Unsung heroes instrumental in Blue Jays success headed to All-Star break

The Toronto Blue Jays are the top team in the AL East with the All-Star break around the corner, and it isn't just the familiar faces leading the charge.

The team put together its longest winning streak in 10 years, rattling off 10 straight wins from the end of June to Tuesday - including a four-game sweep of the rival New York Yankees, which was the first time in franchise history that feat was achieved - and at 54-39, they own  a 2.5-game lead in the division standings.

Entering the season back in March, one would expect the likes of perennial All-Stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette to be carrying the load in that situation, or any of the veteran pitchers in Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt or Jose Berrios to be providing vintage performances.

But that hasn't been the case, and manager John Schneider has been very pleased with that fact. He joined Jeff Passan on ESPN's Baseball Tonight podcast on Wednesday to discuss the contributions of the unsung heroes on the team, and what his expectations are moving forward in a promising season.

The face at the centre of that extended run was veteran outfielder George Springer, who took home American League Player of the Week honours for the beginning of July after hitting .429 with five homers, 13 runs batted in and nine runs scored.

Springer was approaching irrelevance in the Blue Jays' lineup entering the season, after hitting a career-worst .220 in 2024 with a career-worst on-base plus slugging of .674. His case wasn't helped by a disastrous showing in Spring Training in which he finished four-for-37, good for a .108 batting average in 15 games.

"George is probably leading the charge in [the] 'unsung hero' [category]," Schneider said. "I remember in Spring Training he was like 2-for-35 and everyone was like 'oh God, George is cooked,' and he was going through a pretty deliberate swing change and approach change at that time. He's been so instrumental to what we've done, not only with his performance but in the clubhouse."

Springer leads the team in home runs (16), runs batted in (53) and on-base plus slugging (.883) in what has been a career revival for him at age 35.

"[He's] just a guy that looked at last year, looked at where he was being pitched, what he did with certain pitches and said 'Okay, I'm going to flip the script, be ready for it, be on the attack and set the tone for the at-bat,'" Schneider said. "Knowing Georgie for a couple of years now, I've said it before, we're never counting George out of anything because of his physical skills, what he's already accomplished and how he shows up to the field every day. When you look at the season, you say 'we can predict X out of each player,' and to get that kind of production out of George at this stage of his career has really vaulted us forward."

That theme of players delivering over expectation has been key to the team's success in the first half.

Blue Jays hitters finding different ways to succeed

Utility infielder Ernie Clement has taken an unusual path to the Blue Jays lineup. A fourth-round draft pick in 2017 by Cleveland, he toiled in the minors for four years before getting a chance with the Guardians in 2021.

He bounced around before landing with the Blue Jays, and took his first extended opportunity in the majors in 2024 and ran with it. After hitting .263 over 139 games a year ago, Clement has shown he is a legitimate major league player in an impressive campaign this year.

"I think Ernie has really taken a step forward with his game," Schneider said. "He jumps out for sure, just a steady presence, and has gone from journeyman to getting thrust into playing every day last year, and figuring out how to do that. Putting the team ahead of himself."

Clement is tied with Guerrero for most games played on the team (91), and his .292 batting average trails only Alejandro Kirk (.306) among lineup regulars. This while making at least 10 appearances at all four spots on the infield.

Outfielder Nathan Lukes has also carved out a role for a team that has focused on base running and contact in order to provide run production. Lukes is a rare hitter this season with more walks (25) than strikeouts (24), and is providing a strong .371 on-base percentage to go with good base running and the ability to play all three outfield spots.

It's something Schneider said he wanted to impress upon the players before Spring Training even began.

"Ernie Clement, Miles Straw, Nathan Lukes, these guys, they know what they're good at," Schneider said. "[Hitting coach David Popkins] said from day one: when you're in the batter's box, it's like a golfer, you gotta know what club to take out of the bag. So if you're taking the driver out in every single pitch, every single count, you're going to have a lot of swing and miss. So I think taking some shots early or taking some shots when you are in advantage counts, yes, and when you fall behind you go back and you take out the pitching wedge and you say 'I gotta grind, I gotta do whatever I can to put the ball in play,' and guys have been really, really good at leaning into that."

As Passan points out, the Blue Jays have struck out in just 15.1 per cent of their plate appearances since May 26, more than three per cent better than the second-best team in the majors. That, combined with a focus and improvement on the bases, has pushed the Blue Jays from 23rd a season ago in runs scored (4.14 per game) to 10th this year (4.59 per game). 

Pitching production is coming from all parts of the roster this season for the Blue Jays

For years now, the Blue Jays have been comfortable in rolling out a durable trio of starting pitchers in Gausman, Berrios and Bassitt. 

Since the start of the 2023 season, the trio has combined to start 246 of the team's 417 games. None of the three have an earned-run average above 4.00 over that stretch.

Filling in the two rotation spots beyond those three has been the challenge for Schneider this season, as well as figuring out who will pitch out of the bullpen after the departure of longtime closer Jordan Romano to the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I think right now Eric Lauer jumps out [as an unsung hero] as our rotation has been a little bit depleted or injured," Schneider said. 

Lauer, 30, pitched last season in the KBO after failing to crack a major league roster. His 2.78 ERA in eight starts (14 games) has been a blessing for the Blue Jays after off-season acquisition Max Scherzer has made only three starts due to a thumb injury and Bowden Francis was placed on the Injured List in June.

"Some of our bullpen guys - you look at Brendon Little, you look at Braydon Fisher, you look at Yariel Rodriguez, flying under the radar a little bit with their swing and miss stuff, so those guys are easy to point out," Schneider added.

Little is in the midst of a breakout year with a 2.13 ERA in 43 games, with Fisher (2.30 ERA) and Rodriguez (2.56 ERA) each providing stability to a bullpen that has suffered with struggling veterans in closer Jeff Hoffman and recently-released righty Erik Swanson.

Toronto owns the ninth-best bullpen ERA in the majors at 3.57, owed in large part to the success of the unexpected pitchers highlighted by Schneider.

"You're not really expecting to get some of the contributions you've been getting. You hoped, but you weren't expecting it, but when you have a good team there's a lot of guys that you're asking to do what they're capable of and they're nailing it."