The Toronto Blue Jays are now in possession of one of the two American League Wild Card spots after abusing the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend.
They are 80-63, tied with the Boston Red Sox for the first Wild Card berth and one game ahead of the New York Yankees, who are currently out of the postseason if the campaign ended today.
Toronto made some impressive pitching additions over the trade deadline, most notably adding Jose Berrios.
They already had Hyun-Jin Ryu, impressive rookie Alek Manoah, and Cy Young candidate Robbie Ray.
But the true strength of the organization relies on its impressive offense.
The Most Powerful Offense In Baseball
Toronto has scored 757 runs so far this season, the second-best total of all 30 MLB teams.
Only the AL East leaders, the Tampa Bay Rays, have crossed home plate more than the Blue Jays, with 775 runs.
With Wander Franco on the injured list, and the way Toronto is hitting (they scored 44 runs in two days, playing three games in total), there is a good chance that the Blue Jays finish with the top-ranked offense in baseball when all is said and done in early October.
None of that will matter if the Blue Jays aren’t able to secure a place in the playoffs, but their recent surge means they are well on their way to do just that.
There is just too much firepower in the Jays’ lineup.
The Jays really put up 11 runs in an inning last night and then said let’s do it again today and put up 10.
The offense on this team is just insane!#WeAreBlueJays #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/FP6cm1GhnB
— VG Vlad 🎮 (@SensRapsJays) September 12, 2021
The Blue Jays are second in runs per game, with 5.3, and are also second in hits per game with nine.
They are second in batting average (.267), fourth in OBP (.333), first in slugging percentage (.466), first in OPS (.799), and first in total home runs (230).
A regular player would likely be extremely happy with an OPS of .800: well, the Blue Jays average that as a group.
The unit is led by one of the best hitting talents of our generation: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
A Generational Hitting Talent And A Fantastic Supporting Cast
Vladdy is slashing .319/.408/.610 with 44 home runs and 102 RBI.
He is currently trying to win the first offensive Triple Crown in MLB since peak Miguel Cabrera did it in 2012.
That would be some pretty good company.
Guerrero is currently topping the leaderboards in homers and average, and is very close on the RBI, too.
Besides Guerrero, the lineup has absolutely no weak spots.
Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk (.865 OPS) form a pretty good catching tandem.
Guerrero is the regular first baseman, while Marcus Semien, the majors’ leader in WAR in the last three seasons, is having the best year of his career: .272/.342/.547 with 39 home runs, 37 doubles, 103 runs, and 94 RBI.
What MLB player has the highest WAR in 2021 at 6.7? That would be Toronto's Marcus Semien: 39 HRs, 37 doubles, 103 runs, 94 RBIs, 15 SB. Blue Jays got a steal for $18 mil. All John Fisher could think about was saving money letting Semien go, A's may pay price missing playoffs.
— Carl Steward (@stewardsfolly) September 13, 2021
The steady Bo Bichette is the shortstop, while Jake Lamb and Breyvic Valera have been sharing third base duties in Cavan Biggio’s absence.
The outfield is absolutely explosive: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is having perhaps the best hitting stretch of his life and has a solid .802 OPS for the season; Teoscar Hernandez is up to 27 blasts with a .878 OPS, and George Springer’s .920 OPS represents yet another weapon, in his case, at the top of the lineup.
As long as most of those hitters remain healthy, the Blue Jays will have the best offense in baseball.
Leave a Reply