Owen Hill

I break down why I think Dylan Cease, Joe Ryan, and Michael Soroka would be perfect fits for the Blue Jays to target at the trade deadline. View full video

We’re less than a week out from the trade deadline, and with a stranglehold on the top spot in the American League East, Ross Atkins and the Toronto Blue Jays front office surely have their deadline wish list solidified. In the last iteration of this article, I mentioned Steven Kwan as a top of the market position player that the Jays could target in a blockbuster deal. Now, I want to take it to the other side of the ball, and to the next big-ticket item the Jays could be targeting at the deadline: a top of the rotation starter. The need for back-end bullpen help and starting pitching depth has been well covered, and the expectation is that they'll both be addressed before the deadline passes on July 31. But, as Blue Jays fans know all too well, seasons like this don’t come around often, and this could be the year to push a couple extra chips into the middle and take a bigger swing. Shopping at the top of the position player market would certainly be that, but I think the consensus is that a more pressing need for the Jays is a high-end starter. We’re talking about the guy you’d give the ball to in the first or second game of a playoff series; a guy that slots in ahead of Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, and Max Scherzer. I wrote earlier in the month about why it’s so important that the Jays go get a starter, and now I want to name a few guys who should be available, and could fit the Jays’ needs. Joe Ryan With two years of arbitration eligibility after this season, the likelihood that Ryan gets moved is pretty low. Still, given the lack of sellers, the price that controllable starting pitching goes for, and the fact that Ryan is in the midst of a career year, a contender may be willing to blow the Twins out of the water in order to get their hands on the All-Star. It doesn’t take much analysis to tell you that Ryan’s 2.51 ERA across 19 starts is really good, and his high-strikeout, low-walk profile would add a nice mix to a rotation that allows a lot of contact. The Jays and Twins have connected on similar deals in the past—think back to the 2021 trade deadline when the Jays acquired Berríos in exchange for Simeon Woods-Richardson and Austin Martin—and it’s not crazy to think that if Ryan ends up getting moved, it’s the Jays who come over the top to land him. Kris Bubic Another AL Central starter having a career year that could find a new home this week, Kris Bubic would be a fun add for a contending team. Similar to Ryan, Bubic has another year of arbitration eligibility after this season, so the price tag will be high. His 2.38 ERA in 19 starts earned him his first career All-Star appearance this season, and his ability to spin the ball, specifically with a nasty sweeper and slider, is something we’ve seen the Jays be tantalized with when it comes to the types of pitchers they like to acquire. He does a good job of limiting hard contact, and when he does give it up, it’s typically on the ground, which may play well in a playoff environment where homers become paramount. Bubic’s value is at an all-time high, and I’m not sure how the Jays would feel about adding a 27-year-old to lead their veteran rotation, but his stuff plays, and if the Jays were to pony up the prospects to acquire him, it would be an exciting move. Seth Lugo If the Kansas City Royals play hardball in Bubic negotiations, Seth Lugo may come at a more appetizing price. The 35-year-old is on the last year of his deal before contending with a $15 million player option that he’s likely to decline. The ceiling isn’t quite as high with Lugo as the other names on this list. He uses nine, yes nine, different pitches to get away with a mediocre strikeout rate. The numbers are always solid at the end of the season, even if he always seems to out perform his expected stats. He wouldn’t be the big-time ace coming in to lead the Jays as the guaranteed-win-every-fifth-day guy, but Lugo would certainly solidify the rotation down the stretch, and would be a strong option to start a playoff game, even if he wouldn't be the automatic first choice upon his arrival in Toronto. Edward Cabrera Another controllable starting pitcher that may be made available for the right price is Edward Cabrera. The Miami Marlins’ 27-year-old righty isn’t a free agent until after 2028, and while he’s been solid throughout his career, he hasn’t quite put together a season reflective of his high-90’s fastball and nasty breaking pitches. Cabrera is exactly the type of guy that, given a little bit of time with Pete Walker and the Blue Jays’ pitching development and an escape from Miami, could be a legitimate ace. The prospect price would likely be overwhelming despite his lack of elite results, but if the Blue Jays think they hold the key to unlocking the best version of Cabrera, he could come in and make an immediate impact, as well as solidify an aging rotation going into 2026 and beyond. He is certainly one of the highest upside pitchers that has a chance to be moved at the deadline, and he’d look good in a Blue Jays uniform. Dylan Cease The final name I’ll throw at you today is a weird one, especially considering the San Diego Padres are currently holding the third NL Wild Card spot, but earlier this week Buster Olney made this tweet: Contender-to-contender swaps are rare, especially at the trade deadline, but the Padres would likely want major-league-ready position player talent in return for Cease, which the Jays happen to be flush with. For his part, Cease has continued to struggle with walks, which has factored heavily into his 4.59 ERA this season, but his expected ERA sits in the mid-threes and his hard fastball-slider combination is electric as ever. As a Boras client, Cease is a true rental and will be testing the free agent market this upcoming winter, which might make the Padres a little bit more willing to trade him, and bring down the price a touch. He’d certainly be a guy I’d want starting a playoff game, and would be a heck of an addition if the Jays were able to get it done. 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I think there's an argument to be made for sure, but Kwan is exactly the type of player this front office would ship out top prospects for and then extend on a big deal. And I think we have to realize just how good Kwan is, he'd be their second best player by fWAR this season.

