Farrell sees big potential for Lind, McGowan
Posted February 17, 2012 2:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
John Farrell has high hopes for Adam Lind this coming season.
The Blue Jays bench boss expects Lind to regain his consistency and confidence at the plate after an erratic season in his first year as a full-time first baseman.
“If he can avoid the DL stint or not such a prolonged slump, we’re looking at a 30 home run guy at first base and I think anybody in baseball would probably sign up for that,” Farrell told Jeff Blair on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Friday morning.
Lind finished with 26 home runs, 87 RBIs but only a .251 batting average in 125 games last season.
BLUE JAYS AUDIO Listen to John Farrell
Farrell was thrilled with how well Lind played defensively at first base, and believes he can return to the level he was producing at when he won a Silver Slugger award as a designated hitter in 2009.
“I think he’s more confident coming into this spring training as our first basemen,” Farrell explained. “But at the same time, he missed the 25 or so days with the lower back issue and then he went into the prolonged slump towards the latter portion of last season and yet he still hit (26) home runs.”
Farrell needs starting rotation to improve
The Jays second-year manager knows that if his team has an Achilles’ heel, it is the youth and inexperience in the starting rotation.
Unfortunately, GM Alex Anthopolous was unable to bring in any veterans via free agency or trade so the Blue Jays will rely on what essentially is the same unit from last season.
Farrell, who was one of the most highly-regarded pitching coaches before taking the managerial role in Toronto, said the team’s major emphasis in spring training will be getting his starting staff to improve their consistency and provide a lot more innings than they were able to last season.
“There’s still areas of improvement that we can go through,” he said. “Not only from offensive side, but stressing an emphasis on the starting rotation. We need a greater number of innings pitched from that group to carry us through a full season in a year we feel like we can contend in.
“A vast majority of the pitching staff that ended last year is returning, especially in the rotation, and that’s what we’re going to hit it from Day 1 and continue to build upon it as we go through the six-weeks in Florida.”
Dustin McGowan, was singled out as one of the starting pitchers who has caught Farrell’s eye since arriving in Florida.
“He’s coming into camp and he’s going to be mainstreamed with the other starters building move,” Farrell told Blair. “That means normal side days in between starts. A gradual progression that every starter is going to go through by adding additional innings every start … The way he is throwing now and the frequency of his bullpens to date, it’s pointing in a positive direction.”
McGowan, who is currently projected as the No. 5 starter in the Jays rotation, went 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in 21 innings in his brief stint last season.
