The Jays are headed into the All-Star break hot - having won eight of their last nine games with a 51-40 record, six games better than at the same point last season.

And this could be the team’s best shot to have an All-Star Game MVP since their glory days.

Toronto is sending five players to the All-Star Game in San Diego, the most since 2006.

The team has had plenty of stars put up great numbers during the regular season and playoffs. But the Jays have never had a player come through with a performance to capture the MVP award at the midsummer classic.

In 1992, Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter made the American League All-Stars and played good games. Alomar went 1-3 while Carter went 2-3, but it was Ken Griffey Jr. who received the honour after hitting a home run and a double.

At the 1993 All-Star Game, Alomar homered in the game to garner consideration, but it was Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett who notched a home run and double to take home the award.

Roy Halladay went to five All-Star games as a Blue Jay, but with so many pitchers getting action, it’s extremely difficult for any hurler to win MVP. Since 1999, only two pitchers have captured the award -  Boston’s Pedro Martinez and New York’s Mariano Rivera.

That said, the Jays have three legitimate players that could win the MVP this week in San Diego. 

Third baseman Josh Donaldson has carried his 2015 MVP performance over to this season. Donaldson has ‘brought the rain,’ with 80 runs scored this season to lead the American League and also leads in walks with 62. He’s also top five in both home runs (23) and RBI (63).

Edwin Encarnacion leads the majors in RBIs with 80, eight more than second-place David Ortiz. He’s also tied for third in the AL in homers with 23. Encarnacion is only the fourth Jay in franchise history to record 80-plus RBIs at the All-Star Game (Carlos Delgado did it twice while Vernon Wells and Carter also both accomplished the feat).

Michael Saunders of Victoria B.C. is on pace to have his most productive season yet, with 16 home runs in 82 games this season. His career high is 19 homers and he needed 139 games to do that in 2012 with the Seattle Mariners.

The Jays have two of their starting pitchers going to the All-Star Game, with only one of them penciled into the lineup. Marco Estrada was put on the disabled list prior to his scheduled start last Thursday, while Aaron Sanchez is headed to San Diego in place of Craig Kimbrel.

The chances of Sanchez pitching in the game are slim, as the 24-year-old pitched this past Saturday and would be throwing on just three days’ rest. John Gibbons and the coaching staff have talked all season about Sanchez having an innings limit and having him pitch would cause some concern. 

The Blue Jays put Toronto back on the map last season with their brilliant run to the American League Championship Series and with all the attention on Wednesday’s game, it’s another prime opportunity for the Blue Birds to stay under the spotlight.