The trade deadline is just one week away, and as sellers are starting to concede their playoff chances for this season, they’re making their expiring contracts available. At the same time, buyers are solidifying their wish lists, looking to make impact moves that will help them make a run deep into October. As the team with a current grasp on first place in the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays are clearly in a position to check at least a couple of names off of that wish list. Pitching, both in the starting rotation and bullpen, is expected to be the focus of the Jays’ shopping ahead of the July 31 deadline, but if the opportunity arises, there is absolutely space for an upgrade in the lineup. The list of available position players is much shorter than the list of pitchers, but the impact of adding a star player to a lineup could completely transform a team’s chances down the stretch. One of those stars recently rumoured to be available for the right price is Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians. It’s a bit of a surprise to see his name in trade rumours considering that he’s arbitration eligible for two seasons after this one, and the 50-50 Guardians probably don’t see themselves as that far out of the playoff mix in a wide-open American League. Nonetheless, when Jeff Passan’s most recent list of top trade candidates dropped earlier this week, Steven Kwan’s name sat in second place. Before we get too deep into the weeds and I convince you that Kwan would be the perfect Toronto Blue Jay, it’s important to be clear that Passan currently has the chances of Kwan getting moved at about 20 percent, and if it were to happen, the price in prospects would likely be nauseating for both fans and the Blue Jays front office. But! Don’t let that stop you from dreaming a little bit. Think of yourself as the 16-year-old that lists a car at the top of their Christmas list, even if it’s more likely you end up with a new bike. All 30 teams can look at a 27 year old that’s been an All-Star in back-to-back seasons and say he’d fit well on the roster, but Kwan’s fit with the Jays is particularly tantalizing for a few reasons: His style of play would fit seamlessly with what the Jays already do well, he hits left handed, and he’d immediately put a stop to the revolving door in the leadoff spot. Team Fit Given the connections between Toronto’s front office and Cleveland’s, as well as a recent history of the two sides completing trades, it wouldn’t surprise me if the two were able to hook up on another deal. Part of the reason that the two sides have been able to get trades like the Andrés Giménez and Myles Straw deals done is that they value similar profiles in players. Steven Kwan Idealizes that profile. The Jays are the best defensive team in baseball by many metrics, and adding Kwan who’s won three straight Gold Glove awards in the outfield would only build on that strength. The Jays are also the team with the lowest strikeout percentage in baseball. It’s a stat that’s not nearly as sexy as leading the league in homers, but has helped the Toronto offense to punch well above its weight class, especially against teams that hit more home runs than them. Kwan is the poster boy for not striking out. His 8.3 strikeout percentage is the fourth lowest mark in baseball this season, just one spot ahead of Alejandro Kirk. So much of the Blue Jays’ success this season has come from an unquantifiable buy-in from players up and down the roster to play clean baseball on both sides of the ball, and Kwan’s skillset would fit seamlessly. I could understand an argument that because the Blue Jays are already so strong in Kwan’s most valuable skills that what he brings may be redundant, especially for the prince, but I’d say there’s often a lot of benefit to improving in areas of strength. Left-Handed Hitter That’s not to say that Kwan wouldn’t bring anything new to the Blue Jays. His left-handed bat would be a dynamic addition to the lineup, and would fundamentally change the way opposing teams have to game plan for the Jays. And I mean literally the fact that he hits left handed. When you look at the Toronto lineup and see names like George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Alejandro Kirk hitting in the middle of it every day, it makes sense that their right handed hitters have the second highest wRC+ in baseball at 113, only second to the New York Yankees. However, while the Jays thrive in the right handed batter’s box, they leave a little bit to be desired from the left side. Their 101 wRC+ from lefties is just the 20th best mark in the league. It makes sense when you think about all of the games missed from Giménez, Anthony Santander, and Daulton Varsho, and it’s important to recognize how well those holes have been plugged by the ascent of Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes, and more recently Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner. Still, the injuries have left the Blue Jays without any real left handed hitting prowess, and certainly none that they trust against left handed pitching. Although he’s not exactly split proof (his average goes from .301 against righties to .266 against lefties, and he hasn’t homered off of a lefty this season), Kwan is an obvious upgrade over both Lukes and Loperfido, and would provide a different look at the top of the Jays’ lineup, bringing me to my final selling point. Leadoff Hitter The Blue Jays 107 wRC+ out of the leadoff spot in 2025 ranks 17th among Major League teams. Bichette spent the first 80 or so games as the everyday leadoff hitter, but more recently has dropped down to the middle of the order in an attempt to give the lineup some length. More recently, a platoon between Lukes against right handed starters and Clement against lefties has taken his place. In a small sample size of 43 plate appearances, Lukes has looked great in the role, but Clement has struggled to the tune of seven for 32. The result of having received contributions from so many players is that there isn’t a clear spot on the offensive side of the roster that looks desperate for an upgrade. There may be room for a right handed bench bat that can hit for power, that would essentially slide into the Davis Schneider role, but other than that, the lead off spot is the only non-solidified spot I see. Kwan’s combination of bat-to-ball skills, on base skills, and speed make him the prototypical leadoff hitter, and that’s exactly the role he plays for the Guardians. He’d slide right into an everyday role in left field, and would allow the Jays to protect Lukes from left handed pitching, and avoid Clement getting exposed at the top of the order. One final point to get you way too excited about the possibility of a Steven Kwan trade that’s very unlikely to happen: He gets it done in the playoffs. In 17 Postseason games, Kwan has hit .347 with an .830 OPS, exactly the type of numbers a contender wants to see when loading up for a run deep into the playoffs. View full article

