Coming into the 2025 season the overwhelming sentiment from most Blue Jays fans was that Ross Atkins and the front office hadn’t done enough over the winter to make this Blue Jays team into a contender. Sure, they locked up Vladimir Guerrero Jr., signed veterans like Anthony Santander, Max Scherzer, and Jeff Hoffman, and traded for Andres Gimenez. However, it still felt like they were a few pieces away from being able to keep up with the best teams in baseball.

Now that we’re on the cusp of the All-Star break, I know I’m not the only Jays fan who is eating some humble pie, but the good news is that this is the kind that most of us can appreciate. I’m more than happy to be wrong when it means that the Blue Jays are good, especially when the team has a realistic shot at contending this season. I still believe that a couple more additions would be huge before the trade deadline comes and goes, but there aren’t as many glaring needs as it seemed there were a few months ago. In several cases, that’s come as a pleasant surprise.

So which players am I referring to here? The list is quite long, and again, that’s a good thing.

I’m going to start with one of the more obvious ones in Addison Barger. The 25-year-old entered Thursday night’s game with a slash line of .263/.325/.493 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI across 209 at-bats. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster (something I was critical of at the time) but has more than made up for lost time after joining the big league squad. The third baseman/outfielder also continued his hot hitting last night against the Yankees, adding three more extra-base hits to his total on Thursday, including his 11th home run.

Barger’s breakout has been massive for John Schneider’s lineup card because of the production he’s added to a lineup that needed another bat, but also because of his versatility. At this point, Barger has played his way into an everyday job even with a healthy roster and potential additions from the trade market. The ability to move around the diamond makes that an easier task for a front office that is likely scouring the market for the best available options. Wherever they land with those pursuits, it looks like they have another homegrown budding star on their hands, and the timing couldn’t be much better.

If anyone claims they saw this kind of production coming from Tyler Heineman, they’re a flat-out liar. The switch-hitting catcher has had a career year in the backup catcher role for the Blue Jays, slashing .347/.393/.493 over his 85 plate appearances. It’s not easy for a backup catcher to keep up with a premium starter, but on a part-time basis, Heineman has met what Alejandro Kirk brings to the table on occasion, which is no small feat.

Can he keep this up? That’s very unlikely. However, Heinman’s contributions have been important, and have definitely given him some job security for the remainder of the 2025 season, something he didn’t enter the year with by any means.

One of the more pleasant surprises for this year’s pitching staff has been the work of rookie right-hander Braydon Fisher. The 24-year-old had a bit of a rough outing on Thursday against the Yankees but came into that game with a 1.90 ERA and a 0.761 WHIP across his first 23 2/3 big league innings. At a time when the Blue Jays have missed the presence of Yimi Garcia in their bullpen, Fisher’s unexpected success has been a big development.

Fisher has continued to earn more and more of John Schneider’s trust as of late, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue to get higher leverage opportunities as the season wears on.

Over the years, the Blue Jays have had many likeable utility players, and Ernie Clement mostly fell into that category in my mind before the start of this year. I’m still not convinced that he’s best used as an everyday player, but I have to admit that he’s outperformed my expectations in a significant way, and his contributions have been important to the Blue Jays’ success so far this year. The 29-year-old has slashed .299/.342/.402 on the season and brings added value because he can slide around the infield, and even fill a corner outfield spot in a pinch.

Clement’s contributions have earned him 2.8 bWAR so far this year, and 2.6 fWAR, outpacing stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and more. He’s very deserving of the regular playing time that he’s been receiving, and I hope that even if the Jays find upgrades before the deadline, there are still opportunities for Clement as the year goes on. He’s earned ’em.

One of the biggest question marks, at least for me, heading into 2025 was whether George Springer still had enough left in the tank to be a regular starter. I even wrote an article about it, openly questioning how long he could retain his spot in the lineup. As of this writing, I have no problem whatsoever admitting that I was foolish to ever question the veteran powers of the former World Series MVP.

I didn’t expect to be saying this in July, but Springer is one of the biggest reasons the Blue Jays now hold the lead in the AL East. He came into Thursday night’s game with a slash line of .274/.371/.487 and had another huge game against the Yankees. The 35-year-old hit his fourth home run of the series against the Bronx Bombers, good for 14 on the year, and added four more RBIs to bring his season total to 50. He’s been a team leader, both in the clubhouse and on the field, and there’s no way the Blue Jays are where they are now without him.

Last but not least, I’m happy to admit that I was wrong about Alejandro Kirk as well. Don’t get me wrong, at no point have I considered myself a hater, and I celebrated his extension at the time along with most of the Blue Jays fan base. That said, I have to admit that Kirk has been a frustrating player for me to watch over the last two seasons, and I adjusted my expectations for him heading into 2025.

Instead of being the bottom-three-hitter/solid defender that I had accepted, Kirk has rediscovered the offensive form that made him such a two-way threat in 2022, and that contract extension already looks like one of the best bargains in baseball. The Mexican backstop has slashed .306/.359/.422 with seven home runs, nine doubles, and 41 RBI. Kirk has also continued to bring his premium defensive contributions to the fold as well, and the combo platter has been a welcome addition to the first-place Blue Jays.

For my money, the biggest surprise of the season so far would likely be a tie between Springer turning back the clock, and Kirk finding his groove with the bat in his hands again. That said, the “pleasant surprise” has been a theme for this year’s version of the Blue Jays, and the list doesn’t end with the names that I’ve listed above either. Here’s hoping those pleasant surprises continue, and we’ll be having this same conversation later this fall.