Generally speaking, this version of the Blue Jays has been fun to watch. Even after dropping the series finale to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon, the Blue Jays are in the midst of a stretch in which they have won 10 of their last 13 games. They enter the new week at 35-30, good for a three-way tie for the top American League Wild Card spot.

The Blue Jays have given us a glimpse of how they stack up with some other teams competing for playoff spots, and if they’ve faced weaker competition, they are taking care of business. Two weekends ago, the Blue Jays completed a four-game sweep of the Athletics, outscoring them 39-18. While I’m not crowning the Blue Jays as champs for sweeping the A’s, that’s what they were supposed to do. The Athletics are a better team than the club has been in the past, but not better than the Jays, and that’s how the series went.

Dispatching the A’s was the ideal confidence builder to prepare them for a three-game tilt against the Phillies, a team that has made two NLCS appearances in the last three years and has their eyes on more this season. The Phillies flexed their muscle in a series-opening win, but the Blue Jays bounced back with a pair of victories, including tagging Jesús Luzardo for eight earned runs over just 2.1 frames last Thursday.

The Blue Jays continued to carry the momentum, using two come-from-behind wins to steal a series from the Twins last weekend, a team that had won 13 straight games back in May.

There’s not just one or two players spearheading Toronto’s winning ways; they’re getting important contributions up and down their roster. Additionally, those contributions are answering questions that lingered around the team during the offseason.

That would direct us right to George Springer, wouldn’t it? With most of his numbers declining year-over-year since he signed with the Blue Jays, coupled with a poor output in spring training, his spot in the leadoff position was no longer his. Now, mainly batting in the middle-third of the order and DH’ing almost as much as he plays in the field, Springer is revitalizing his value.

Since May 29th, Springer is slashing a .278/.357/.750 with five home runs, ten RBIs, and a 1.107 OPS, with one of his two homers in the Twins series being a game-winning blast in the 8th inning. He’s run his wRC+ to 142, a figure that hasn’t been this high since his 2020 season with the Astros. This stretch has also validated Springer’s improvements within his advanced stats; he’s walking more, chasing less, and hitting the ball much harder.

Addison Barger has joined Springer in the heart of the order, and it’s been for good reason. Since the beginning of the series against the Athletics, Barger is running a .294/.351/.765 slash line with five home runs, 10 RBIs, a 1.116 OPS, and a double. Barger’s power can’t be denied, and he’s hitting the ball in several different parts of the zone. He pulled a 94 mph fastball on the outer part of the plate to right field for a clutch three-run homer on June 1st, and he also took a 92 mph fastball at the top of the zone near his shoulders for a two-run home run against the Phillies last Tuesday. Barger has also shown he belongs in the field as well, whether that be at third base or in right field. Everything he’s doing right now is beneficial to the Blue Jays, and his playing time won’t be going anywhere.

Another pleasant surprise within Toronto’s lineup has been their formidable catching duo of Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman. While Kirk is probably the least surprising of the two, the team was hoping to see more activity out of his bat than what they were getting since his Silver Slugger season in 2022. Kirk has 12 hits and four walks in his last 30 at-bats, bringing his season average to .303. He’s slashing .340/.387/.443 with two strikes on the season, including an insurance run-providing hit on Friday night.

Heineman is playing far less than Kirk, but to say he’s making the most of his opportunities would be an understatement. Heineman has played just twice since coming off the concussion IL, but he’s gone 7-for-8 with a double, home run, and four RBIs in those games. That brings his season slash line to .429/.441/.625, which will play for a backup catcher.

Heineman is a part of the bottom of the order that continues to pay dividends for the Blue Jays. A mix of Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, Davis Schneider, and Jonatan Clase have been positively producing over the past couple of weeks, and it’s also giving John Schneider the capability to platoon when possible.

The Blue Jays haven’t had to sweat too much about their bullpen this season, and thankfully, that trend has continued even with Yimi García heading to the IL with a right shoulder impingement on May 24th. García’s injury has been felt by the Blue Jays, given how much he pitches in high leverage, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t had capable arms to fill that role.

In García’s absence, the Blue Jays have given those late-game opportunities to a couple of different guys, primarily Yariel Rodríguez and Brendon Little. Those two have allowed just one earned run over 10.2 innings in that period, with the one earned run being the first allowed by Brendon Little since April 25th. Toronto hasn’t limited itself to just those two; Braydon Fisher got a taste of late-game leverage on Saturday in Minnesota, a test he passed just fine.

Lastly, a lot of credit is owed to Eric Lauer, who has pitched very well during his time in Toronto this season. He’s been a part of a couple of notable outings since Toronto has found its winning ways, pitching 3.1 hitless innings against the Rangers on May 28th, and facing only 13 batters over four scoreless innings last Tuesday against the Phillies in relief of Bowden Francis. Lauer has been a starter for the majority of his career, so the Blue Jays may need to entertain stretching him out if he continues to pump out quality outings.

Does this team still have holes to fill? Absolutely. We haven’t seen the best of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. yet this season; he has too high of a ceiling for his current output. Daulton Varsho is hurt, Anthony Santander (also hurt) hasn’t played near his potential when healthy, and Francis is leaving a lot to be desired in the back end of the rotation.

Even with all of that being said, this team is still finding ways to win, and they’re getting themselves in position to make a move or two at the trade deadline. It’s a long season, and the Blue Jays still could have their best ball ahead.

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