Arjun NimmalaTrey YesavageRicky TiedemannJoJo ParkerJohnny KingKhal StephenGage StaniferAlan RodenKendry RojasJake BlossYohendrick PinangoJuaron Watts-BrownOrelvis MartinezLanden MaroudisRJ SchreckJosh KasevichJonatan ClaseJake CookAdam MackoBrandon Barriera

Coming into 2025, it was clear that the Blue Jays’ success was going to hinge on bounce backs from some key players, and with a hold of first place at the All-Star break, it’s safe to say that, so far, the Jays have gotten the contributions they’ve needed. Alejandro Kirk’s renaissance has earned him a second career all-star selection, and George Springer has come back from the dead to put up a 137 wRC+ so far. Bo Bichette has also bounced back from a terrible 2024, but while his teammates have thrived, Bichette has flown under the radar. The most important thing is that he’s back to playing every day, but still, we’re waiting on Bichette to get back to being the offensive threat that made him a star between 2021 and 2023. That’s not to call him out for being useless at the plate—his 112 wRC+ is, of course, better than league average, and his .396 average with runners in scoring position has helped make up for his lack of success in lower leverage (even if you’re not a big believer in hitting with RISP being an actual skill). Still, it’s hard not to feel like something is missing in Bichette’s offensive game. He’s hitting just .282, which would be his lowest average in a healthy season, and it’s a similar story for his ISO, which is also the lowest of his healthy seasons at .160. His .767 OPS is fine, but, again, leaving a little bit to be desired for a bat that has been very important to team success in recent seasons. The weird thing is: His underlying data looks eerily similar to how it did two, three, and four years ago, all years where his OPS+ finished in the .800s. Comparing this season to his 2023 campaign, a year where he was an All-Star, hit 20 homers, and finished third for the American League batting title, Bo Bichette is currently hitting the ball harder, hitting the ball hard more often, and striking out less. Yet, his results are down across the board, despite his expected stats being up. In fact, if he was achieving his xwOBA of .377, it would be the highest of his entire career up to this point. The problem is that his actual wOBA is sitting at just .331. The obvious place to look is at his BABIP, and yes, at .314, there is a sizable gap between his number for 2025 and his previous norms in a healthy season. Given that this is the case, I was thinking that there was a chance that Bichette had been the victim of exceptional defence, but that’s simply not what’s happening. Opposing defenses have actually played to a negative one outs above average when Bichette is at the plate. One of my other early theories when trying to diagnose the reason for Bichette’s underperformance was that his decline in speed was making his slap-hitting offensive approach less effective, as he would be unable to steal as many infield hits, or turn singles into doubles, and there may be some merit to this idea. Bichette is running a 4.1 infield-hit percentage, calculated by dividing a player’s total number of infield hits by their total number of ground balls. The 4.1% mark is more than two percent lower than his career average, and six percent lower than his last healthy season in 2023, when he had the 11th-highest mark in baseball. In that time frame, Bichette’s sprint speed has declined considerably, although it’s important to note that even in 2023, he was a below average runner, averaging just 27.1 feet per second. In 2025, his sprint speed is now at just 26.1 feet per second, just in the 22nd percentile in baseball. We can’t attribute a 46 point difference in wOBA and xwOBA solely to Bichette missing out on a couple extra infield hits, although it may account for a touch of what’s been missing. I’d also say that his decline in speed is a direct indicator of a decline in athleticism, something I’d be concerned about when projecting ahead to future seasons and the type of contract Bichette is going to receive this offseason. Digging in even further, Bichette's batted ball profile doesn’t really help explain the drop in production either. He’s pulling the ball at his highest rate since 2020, has his lowest ground ball to fly ball ratio since 2020, and his line drive percentage is right in line with his career norms. These are all positive indicators, especially for a hitter like Bichette who produces great average exit velocities. I’ll leave you with one final theory. Bichette’s average exit velocity has climbed in 2025, but the majority of the difference is coming against fastballs. He’s hitting them at a career high average exit velocity, but he isn’t hitting breaking balls and off-speed pitches as hard as he did in prior successful years. Taking that into account, we can take a look at Bichette's average launch angle by pitch and see that he’s not hitting fastball’s, the pitch he hits the hardest, in the air: Now, expected stats do take into account both exit velocity and launch angle, but being unable to get his hardest hit balls in the air may explain some of his lack of power. If that changes, we could see a massive spike in actual production. Overall, there are a bunch of reasons to believe that Bo Bichette may be due for some positive regression, and I’m looking forward to seeing if he can shrink the gap between his expected stats and his actual stats in the second half. View full article

Welcome to Jays Centre’s coverage of the 2025 MLB Draft! Here you can follow all of the day’s events, and join in on the conversation surrounding the newest Toronto Blue Jays. This year’s draft once again consists of 20 rounds. The first three took place on Sunday evening, and rounds four through 20 will be taking place on Monday beginning at 11:30 A.M. ET. The Blue Jays selected a pair of players, JoJo Parker eighth overall and Jake Cook 81st overall on Sunday night and will be on the clock 17 more times on Monday. There hasn't been a 17-round draft day in a while, but rest assured — there used to be 20-round days, so Jays Centre will have the capacity to cover the duration. The Blue Jays have a bonus pool of $10,314,600 to divide amongst their picks. As a reminder from Baseball America: "In the MLB draft, each pick inside the first 10 rounds comes with assigned slot values. The sum of those slot values creates each team’s bonus pool. From rounds 11-20, players can sign for up to $150,000 without counting towards the bonus pool. Anything beyond that value does count towards the pool." It's also important to remember that teams can exceed their bonus pool allotment by up to five percent before incurring any future pick penalties. No team in the bonus pool era has ever exceeded that additional five percent threshold. We're once again excited to show off the Blue Jays Draft Tracker, which will be kept up-to-date not only during the draft but through the entire signing period. So keep coming back for updates! The draft is a busy, fast paced event, and we’ll be updating articles and providing scouting reports on the Blue Jays picks as things happen, so stay tuned, and feel free to make your thoughts known in the comments! View full article

The return of Bradley Zimmer?

