Entrenched in one of the tightest playoff races in Florida State League history, the Dunedin Blue Jays offence has been firing on all cylinders, while the rotation is as thin as it has been all season. Since Dustin McGowan made his final start in Dunedin last Friday, on August 5, 2011, the Dunedin roster has had many alterations. Whether by promotion or due to injury, the biggest target of Dunedin’s remodeling, has been their starting rotation. Here is the latest news since McGowan was promoted to Double – A New Hampshire to continue his rehab.

Aside from Dustin McGowan, the Dunedin Blue Jays have lost both Deck McGuire and Nestor Molina to promotions to New Hampshire. Making matters worse, they have spent the better part of the first half of August, without closer Wes Etheridge. Etheridge, the FSL’s leader in saves, has been recovering from a knee injury. Due to his ailment, the Blue Jays have had a revolving door of closers, from Matt Wright to Aaron Loup to Justin Phillabaum. Meaning to say, the safety net of the ninth inning has been more or less a gamble during the last few weeks.

However, while the pitching rotation and bullpen have experienced a plethora of issues the last nine days, the offence has stayed relatively intact. Primarily led by Brad Glenn, Sean Ochinko and John Talley, Dunedin’s offence has grown in spades the last week or so, as the entire lineup, one through nine has contributed.

Throughout the Jays recent run, Brian Van Kirk, Kevin Ahrens, Ivan Contreras and Ryan Goins have all stepped up to the plate. The emergence of these aforementioned players, along with the consistency of catcher AJ Jimenez has allowed the Dunedin offence to average roughly four runs per game.

This in turn, has allowed the Dunedin Blue Jays to stay in contention in the ever daunting FSL North division. Standings wise, fans may be confused by the Blue Jays current predicament. Essentially, the Jays are technically six games back of North division leader Daytona in the overall standings, which combines the first and second half of the season. Yet, the FSL operates on the possibility of the first and second half division leaders being completely different teams. Meaning to say, thanks to the current Blue Jays offensive output, Dunedin is in first place over Daytona by one game, with a record of 27 – 23.

In theory, if the Jays can get some reinforcements to strengthen the starting rotation, and the bullpen tandem of Scott Gracey and Aaron Loup continue to close out games, Dunedin should have a shot at winning the FSL title in the playoffs. With 18 games remaining, things could come down to the wire in the standings. Let’s hope the Dunedin Blue Jays have the mental toughness to stay the course and finish out the season on a positive.