Blue Jays Week in Review: The Winning Ways Continue

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 7/14 through Sun, 7/20

Record Last Week: 3-0 (Overall: 58-41)
Run Differential Last Week: + 9 (Overall: + 26)
Standings: First Place in AL East (3.0 Games Up on NYY), Second in AL (1.0 GB of DET for first)

Last Week’s Results
Game 97: SF 0  - TOR 4
Bassitt: 6.1 IP, 10 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Springer: 3-4
Loperfido: 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB
Wagner: 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, BB 

Game 98: SF 3 - TOR 6
Lauer: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Barger: 4-4, 2B, R
Heineman: 2-4, HR (3), 3 RBI
Wagner: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Game 99: SF 6 - TOR 8
Berrios: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Guerrero Jr: 2-3, HR (13), 2 RBI, BB
Springer: 2-4, HR (17). 2 RBI
Barger: 1-4, HR (14), 2 RBI

Highlights
Addison Barger: Not even the All-Star break can slow down Addison Barger. Over the weekend series against the Giants, Barger continued on his impressive sophomore season at the plate. He had hits in all three games, including a four-hit performance in the middle game of the series (the first time he’s done that in his career), and he capped that off with a monster 407 ft home run in the series finale. Barger has now moved into second on the team in home runs, despite playing in just 75 games on the season. The 2.2 fWAR has him second on the team as well and has emerged as one of the key contributors to the recent success of the Blue Jays.

Eric Lauer: If Addison Barger isn’t one of the most surprising players on the 2025 Blue Jays, then that title has to belong to Eric Lauer, who put up another stellar performance on Saturday. Lauer started the game striking out five of the first six Giants he faced, and ended up retiring the first 13 batters before allowing a solo home run. When all was said and done, he threw six innings and allowed just two runs. Most importantly, since Lauer has been inserted into the rotation, the Blue Jays are 6-1 in those starts. Lauer may be more than just a number five starter for this team, and if he keeps pitching this well, it won't be Lauer who gets removed from the rotation if/when the Blue Jays add another starting pitcher at the deadline.

Will Wagner: There has been a constant theme with these Blue Jays while they’ve been winning baseball games, and that's that they have been getting positive contributions from players that weren't necessarily expected to be this good. Well, the beat goes on, and this week it was Will Wagner's turn to step up. Two more doubles and a series high four RBI coming from the bottom third of the order will play. Since his call-up at the end of June, Wagner is slashing .333/.436/.485 good enough for a .921 OPS. He’s mostly playing in a platoon role, hitting against left-handed pitching, but he’s been doing his part and is looking more and more like he belongs in the major leagues.

Lowlights
Jose Berrios: Don’t look now, but Berrios has been the one out of the five starters who has been struggling the most lately. He was able to pitch into the sixth inning on Sunday but allowed four earned runs, now the third time in his last four starts he’s allowed that many. This isn't anything new for Berrios, as throughout his career he’s had extended stretches of ineffectiveness and has found a way to turn it around, But with the Blue Jays currently leading the AL East, and in a heated competition to try and get one of the top two spots in the American League to get a bye in the first round having their pitchers be productive every day is going to be key, and the Blue Jays would like to see Berrios go on another positive run sooner rather than later.

Braydon Fisher: It’s been hard to find a low light this week. That’ll happen when your team wins all three games played in the week, but Braydon Fisher gets highlighted here, mostly because he came into the game on Sunday to relieve Berrios, and all three batters he faced got on base. A double, a single, and then a walk was all he was able to before he was lifted from his appearance. His performance on the season has still been remarkable, as he has allowed earned runs in only one of his last 19 appearances, so he’s earned some slack, but it's worth bringing attention to in a week where so many Blue Jays performed so well.