With their first pick, and the eighth overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, The Blue Jays have selected JoJo Parker, an 18-year-old shortstop. He is 6’2, 195-pounds and from Purvis Highschool in Mississippi. He was ranked ninth overall on the Jays Centre’s Mock Board. The eighth overall pick comes with a slot value of $6,813,600. The biggest appeal to Parker’s profile is his ability to swing the bat, with an impressive hit-tool and already solid power, even as a prep player. At just 18 years old, Parker is built solid at 6’2, and nearly 200-pounds. His left handed swing starts with a narrow base, and the movements are smooth and quiet as he progresses through load, stride and contact. His ability to get bat on the ball is polished, and at times flashes some power. The rest of Parker’s tools are considered average, so his ability to hit will make or break his professional career, as it does with most position player prospects. Even still, there is hope that Parker will be able to stick at shortstop in the near-term, even if he ends up at second or third base by the time he ends up in the big leagues. There’s a lot of upside to JoJo Parker’s offensive profile, and if he develops into a legitimate power threat that some think he will, he could end up being the best hitter taken in the draft. JoJo’s twin brother Jacob Parker is ranked 88th on our Mock Board, which is right in the range of the Jays’ third round pick at 81st overall, so there is a (extremely unlikely) chance that the Blue Jays look to keep the brothers together in pro-ball. View full article

Claaaaasssssiiiiiiic Angels lol.

Welcome to Jays Centre’s coverage of the 2025 MLB Draft! Here you can follow all of the day’s events, and join in on the conversation surrounding the newest Toronto Blue Jays. This year’s draft will once again consist of 20 rounds, the first three taking place on Sunday evening starting at 6 P.M. ET, and rounds four through 20 taking place on Monday. The Jays have just two picks on day one of the draft, the eighth overall selection in the first round and the 81st overall pick in the third round. The Jays forfeited their second round pick when signing Anthony Santander, who had received a qualifying offer from the Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays have a bonus pool of $10,314,600 to divide amongst their picks. We're excited to show off the Blue Jays Draft Tracker, which will be kept up-to-date not only during the draft but through the entire signing period. So keep coming back for updates! The draft is a busy, fast paced event, and we’ll be updating articles and providing scouting reports on the Blue Jays picks as things happen, so stay tuned, and feel free to make your thoughts known in the comments! The draft will continue with day two on Monday, starting at 11:30 A.M. ET. View full article

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. just picked up his 1000th career hit, so take a trip back in time and enjoy some of the best moments to this point in his career. View full video

