Despite possessing a loaded lineup, Toronto was still playing .500 baseball at the All-Star break. The AL East was still up for grabs, so Anthopoulos decided to make some major moves. Three days before the trade deadline, he dealt All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes to the Colorado Rockies for fellow All-Star Troy Tulowitzki. Two days later, the Blue Jays acquired a much-needed ace from the Tigers in David Price. Toronto was improving with every move they made, but just to put the icing on the cake, Anthopoulos traded for Ben Revere on the final day of the trade deadline.
Adding the three players — especially Tulo — seemed to provide the spark the Jays had been missing for over two decades.
The Jays won 13 of their first 14 games upon inserting Tulo in the lineup. Though he did club three home runs during that span, Tulo only batted .231 with a .797 OPS, but it seemed like the big moves to add him and Price gave the Jays a mental edge. The starting pitching held the Yankees to one run in a three-game series. They scored at least seven runs five times in Tulo’s first 14 games.
Even Revere has taken his game up another level since being acquired by the Blue Jays. He has batted .325 with a .741 OPS — both are career-best marks — in 40 games for the Jays.
Since acquiring Tulowitzki, Revere and Price, Toronto is 20 games above .500 with a three-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.
While studs like Encarnacion and Bautista are producing at levels similar to what they’ve done the past few years, being in a stacked lineup has led to benefits all around. Colabello, Smoak and Revere are putting up the best numbers of their career. Second baseman Ryan Goins (now playing shortstop with Tulo out) has seen an offensive improvement. After batting .188 with one home run in 181 at-bats last season, he has hit .240 this season with five home runs.
Even 26-year-old center fielder Kevin Pillar has been a huge contributor. Not only is he making highlight-reel catches on a weekly basis, but his offense has been more than steady. He is batting a very respectable .261 with a .664 OPS. He has hit 23 doubles, 10 home runs and stolen 19 bases, all while playing stellar defense. That’s not too bad for a guy who was considered an afterthought as a center fielder.
Just having the extra powerful bats such as Tulo (prior to the shoulder injury), Donaldson and Martin has stretched the lineup out and taken the pressure off the lesser hitters. Once an opposing pitcher has gotten through the gauntlet of the studs, he probably is less focused and more mistake-prone against guys like Goins and Pillar at the bottom.
Now that we know how the Blue Jays were able to assemble the most powerful lineup in Major League Baseball, let’s take a look at just how dangerous they are.
Batting Average
1. Detroit Tigers, .271
T5. Toronto Blue Jays, .267
On-base Percentage
1. Toronto Blue Jays, .336
2. Los Angeles Dodgers, .329
Slugging Percentage
1. Toronto Blue Jays, .451
2. Colorado Rockies, .434
OPS
1. Toronto Blue Jays, .787
2. Detroit Tigers, .753
Home Runs
1. Toronto Blue Jays, 202
2. Houston Astros, 198
Runs Batted In
1. Toronto Blue Jays, 756
2. New York Yankees, 671
Runs Scored
1. Toronto Blue Jays, 792
2. New York Yankees, 697
Run Differential
1. Toronto Blue Jays, +197
2. St. Louis Cardinals, +112
By just about every metric, the Blue Jays are blowing the competition out of the water. They have three of the top eight MLB leaders in RBIs and three of the top 14 MLB leaders in home runs.
The bats are on fire in Toronto, and it does not seem like they will be cooling down anytime soon. Enjoy the show, because this is one of the strongest lineups in recent MLB history. And congratulations for Anthopoulos for finally assembling the type of team he dreamed of; the type of team he tried to put together that fell apart in 2013.
