From the fears of being stuck in a perpetual loop of mediocrity to becoming the hottest team in baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays’ upswing is the product of a new coach and roster-wide consistency.
After the Maple Leafs once again fell short in their quest to bring another Stanley Cup back to Toronto, the collective sigh of disappointment from Toronto fans might not have been solely due to the team’s continual failings. For me, at least, the preconceived knowledge that the frustrating state of the Blue Jays is what I and many others would be stuck watching throughout the summer was only salt in the wound.
When I last wrote about the Jays, I emphasized their roller coaster quality: going through winning periods and losing periods, and bats becoming hot and cold at different stretches of time. I felt that their mediocrity was no different from last season and should be known as the standard for this team, given the previous 30 or so years.
Their record was 27- 28. They had won a series against the Texas Rangers after being swept in humiliating fashion against their divisional rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, as we have reached the all-star break, if you told me they’d go 28-13 afterwards, and in turn, become one of the hottest teams in baseball while taking a two-game division lead in the AL East, I’d be at a loss for words. Not to mention setting a new franchise record for most wins before an all-star game,
This is the team Jays fans should expect, given their payroll being the fifth highest in the league. They now have a better record than the mighty New York Yankees and New York Mets, two teams with the third and second-highest payrolls, respectively. It is safe to say that expectations for this time of year have been met.
Blue Jays Are Doing Anything and Everything To Hit!
So what’s their secret? Well, they’ve been searching for consistency up and down the roster since the second half of 2021. Scoring enough runs to win games, and preventing enough runs to win games. The offence finally bailed out the rotation and bullpen for the most part. The Jays have become an elite contact team; they have almost always been able to put the ball in play in one way or another this season. The Jays have the lowest strikeout rate in the MLB, only striking out 17.8% of the time when considering every at-bat, which is crucial in trying to run up a pitch count and getting men on base.
The Blue Jays have racked up 787 hits this season, the sixth most in baseball. Their batting average is .258, the fourth highest in baseball, and their OBP is .329, the third highest in baseball. Their lack of power is made up for by sheer contact ability. In 2025, the Blue Jays have found any way possible to achieve the bottom line, scoring runs. This hot offence has translated to a shocking number of wins and success that fans did not see coming back in May.
Much of this success at the plate can be attributed to newly hired hitting coach Dave Popkins. Popkins stated that his philosophy on hitting involves being situational and practicing many different offensive approaches depending on the team and situation. Early results are bearing incredible fruits, showing us that it is something the Blue Jays have lacked as a unit until now.
The Stars of The Show!
Surprisingly enough, the Blue Jays’ offence hasn’t relied on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. but rather, left-handed threat Addison Barger, who did not even make the team out of training camp. As well as, of all players, veteran outfielder George Springer. Barger’s upbringing in Buffalo has made him a hard-hitting, clutch bat with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs, making him an instant fan favorite in Toronto.
The biggest surprise has been Springer and his comeback season. The 35-year-old has found a fire that has not been seen from him since 2021, which is what should be expected given he’s the second-highest-paid player on the team. He leads the team in home runs and RBIs with 16 and 53, respectively. He’s able to deliver home runs and hits when the team needs them. He’s also benefited from the team-wide ability to create contact and find the best spot to crush baseballs. His last two series going into the break saw a bit of a dip in production, but hopefully, some rest during the All-Star break is all he needs to catch fire again.
Bo Bichette is also seemingly back after a nightmare 2024 campaign filled with injury concerns and trade rumours. In 2025, Bichette has smashed 111 hits, the fifth most in baseball, along with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs.
If you’re a pitcher up two strikes in the count, you better hope you’re not facing Alejandro Kirk and his .317 batting average with two strikes.
When you think about the lineup with those pieces, as well as additional hitting depth such as Davis Schneider, Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes, Tyler Heineman, and Myles Straw, you start to realize the potential of the roster. This is with the bats of Daulton Varsho, Andres Gimenez, and Anthony Santander, who are currently removed from the lineup due to injuries, making this sustained period of success all the more impressive.
Suppose those three can get healthy and maintain an equal production level as the rest of the group. In that case, we will be looking at a lineup that could terrify opponents come September and possibly October.
Still Room for Improvement?
Despite all of this, there are still some less-than-ideal flaws apparent. First off, Guerrero. Concerns about his performance are starting to heat up. He only has 12 home runs and 46 RBIs in the first half despite having 97 hits. He’s been playing All-Star worthy baseball, but are those numbers up to the standards of a superstar caliber player? Now, he does have a lot of time to prove he’s worth his $500 million mega extension, and the hope of being able to sign other big names now is enough of a reward, but as of now, he could be doing a lot more to help out the team.
Another surprising weakness has been pitching. It’s been good enough to propel the Blue Jays to first place in the AL East over the last few weeks, but room for improvement remains. The pitching staff has a collective ERA of 4.19, has given up 375 runs and 118 home runs, 24 more than the team has hit itself. Bowden Francis and Yimi Garcia have become victims of the injury bug, and the team could use them to pitch in the form they had last season. Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt have been surprisingly inconsistent as of late. Jose Berrios has been the most consistent of the bunch. With Max Scherzer and Eric Lauer only being able to pitch around 4-6 innings a game, it stresses the bullpen often and leaves the unit with very few options in many games.
This is why the Blue Jays’ priority is to go all in on pitching at the deadline. Ross Atkins and company cannot let this opportunity to have a team with World Series contention potential slip past them.
The Jays are 14 games over .500 and have the lead in a very competitive AL East. The Jays were also the first team in the division to reach 50 wins, all while being in a spot the franchise hasn’t been in this late into a season since 2016.
The time to win is now, and for Atkins, especially amongst Blue Jays fans who have made no secret of their disdain towards him, this trade deadline is finally his chance for redemption.