Blue Jays Say Consistency Reason They Lead The American League East

In the early days of spring training, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider tried to put one final wrap on a disappointing 2024 season and a positive spin on 2025.

“We were a good team that had a bad year last year,” Schneider said. “That’s not the first time that has ever happened. Everybody has a bad year now and again, but I know we’re going to play a lot better this year.”

The Blue Jays have proven Schneider right. They have the second-best record in the American League at 74-54 and hold a 4 ½-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East.

So, how have the Blue Jays done such a turnaround a year after posting a 74-88 record? There are a multitude of reasons, but also a very simple one, according to right-hander Max Scherzer.

Blue Jays Doing Many Things Well

Consistency says the three-time Cy Young Award winner, who signed a one-year, $15.5-million contract as a free agent in the offseason.

“We’ve done such a great job over the course of the season being consistent,” Scherzer said. “And in all facets of the game — starting pitching, hitting, relief pitching, defense, you name it. We’ve all contributed to this. It’s not just one guy, it’s a total team effort, and that’s when it’s fun. That’s when it’s the best, because you never know who’s going to come up with a big play, big hit, big pitch. It can be anybody on the roster.

“We’ve seen that over and over and over, and that just makes it fun because you want to be that guy that goes out there and helps the team win, but you also know everybody else on the team can do it as well.”

Blue Jays’ Lineup Is Lengthy

No Blue Jays players are in the top 10 in bWAR in the AL.

Yet five-time All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is hitting .298/.396/.498 with 21 home runs in 124 games. At the same time, resurgent George Springer has a .292/.384/.521 with 21 homers and 13 stolen bases in 106 games as the primary designated hitter, and shortstop Bo Bichette leads the AL with 157 hits.

The Blue Jays are seventh in the majors in runs scored with 4.88 a game. They take a grinding approach at the plate in which they run up opposing starting pitchers’ pitch counts.

“We’re just having really good at-bats,” center fielder Daulton Varsho said. “We’re getting those base hits when the runners are in scoring position and scoring the runs. But we’re also patient. Our goal is to get (the starting pitcher) out in five innings. Obviously, that’s what really comes down to when you get into the postseason, you want to be able to get the starters out fast and get to that bullpen and be able to try to do what we do well.”

It might seem premature for the Blue Jays to look ahead to the postseason with 34 games remaining in the regular season. The franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016.

Yet the Blue Jays are eight wins clear of the Kansas City Royals for the last postseason berth in the AL. And what could make Toronto dangerous in October is a balanced starting rotation.

Starting Rotation Depth Key For Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have five quality starters in Scherzer, Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, and left-hander Eric Lauer. The rotation will be getting reinforced on Friday night when Shane Bieber starts against the Marlins in the opening of a three-game series in Miami.

Bieber, acquired from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline on July 31, will be making his first major-league appearance since undergoing Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery early last season. He was the AL Cy Young winner during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

“It’s nice to know that on any given night, you feel like you have an ace that’s on the mound, and I think that’s one thing that you look at the teams that are still standing at the end of the year, they usually have a good starting staff,” Gausman said. “We take pride in knowing we consistently gave our team a chance to win every night.

“Really, what stands out the most about this team is how good we are at the fundamentals,” Gausman continued while talking about the Toronto Blue Jays’ success. If you look at what we’ve been able to do this year compared to last year, in terms of baserunning, defense, pitching, and everything else, it’s just taking another step to the next level. We do a lot of things consistently well.”