I think a lot of baseball fans would be surprised to hear that as of July 8, the American League East-leading Blue Jays have received a 4.59 ERA and just 3.8 fWAR from their starting pitchers, the sixth and seventh worst marks in MLB so far this season. Those numbers don't really seem like they pass the eye test, but the Jays’ 16-10 record in one-run games (the fifth best winning percentage in baseball in such contests) and 18-30 record when allowing more than four runs (third best) has helped cover up a lot of their starters’ struggles so far this season. Blue Jays starters also owe much thanks to the position players that have led a productive offense and the best defense in baseball, according to Fielding Run Value. Digging into the performances of individuals makes the overall stats a little bit easier to come to terms with. If it weren’t for the consistent efforts of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and José Berríos, a lack of starting pitching may have already sunk the Blue Jays’ season. While none of the three are having particularly eye-popping seasons statistically, they’ve pitched a boatload of productive innings. Bassitt and Gausman both have ERAs over four but are on pace to throw over 175 innings. In his age-36 season, Bassitt isn’t quite as effective as he once was, and opponents are having more success against him. At 34 years old, Gausman is on a similar trajectory; his days of contending for Cy Young Awards as a clear number one starter may be behind him. But while neither has been consistently dominant, Gausman and Bassitt have been invaluable to this Blue Jays team as middle-of-the-rotation starters. In a similar boat, Berríos has quietly been putting together yet another extremely solid season. His ERA sits just above 3.50, and he leads Blue Jays pitchers with 12 quality starts and 112.1 innings pitched. He is outperforming his xERA by nearly a full run, but that’s something he’s done consistently throughout his career, especially as a Blue Jay. In order to simply get through the grind of a 162-game season, much less win enough games to make the playoffs or win a division, hundreds of innings need to be eaten, and the Gausman, Bassitt, Berríos trio has done an incredible job of that. The Blue Jays are one of two teams with three pitchers to have thrown 100 innings so far this season. But the question I’d ask is which one of these guys do you want starting game one of a Wild Card series? What about games one and five of a division series? There’s not really a clear answer. Further to that point, there’s not a team in the American League playoff race that doesn’t have at least one starter having a definitively better season than any of the Blue Jays' top starters. That’s why when we’re putting together our wishlist for the trade deadline, and taking a look at where the Blue Jays could improve, a top-end starting pitcher is the big ticket item. I would trust any of Gausman, Bassitt, or Berríos to start playoff games, but when talking about ways to raise the ceiling of this team from one that goes on a regular season run to one that strings together some wins in October, I think they need an ace. To put this in terms Blue Jays fans will understand well: I’m asking for the David Price trade. That’s not to say the Jays have to go big or go home when looking to acquire starting pitching at the trade deadline. At times early in the season, it looked like a lack of starting pitching depth was going to be the downfall of this team. Bowden Francis and Easton Lucas proved that they weren’t the answer in the fifth spot of the rotation, the Spencer Turnbull and José Ureña experiments didn’t last very long, and further options to come up from Triple A were seemingly non-existent. More recently, the rotation has stabilized. Eric Lauer has emerged as a reliable arm, working a 2.65 ERA across 13 appearances and seven starts, and Max Scherzer has made three starts in a row since coming off the injured list a couple of weeks ago. Still, the Blue Jays are one injury away from asking Lazaro Estrada to pitch the bulk innings in bullpen games, and while his four-inning, one-run MLB debut was encouraging, I’m not ready to see him step into Scherzer’s shoes should the veteran require another IL stint. Alek Manoah is a name that’s been kicked around as a potential option to start down the stretch, and while he is on my radar, I would consider any contribution he makes to the 2025 Blue Jays found money. Not only was he extremely ineffective the last time we saw him, but he’s coming off of major elbow surgery and has yet to start pitching in rehab games. It will come a lot cheaper than the ace I asked for earlier, but it’s still important that the Blue Jays find a way to add a contingency plan to start games, especially considering Scherzer’s thumb has continued to hold him back from throwing deep into contests. I’m thinking about a Ross Stripling / Ryan Yarbrough / Mitch White-esque deal that we’ve seen Ross Atkins pull off in previous contending seasons. With the trade deadline just over three weeks away, we’re close to teams declaring themselves buyers or sellers, and close to having an idea of which names Atkins and the Jays will have their sights set on before July 31. View full article

Max Scherzer of the Blue Jays and Aaron Judge of the Yankees went head-to-head earlier this week in what felt like a playoff-style plate appearance. View full video

