The Blue Jays’ success this season can be traced back to many things, but this magical run has been possible because every part of the roster stepped up to play its role.

That’s even truer for the Blue Jays’ lineup, with numerous players contributing in big and small ways. For some of these unsung heroes, like Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw, they have been the X-factors because of their unexpected career seasons. They may be far from flashy and formidable, but here’s how these scrappy players helped Toronto get back to October baseball.

If there is one defining feature of the 2025 Blue Jays’ offence, it’s the unusually low strikeout rate.

The Blue Jays also led the league in BA and OBP, proving how their quality-contact abilities helped quash the paper tiger narrative. The embodiment of this offence approach was through Clement, Lukes and Straw. The average MLB strikeout rate hovers around 20-22%, but all three players finished the year with a strikeout rate below this number, demonstrating their contact-first offensive approach (Ernie Clement: 10.4%, Nathan Lukes: 13.7%, Myles Straw: 17.6%).

This lower strikeout rate has its benefits in putting more balls in play, but all three players haven’t been the most patient players at the plate, with around average or just below the league’s OBP (Ernie Clement: .313, Nathan Lukes: .323, Myles Straw: .313). They are just patient enough but have been more aggressive contact hitters, which sums up the Blue Jays’ overall approach throughout the regular season.

The trio also share another crucial factor this season: impeccable defence. Excellent defence has been the Blue Jays’ playbook throughout this year, and while this isn’t a new phenomenon for the team, these three players’ defensive contributions saved game-changing plays in a long season.

From an eye-test perspective, Lukes alone made at least a couple of memorable game-saving outfield defence and assists, on top of his 96th percentile in arm value. Digging into the numbers further, the range (OAA) that Clement and Straw can cover has been elite, with Clement recording 98th percentile and Straw in the 96th percentile.

Fangraphs also gives a nod to Clement, Lukes and Straw for their exceptional defensive capabilities. According to the page, Clement finished the campaign with an 11.7, Straw has 6.8, and Lukes with 2.3 in their defensive metric (fielding and positional adjustment combined), which is one of the best career defensive records in their seasons. Without this outstanding defence, the tenor of the Blue Jays’ season would have been different with the season on the line.

Power hasn’t exactly been the Blue Jays’ specialty this year. The Blue Jays are tied for 11th in team home runs this year, which showcases that their success came from other offensive facets instead. Nonetheless, that doesn’t take away from this particular group of players having better powers this season, oddly enough.

Clement homered nine times, Lukes clobbered 12 home runs, and Straw hit four home runs this year. On the surface, these are underwhelming home run records compared to offensive wonders like Aaron Judge or Cal Raleigh, but these records are proof of unlikely power surges from the Blue Jays’ perspective.

Consider this: Straw once didn’t hit any home runs in four different seasons with Houston and Cleveland. But with Toronto, Straw easily experienced his offensive renaissance and even hit two home runs in one game. Clement’s home-run record is technically a dip from 2024 (12), but his nine-home run season is still the second-best home-run hitting season in his career. Lukes wasn’t also known for his power when he came up from the Buffalo Bisons last year. He may have only hit one home run in his 91 plate appearances, but he quickly found his footing in the 2025 season and homered 12 times across 438 plate appearances.

From a bWAR perspective, Clement finished third on the squad (4.3), Straw finished fifth (2.9), and Lukes finished with a 1.9 mark, good enough for eighth on the team. Most of this came from their stellar defensive play, but overall, it was a strong year from the trio.

None of these offensive contributions may jump out right away, but these are certainly one of the better offensive records from three unlikely players. In other words, without the contributions from Clement, Lukes and Straw, the Blue Jays may have struggled a bit more to score consistently and might not be in the position they are today.