Random Stats of the Week

• The Blue Jays have now won 10 straight games at home, the most they’ve had since the 1985 season.
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Alejandro Kirk both appeared in the All-Star Game this week, both of them collecting a hit in their game.
• The Blue Jays drafted 19 players in this week's MLB Draft, and according to Baseball America, all but one have signed so far.
• Chris Bassitt allowed 10 hits in his start but did not allow a run.
• LHP Joe Mantiply signed with the Blue Jays on a minor league deal this week. He was an all-star as recently as 2022.
• Jeff Hoffman picked up saves in the first two games of the series, and Yariel Rodriguez picked up the save in the finale.
• The Blue Jays held a moment of silence on Friday for the passing of long-time Blue Jay Jim Clancy. Clancy spent 12 seasons in Toronto and was an all-star in the 1982 season

News, Notes and Not Playing

• No new roster notes

10-Day IL: Andres Gimenez, Daulton Varsho

• Andres Gimenez was with the team in Toronto this week, doing defensive drills and some light hitting (Via Davidi)
• Daulton Varsho has begun a rehab assignment; the number of games until his return is still to be determined, but he did hit a HR on Sunday in Dunedin (Via Davidi)

15-day IL: Yimi Garcia, Bowden Francis, Paxton Schultz, Nick Sandlin

• Yimi Garcia, who was on the IL due to an ankle sprain, is now experiencing “ulnar nerve symptoms” and will get an exam for the next steps (Via Davidi)
• Bowden Francis felt “cranky in his shoulder” and will be shut down for at least 10 days (Via Davidi)
• Nick Sandlin has begun playing catch. He’s feeling better (Via Davidi)

60-day IL: Anthony Santander, Alek Manoah, Ryan Burr

• OF/DH Anthony Santander still hasn't swung a bat. he met in Toronto this week to see some doctors to try and get a plan going forward. (Via Davidi)
• RHP Alek Manoah got into his first few rehab games, throwing two innings and striking out two in his most recent appearance. 
• Ryan Burrs’ season is over, after having surgery to address an injury in his throwing shoulder (Via Shi Davidi)

Trending Storyline
The Blue Jays' stretch of dominance continues, as they have been the best team in baseball since May 25th. The goal for this team is to maintain that success and avoid becoming too complacent. Not only is the team competing for first place in the AL East, but the chance at finishing first or second in the American League should be a priority as the Blue Jays haven’t had any luck at all in the wild card series, and getting a first-round bye would be a remarkable goal for this team.

The Trade deadline is now less than two weeks away, and the Blue Jays are certainly going to be buyers at the deadline. It's worth watching over the next few series to see what the Blue Jays need to acquire. Can Max Scherzer prove he can stay on the mound for the rest of the season? How will the Blue Jays address some needs in their bullpen? Davis Schneider had a good run before the All-Star break, but are the Blue Jays still going to acquire a right-handed bench bat, or can Schneider be that player? There is a lot to look into over these next few series, as it may have some effect on what the Blue Jays do at the deadline.

On the field, there is still much to be determined as well. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been good, but hasn’t had the power surge that he’s had in the past. How will the position player group shape out with Daulton Varsho set to return in the near future? Will the pitching staff be able to bounce back after some less-than-spectacular outings? Time will tell.

Looking Ahead
The unofficial second half of the season continues as the Blue Jays will continue their home stand and will try to extend their 10-game home winning streak as they welcome the New York Yankees into town. The Yankees have just recently taken a series against Atlanta and have made some changes to their pitching staff in order to have their best arms (Rodon and Fried) start in the series. The Jays have had success against the Bronx Bombers this season, after they swept them the last time they were in Toronto. If the Blue Jays can do that again, they will put some serious distance between the two teams in the race for the division, but a Yankees win will have the race much closer once again.

After completing the series against the Yankees, the Jays will make the short trip to Detroit, where they will await the first-place Tigers for a four-game series. It will be the Jays' first look against the team that the Blue Jays are chasing for first place in the American League. Just as in the previous series, if the Blue Jays can take at least three games in the series, then the odds of them claiming first in the AL and taking a bye through the Wild Card round seem very real; if not, it'll be hard to catch up to them especially as the Jays will likely have to face the likely candidate for the AL Cy Young in Tarik Skubal this week. The Jays have had many big weeks this season, and this upcoming week might be one of the biggest yet.