Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Addison Barger will become a household name in 2026

When the Toronto Blue Jays were outbid by the Dodgers for free agent Kyle Tuckers services, it meant more internal talent will get opportunities in Toronto's outfield.

Addison Barger is one of those internal talents.

Known for his high-end exit velocities, incredible bat speed, and a bazooka for an arm, Barger is one of the most electrifying players anytime he steps between the lines.

In his first full season in the show, Barger slashed .243/.301/.454 (.756 OPS) along with 21 homers, 74 RBI, and a 107 wRC+.

It wasn't until early May that he started getting consistent at-bats day in and day out, and between then and the trade deadline on July 31st, Barger was a borderline elite bat.

He produced a 133 wRC+ across 296 plate appearances during that time frame while producing pristine batted ball and quality of contact data.

Barger ran a 56.9% hard-hit rate during this stretch, along with a 93.5 MPH average EV/108.3 90th/116.5 Max, and a Z-Contact% of 86.6%, all elite clips.

When you factor all of this in context with the fact that Barger also produces 93rd percentile bat speed and 63rd percentile Sweet-Spot rate (meaning he hits the ball at ideal angles), then you have all the ingredients of a potentially elite power bat.

Barger also rebounded from a brutal end to the season and had one of the best postseason runs by a hitter in a long time.

As most young hitters with Barger's profile go through an adjustment period once pitchers start pitching them differently, once they experience initial success, and this was validated by Barger's fantastic run during the postseason, albeit in the smallest of small sample sizes.

When you have a hitter of Barger's profile, who's now entering his age 26 season with his first full year of the majors under his belt, who showed elite ability for 2+ months, then struggled mightily for the remaining two, before exploding under the brightest of lights, it's impossible not to believe that there's another level of hitter that's about to break out.

Especially if he cleans up his approach at the plate like it looked like he had done during October.

The 26-year-old proved he is an everyday player in 2025, hopefully in 2026 he'll prove to be a star.

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