By: Jay Blue and @JaysGirlEmily

Blue Jays From Away

Now that the season is over, the crew at Blue Jays from Away will take a look at the Blue Jays one by one and review how each player’s season went, whether he met expectations (or not) and look at how he fits into (what we think of) the Blue Jays’ plans going forward.

Matt Dermody had a similar rise to the one that Kendall Graveman had a couple of years ago, except that Dermody had a head start of one level. Dermody was on the club’s radar in spring training but he only got into one big league game, striking out the only batter he faced.

Starting in Dunedin, Graveman was pretty dominant at the Advanced-A and Double-A levels with a 1.42 ERA and .568 OPS against in 38 innings, walking just three and striking out 41. Moved up to Buffalo, some cracks appeared as Dermody had a 2.76 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over 16 1/3 innings, striking out only six and walking five.

A September call-up, Dermody threw three innings over five appearances at the major league level, allowing six hits and four runs but struck out five.

As a lefty specialist, I wouldn’t put too much faith in Dermody without some improvement. Lefties had better results against him this year than righties did and that won’t help him clear a path to the majors on a more permanent basis. Still, Dermody, 26, is one of a group of Blue Jays’ minor league relievers who have distinguished themselves in the minors, giving the club some promising depth over the coming years.

Contract Status

Dermody is on the 40-man roster and still has all three options remaining.

Emily Says

Matt Dermody made his MLB debut on September 3, pitching two-thirds of an inning in a blowout game in Tampa. He got his first major-league strikeout in that game, and gave up two hits who did not score. His next appearance was in Boston, when he gave up two runs over 1.2 innings in another blowout game.

He had three more outings over the rest of the season, including two in which he gave up a run and left the game without getting an out. He allowed 4 runs over 3.0 innings across five games, giving him an inflated ERA of 12.00. He also allowed six hits, struck out five, and didn’t walk anybody.

Dermody also made a memorable off-field appearance during the Blue Jays clinching celebrations when he streaked through the clubhouse in his underwear after the team clinched a wild-card spot. He did not make the playoff roster (although that was likely unrelated to his party antics).

Regular Season Grades

Jay: D-
Emily: D-