The Blue Jays followed a breakout May with a solid month of June, going 16-10. They played complete baseball, finishing in the month seventh in runs scored, producing the third most position player fWAR in baseball (5.3), and completely lapping the field when it came to defense, putting up 10.5 defensive runs above average, according to FanGraphs. That mark is nearly three times that of the second place team! The home run power we saw in May didn’t play as prevalent a role for the Blue Jays this month, as they hit just 26 after blasting 38 in May. Still, the team finished with a healthy wRC+ of 107, good for the 11th-best mark in the sport. The end of June gives us a chance to acknowledge the position players who made it a successful month for the Blue Jays. Honourable Mention Addison Barger - .239/.287/..489, 5 HR, 6 BB, 29 K, 115 wRC+, 0.7 fWAR It was hard to find a Blue Jays story with much more helium than Addison Barger’s breakout May. He finished the month with an OPS of nearly .900, he cut his strikeout rate to just 22%, and he tied Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a 146 wRC+. He’s earned a regular spot hitting between Bo Bichette and Guerrero Jr., but June saw Barger’s production slow down a touch as his name climbed up scouting reports across the league. The biggest warning sign was that his walk-to-strikeout ratio went from 0.45 in May to 0.21 in June. The chart below shows that Barger is being pitched differently, facing breaking pitches nearly eight percent more often in June than he was in May. This means he’s facing fewer fastballs and even fewer offspeed pitches. This all makes sense when we look at Barger’s production against different types of pitches this season and see that he’s got an xwOBA of .525 against offspeed pitches, .371 against fastballs, and just .255 against breaking balls. via Baseball Savant This was an extremely roundabout way of saying that despite coming back down to earth a little bit, Barger had a very solid June, considering how opposing teams changed the way they were attacking him. He produced the fourth most fWAR on the Jays at 0.7, hit five homers, and posted an OPS of .776, plenty good enough for an honourable mention on my Blue Jays Hitters of the Month list. 3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - .290/.383/.516, 4 HR, 10 BB, 10 K, 153 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR It’s no secret at this point that the Jays go as Vladdy goes, so it makes sense that after being my choice for the number one Blue Jays hitter for the Month in May, Vladdy put up another productive month in June. Vlad continued to look just like himself, and as per usual, his baseball savant page is bright red as he combines some monstrous exit velocities with an impressive contact rate, and an ability to walk as much as he strikes out. You’re probably more than familiar with Vlad’s offensive profile by now, so I want to draw your attention to his defense. For the first time in his career, including when he won the Gold Glove in 2022, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is on pace to finish with a positive fielding run value. For a team that’s been one of the best on the defensive side of the ball for a third straight year, it’s really nice to see the Jays’ star player take on that identity a little bit. Of course, the conversation surrounding Guerrero Jr. is always going to start and end with his offense, and while he had a good June, we’re still waiting to see him go nuclear and carry this offense for an extended stretch. The power output has been disappointing in 2025, and he added just four homers in June to bring his season total to 12, a large part of the explanation for him