Can the Blue Jays hold on to the top spot in the AL East solely on unsung heroes?
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The Toronto Blue Jays are the top team in the AL East with the All-Star break around the corner, and it isn't just the familiar faces leading the charge.
The team put together its longest winning streak in 10 years, rattling off 10 straight wins from the end of June to Tuesday, including a four-game sweep of the rival New York Yankees, which was the first time in franchise history that feat was achieved - and at 54-39, they own a 2.5-game lead in the division standings.
Entering the season back in March, one would expect the likes of perennial All-Stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette to be carrying the load in that situation, or any of the veteran pitchers in Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt or Jose Berrios to be providing vintage performances.
But that hasn't been the case, and manager John Schneider has been very pleased with that fact.
He joined Jeff Passan on ESPN's Baseball Tonight podcast on Wednesday to discuss the contributions of the unsung heroes on the team, and what his expectations are moving forward in a promising season.
The face at the centre of that extended run was veteran outfielder George Springer, who took home American League Player of the Week honors for the beginning of July after hitting .429 with five homers, 13 runs batted in and nine runs scored.
Springer was approaching irrelevance in the Blue Jays' lineup entering the season, after hitting a career-worst .220 in 2024 with a career-worst on-base plus slugging of .674. His case wasn't helped by a disastrous showing in Spring Training in which he finished four-for-37, good for a .108 batting average in 15 games.
"George is probably leading the charge in [the] 'unsung hero' [category]," Schneider said. "I remember in Spring Training he was like 2-for-35 and everyone was like 'oh God, George is cooked,' and he was going through a pretty deliberate swing change and approach change at that time. He's been so instrumental to what we've done, not only with his performance but in the clubhouse."
Springer leads the team in home runs (16), runs batted in (53) and on-base plus slugging (.883) in what has been a career revival for him at age 35.
In the case of Blue Jays all-star first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr., the barking has picked up even in the midst of one of the team's most meaningful hot streaks in a decade.
When the team's 10-game winning streak came sputtering to a halt on Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to the White Sox on Chicago's South Side in one of the team's sloppier efforts in weeks, Guerrero instantly became the flashpoint for the modest failure.
Some ugliness on the bases, an 0-for-4 afternoon at the plate, even as Blue Jays marketers pumped up the fact that his next hit would be his 1,000th with the Jays plus some clear frustration from him and, once again, Guerrero's impact is being questioned.
Some of it is rooted in fact: Guerrero continues to lag in terms of impact as the power hitter that resolutely drives the offence and, as such, is on pace for his lowest home run output in his seven big league seasons.
Some of it is rooted in selective criticism as well, ignoring the fact that Guerrero still is an elite hitter who is treated as such by opposing pitchers and, by MLB standards, is doing just fine.
And yes, some of the criticism fired Guerrero's way is over the top.
But when a $500-million US extension was gifted him from the bottomless pit of owner Rogers Communications back in April, the baseball benevolence was always supposed to buy more than that.
Thus far in July, he is just 7 for 32 at the plate, leading to a .219 batting average and .342 on base percentage, easily Guerrero's worst month this season in those categories a third of the way through.
Sure, he's hitting the ball hard, but with just one homer in his past 13 games and 12 on the season (which has him in a four-way tie for second among Jays and four behind resurgent team leader George Springer) he's easily headed for his lowest long ball total as a Jays.
None of this is to suggest that Guerrero isn't an elite player, a star in his sport and one of the most popular athletes in the country.
He is about to become a five-time all-star, headed to Atlanta next week, though it could be argued that is more as a result of the popular vote than performance thus far in 2025.
In Toronto, he's expected to be more superstar than showman though, especially now that he's being paid as such.
There has been plenty to feel good about with this Jays team with the steady stream of uplifting contributions from players such as Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider and more.
Addison Barger is the new beast in the East these days and he virtually came from out of no where.
Utility infielder Ernie Clement has taken an unusual path to the Blue Jays lineup. A fourth-round draft pick in 2017 by Cleveland, he toiled in the minors for four years before getting a chance with the Guardians in 2021.
He bounced around before landing with the Blue Jays, and took his first extended opportunity in the majors in 2024 and ran with it. After hitting .263 over 139 games a year ago, Clement has shown he is a legitimate major league player in an impressive campaign this year.
"I think Ernie has really taken a step forward with his game," Schneider said. "He jumps out for sure, just a steady presence, and has gone from journeyman to getting thrust into playing every day last year, and figuring out how to do that. Putting the team ahead of himself."
Clement is tied with Guerrero for most games played on the team (91), and his .292 batting average trails only Alejandro Kirk (.306) among lineup regulars. This while making at least 10 appearances at all four spots on the infield.
Outfielder Nathan Lukes has also carved out a role for a team that has focused on base running and contact in order to provide run production. Lukes is a rare hitter this season with more walks (25) than strikeouts (24), and is providing a strong .371 on-base percentage to go with good base running and the ability to play all three outfield spots.
It's something Schneider said he wanted to impress upon the players before Spring Training even began.
"Ernie Clement, Miles Straw, Nathan Lukes, these guys, they know what they're good at," Schneider said. "[Hitting coach David Popkins] said from day one: when you're in the batter's box, it's like a golfer, you gotta know what club to take out of the bag. So if you're taking the driver out in every single pitch, every single count, you're going to have a lot of swing and miss. So I think taking some shots early or taking some shots when you are in advantage counts, yes, and when you fall behind you go back and you take out the pitching wedge and you say 'I gotta grind, I gotta do whatever I can to put the ball in play,' and guys have been really, really good at leaning into that."
As Passan points out, the Blue Jays have struck out in just 15.1 per cent of their plate appearances since May 26, more than three per cent better than the second-best team in the majors.
That, combined with a focus and improvement on the bases, has pushed the Blue Jays from 23rd a season ago in runs scored (4.14 per game) to 10th this year (4.59 per game).
If the Blue Jays want to hold on to the top spot in the division, Guerrero will have to have a 2024 like second half because you can only rely on unsung heroes for so long.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 10 | 128 ANSWERS Can the Blue Jays hold on to the top spot in the AL East solely on unsung heroes? Who has been the Biggest surprise for you in the first half of the season? | ||
| George Springer | 59 | 46.1 % |
| Addison Barger | 60 | 46.9 % |
| Ernie Clement | 3 | 2.3 % |
| Nathan Lukes | 6 | 4.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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