The Toronto Blue Jays are familiar with the concept of “depth.” They have had seasons, sometimes in succession, where the depth of their 40-man roster has been the integral component of the team’s success. Reflecting on the Jays’ six AL East division-winning teams, and especially their back-to-back World Series wins in 1992 and 1993, reveals the depth factor that led to the pinnacle of the team’s achievements.
The committed fan base of Canada’s lone MLB franchise, provided they are of a certain age, is quick to recognize the impact that every role player had on the team’s ultimate success. Role players, like those from the “Trenches,” where Ed Sprague, Derek Bell, and Turner Ward sat ready to jump from the bench to provide a clutch hit, home run, or a diving catch in ‘92. Or speedsters, like Dalton Pompey, serving as a pinch-running specialist in the 2015 playoff run.
It is no secret that depth and a roster peppered with players who can fill specific roles on a moment’s notice are essential for a team to contend in MLB.
In recent seasons, despite what appeared to be valiant efforts made by Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins in the Blue Jays front office, the concept of depth has eluded this Blue Jays team. They’ve carried the label of an underperforming cast of young players with potential, but far too many holes to be considered a contender in the AL East.
Not anymore.
The Blue Jays are the hottest team in MLB. They dominated the New York Yankees, sweeping them over four games, the first such sweep at home against the Bombers in Blue Jays history. Then, there was the most recent sweep of a respectable Los Angeles Angels team. Now, after having easily taken the first of three at home from the White Sox, the Blue Jays are alone in first place, with a gap that is becoming larger and more out of reach from all of their division rivals.
Heading into Tuesday night’s game away from the comfortable, air-conditioned confines of the Rogers Centre, the Jays are riding high with confidence, just two wins away from their all-time best win streak of 11 games. With veteran ace Chris Bassitt taking the mound, the odds are heavily stacked in the Blue Jays’ favor.
The starting rotation has always been the one redeeming quality that has kept the Blue Jays afloat, hovering around the .500 mark. They now appear even better in that department, with metrics across the board showing improvements over the past two months. Eric Lauer and the Great Max Scherzer, who both seem healthy and effective, are taking the strain off of a formerly taxed bullpen. As a result, the bullpen has been strong as of late, with Jeff Hoffman regularly converting saves at the back end and even tallying six wins, a rare feat for a closer.
As a team, the Jays sit in the middle of MLB’s pack in terms of overall hitting numbers. Unpacking this further, though, reveals that no one is dramatically underperforming. Conversely, every player on the active roster is contributing to some degree. It might be outfielder Nathan Lukes spraying singles and moving runners when called upon to do so. Or perhaps it’s power-hitting Davis Schneider filling in at second base while platinum-glove winner Andres Gimenez recovers from an ankle sprain. These Blue Jays players are hungry, not just to play, but to win.
There might have been some reasonable assumptions drawn if the Toronto Blue Jays were in first place to begin the month of July. One is that Anthony Santander, Vlad Guerrero Jr., and Bo Bichette are crushing balls out of the yard. Well, that has not exactly been the case. Santander is currently on the 60-day IL with a serious shoulder injury.
As for Vladdy, he is just now starting to turn on the jets and once again become the power hitter and run producer that he is projected to be. Vladdy should take it to the next level in the second half, along with Bo. Fans are hoping for the same rate of daily production to continue from the supporting cast, including Barger, Clement, Kirk, Lukes, Schneider, Straw, Loperfido, and many others. In that case, there might be no other team that can stand in their way in the American League.
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