Occam's Jay-zor

 

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one. The Toronto Blue Jays have the #1 seed in the AL, from the looks of things, and have become one of the best teams in the AL...because they just put the 14 best people to succeed in positions to. Having to choose between Myles Straw and Daulton Varsho in center field is not the worst problem to have. Hmm, I dunno, do we want the defensive whiz who doesn't hit, or do we want the defensive whiz who hits for power?

And the thing is, if Varsho hadn't have come back blazing, this still would probably be a 1st place team. Myles Straw is just a good guy to have around. He may not always be the best at contact work, but you want him in the outfield, it just helps. Varsho, however, has been the difference maker. In a shortened but still valid season, Varsho has an .846 OPS with 19 homers and 51 RBIs. This run has occurred during the insane Jays stretch in this second half where they've commanded the AL East and shocked the nation. 

Varsho's just one of many people on this team who've aided a playoff run by being exactly where they need to be. The Jays kept George Springer in the leadoff spot, and he rewarded them with a 30-homer year and his best season since leaving Houston. Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider have both been extremely effective in bench roles, with both trading off having wild power performances. Addison Barger and Ernie Clement have turned fill-in roles into huge leading performances. Even Joey Loperfido is taking off, he's hitting .337 since coming back up. 

The name of the game with the Jays is efficiency. Just efficient performers put in position to lead, punctuated by the crowd-pleasers like Vlad and Bichette and such. And sometimes that is enough. The Jays could have like a flashy sort like Alek Manoah, but that doesn't work anymore, so plugging in Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios and Shane Bieber just works a lot more. The trouble is that not every other postseason competitor is emphasizing efficiency. The Mariners have built themselves as a mega-power team, as have the Yankees. The Guardians have built themselves as a mega-contact team. The Tigers have a unified youth movement. So something like this is the kind of thing that only works for a short period of time, and who knows how far it'll take the Jays. But getting a bye is a very good thing, and it could set them up for a decent playoff schematic. I do not think they're a World Series team yet, not with their current momentum, but they could always catch fire like they did in July.

Coming Tonight: Since coming up he's fought for third base with a fellow young call-up. Last year his competitor won the position. This year it's been his turn.