Are the Toronto Blue Jays contenders or pretenders? Upcoming twelve game stretch will prove it.

The Toronto Blue Jays entered their series against the Athletics below .500 and three games out of an American League Wild Card spot.

A week ago, it was doom and gloom after getting swept over three games in Tampa, a performance that was about to get almost worse as part of a six-game trip in which the Jays would score a meagre total of six combined runs.

With a resounding four-game sweep, they now sit a half-game back with an important upcoming stretch for their 2025 MLB season hopes.

This week, on a much-welcomed off day, the Jays now are riding a five-game winning streak, the longest meaningful one since late in the 2023 season. (They had a five-gamer last August, but by then had sold off at the trade deadline and were well on their way to the AL East basement).

Not only that, and most impressively, in a four-game brooming of the woeful Athletics over the weekend, the Jays scored a whopping 39 runs, wowing and rejuvenating large Rogers Centre crowds.

The Blue Jays have been wildly inconsistent over the course of their campaign, but are now on the brink of contention ahead of their series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The opinion of many insiders is that Toronto is better positioned to sell ahead of the trade deadline.

However, they are merely 5.5 games back from the New York Yankees to take over the division lead.

Here's what makes the next 12 contests for the Blue Jays critical to assessing their contention in the postseason.

What matters is what happens next, of course, and that begins with a real test against the visiting Phillies, who are in town for a three-game series at the Rogers Centre starting on Tuesday.

Who knows what is sustainable with this team, one which repeatedly fluctuates from three games below .500 to three games above, but the last week accomplished a number of things.

Baseball Reference projections calculate that the Jays odds to make the post-season have jumped 24.7% in the past week, up to 41%.

That's what an explosion of offence will do for a team that suddenly has a run differential that is down to minus-5, the lowest it has been since early in the season.

Again, thank the awful A's for the bump, but the Jays seized upon the opportunity of pounding on a weakling for a run that, if this season ends in success, will be seen as the launching point.

The Phillies, Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals all sit above the .500 mark, and the Twins are the team that the Blue Jays are a half-game back from in the Wild Card race.

Toronto's first task is proving they can sweep an opponent with a winning record. They host Philadelphia in a three-game series at home before heading out for back-to-back road series.

The start at home should help them sustain the recent firepower on offense that was, quietly, second in the league through May with a 124 wRC+.

That's a massive jump from April, where they were No. 26 with an 83 wRC+.

Should they remain consistent through the next 12 games, they'll be able to build up a resume and capitalize on a schedule of weaker opponents through July, including the Athletics and Orioles to close out the month.

First, the Blue Jays must prove they aren't a fluke and show command, particularly on the road, against worthy opponents.

With their next 12 games against opponents that currently have better records than them, we're about to get a better idea of the team's true identity.

With a record of 31-28 in 59 games do you think the Toronto Blue Jays are pretenders or contenders?

Tell us what you think in the poll below.