Toronto Blue Jays

Some of you might be thinking who is J.P. Arencibia. Well Arencibia was drafting No. 21 overall by the Blue Jays in the 2007 draft. He was a highly regarded catcher who could hit for average and for power and he sure made himself known today.

Arencibia went 4-for-5 with two home runs today against the Tampa Bay Rays. His parents were in attendance and they were so happy about what he did. In his first at bat he homered on the first pitch he saw.

Right now, the team playing the best baseball in the AL East Division is without a doubt the Toronto Blue Jays.

In the last week the Blue Jays won series against the two best teams in baseball; first they were in New York winning two of three against the Yankees, then headed home and pounded on the Tampa Bay Rays.

By now this is a broken record in Toronto, the ball club plays well, but is always missing that something to make it into the post-season.

The Blue Jays have announced Friday that starting pitcher Jesse Litsch will miss the remainder of the season with labral tear in his right hip. Litsch will undergo the surgery next month and be lost to the team for four to six months.

The 25-year-old Litsch was 1-5 with a 5.79 ERA in nine starts. The last two years have been pretty injury filled seasons for Litsch who also underwent Tommy John Surgery and was trying to return from that injury.

On Wednesday afternoon against the New York Yankees, starting catcher John Buck injured his thumb and was placed on the disabled list after the game. There's no definite timetable for his return, but he won't be back until Aug. 19 at the earliest. Injuries are never anything to get excited about, but sometimes the player movement that stems from one can cause some excitement.

With catcher John Buck on the 15-day DL, it was the perfect opportunity for the Blue Jays to call up their stud in waiting, J.P. Arencibia . Let's take a quick look at why Blue Jays fans and fantasy owners are getting excited...

AAA Line - .306, 30 HR, 77 RBI    

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ricky Romero was remarkable and his teammates put up another home run show in Yankee Stadium.

The 25-year-old left-hander pitched a two-run complete game, only allowing two hits and a walk.  The Blue Jays’ 8-2 win is their second against the New York Yankees in many nights. 

A.J. Burnett sure wasn't happy to play his old team tonight. The Blue Jays bats ran rampant over the fireballer, knocking him out in the fifth inning after notching seven runs against him. The Blue Jays hit six doubles in the sixth, two of them by Travis Snider.  After the seven-run inning by the Jays that put them up 8-2, New York would come back to score runs in the bottom of the fifth, sixth and ninth. The Bluebirds would hang on though to win the heavy-hitting contest, 8-6.

There is no doubt that the Jays' Jose Bautista is having a terrific season in Toronto. Likewise, the Jays seem willing to part with the right fielder.

But just how much should a club be willing to part with for a guy who suddenly comes out of nowhere to post astronomical numbers that are extremely out of line with his career norms?

Look, in the steroid era, we would be very suspicious of a guy like Bautista, who has already hit 30 homers this season after never having hit more than 16 in a season previously.

The Toronto Blue Jays were widely expected to make a couple moves at the trade deadline this season. Several Jays vets were thought to be in play. But their first move in the last 72 hours before the deadline involved a top prospect, Brett Wallace, instead. An interesting turn of events to say the least - many expected Wallace to come up and play for the Jays at some point this season.

Despite their 52-49 record, the Blue Jays are a full 10 games behind Tampa Bay in the wild card race. With little chance of a postseason berth, Jays' fans seemingly don't have much to be excited about. The biggest holding point of interest right now is the looming trade deadline on Saturday. Any number of Jays vets could get moved between now and then.