCREAM out that he’s over the hill.
Let’s cast aside Henry’s full-time pitcher like line of .160/.192/.200 , and jump right into a few of the warning signals.
Fastballs (92+ MPH):
Blanco has faced 35 pitches at 92+ MPH this season. He has exactly 1 hit on 21 swings (with 14 takes). Of these 21 swings 8 pitches were fouled off and 7 were misses. The remaining 5 swings were put into play–weakly. Blanco has one of the majors worst WHAV (well-hit averages) on 92+ MPH fastballs.
- Blanco BA on these pitches: .100 (.270 MLB Average)
- Blanco WHAV on these pitches: .100 (.201 MLB Average)
Inside Location:
Anything inside is just eating Blanco up. So far:
- 25 pitches total
- 12 swings
- 5 misses, 5 foul, 2 in play
- Total of 0 hits in 6 outcomes
Well-Hit-Average
And finally, on an overall basis Blanco has exactly one well hit ball… all season. That’s in ten games and eight starts! His WHAV of .040 is by far the worst in the MLB. Even Juan Pierre, with the 7th worst rate in the majors, has a WHAV of .109.
Now yes, sample size is rearing it’s ugly head. But do we really want Blanco to stick around and increase his sample?
It’s time to cut ties and bring up Josh Thole.
By no means is Thole a saviour. But he can catch R.A. Dickey; brings a lefty bat to the lineup; and he’s been on fire down in AAA Buffalo, posting a .352/430/.523 line with an 11/11 K/BB ratio.
The season is far from over. But for the Toronto Blue Jays to claw their way back into respectability they need to start putting their best team of the field. Replacing Blanco isn’t going to turn the season around all by itself but it’s a move in the right direction.
Sources: Stats, Photos via ESPN