coming up only third on this list. If you’re looking for some optimism going into the second half of the season: 2024: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. through June 30: .298 AVG, 13 HR, .848 OPS 2025: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. through June 30: .282 AVG, 12 HR, .840 OPS Right around this time last year is when Vladdy went unconscious and put up a 187 wRC+ over his final 75 games, so hopefully we’re on the verge of another explosion, and when I write this article at the end of July, Vlad’s name is the easy number one. One final fun note on Guerrero Jr.’s June: He led the Blue Jays in stolen bases with three. 2. Ernie Clement - .354/.398/.455, 1 HR, 8 BB, 6 K, 141 wRC+, 1.3 fWAR Year after year in baseball, there are breakout stories surrounding guys who weren’t on very many radars entering the year. For the Blue Jays, that story has been Ernie Clement. After getting hot in May, Clement has ridden the wave all the way through June. His elite ability to put the bat on the ball has been turning into a ton of hits, especially against left-handed pitching. This month, we saw Clement do something none of us thought was possible: walk (eight times) more than he struck out (six times). Considering that, and the fact that he hit over .350 with seven doubles, there weren’t a whole lot of questions surrounding the offensive side of his game in June. Clement finding some offensive consistency has made it easy for John Schneider to pencil his name into the lineup every day, but it’s always a surprise to fans where he’s playing. He started at all four infield positions at least once in June, including playing a very good back-up shortstop on days when Bichette was out of the lineup and a solid first base when Vlad took a day off. His 3.8 Def, according to FanGraphs, led all non-Alejandro Kirk Blue Jays in June, and his 1.3 fWAR brought his season total up to 2.7. Clement should be the current favourite to win the utility Gold Glove at the end of the season, but perhaps a spicier take is that he deserves some consideration to come off the bench for the American League in the All-Star Game in a couple of weeks. 1. Alejandro Kirk - .337/.385/.528, 4 HR, 7 BB, 9 K, 159 wRC+, 1.4 fWAR Speaking of guys that shouldn’t be making plans over the All-Star break, Alejandro Kirk would be a lock to start for the American League in Atlanta if Cal Raleigh wasn’t in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons a catcher has ever produced. Still, Kirky should be a safe bet to be the second catcher representing the AL. A big reason for that is the month Kirk put up in June. All facets of his defense remained elite, as his +14 FRV is currently the best mark in baseball this season. FanGraphs had him as the most valuable defender in baseball in June with a 5.7 Def, nearly a full run and a half higher than Nick Allen of the Atlanta Braves. Aside from his otherworldly defense, Kirk’s offensive profile has been something to marvel at this year. His 55.9% hard-hit rate is the seventh best mark among qualified hitters, while his strikeout percentage of 9.8% is the fifth best. There is no qualified player in the top 150 in hard hit percentage with a strikeout rate equal to or lower than Kirk’s. Kirk is one of the few players who’s both elite at putting the ball in play and hitting it hard when he does. It’s no surprise that peripherals like that helped him to a .914 OPS in June. Kirk’s 1.4 fWAR led the Jays this past month, as did his 159 wRC+, and he was an easy choice to be the Blue Jays Hitter of the Month. What a privilege it is to have him anchoring the team almost every night behind the plate and in the middle of the order. View full article