Toronto Blue Jays: Who is the team MVP this season?

There are a couple of names that hog most of the MVP chatter around the American League, but the Blue Jays have a few players who could be viewed as the Most Valuable Player on their own roster.

Not since Josh Donaldson won the award in 2015 have the Blue Jays had a real contender as the American League’s top player, but this year I would argue that they have three legitimate candidates. Having said that, I’ll also acknowledge that Shohei Ohtani of the Angels is likely going to run away with the award regardless of how things finish up over the last week of the regular season. Of course, that keys the debate about whether an MVP can come from a team that isn’t in the playoff mix, but I don’t think that’s going to be enough to stop Ohtani this year.

Other than Ohtani and a trio of Blue Jays, the only other players I could see receiving a notable amount of MVP votes might be Carlos Correa of the Astros, Aaron Judge of the Yankees, or perhaps Jose Ramirez over in Cleveland. That said, each of those cases feels like a long-shot at best, and I suppose that could be said for most of the field compared to Ohtani at this late stage of the 2021 calendar.

Despite the fact that award will likely go to the two-way phenom, it’s definitely a notable development for the Blue Jays to have several players in the conversation as the best player in the league, and even on their own roster. Without further delay, let’s have a look at the candidates and their cases, starting with the most obvious one.

May not be MVP, but how about Cy Young?

I’m not exaggerating when I say that Robbie Ray has been so good in 2021 that he should receive MVP votes. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if that ended up happening.

To recap what the hard-throwing southpaw has done, there’s a strong argument that no player has been more important to the Blue Jays’ success this season than Ray. He’s 13-6 with a 2.68 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP, striking out a whopping 244 batters over 31 starts and 188.0 innings. His impressive performance leaves him 6th in the AL in bWAR with 6.9, but for some reason he lags behind inferior pitchers when it comes to fWAR, clocking in at 4.4.

His numbers see him leading the American League in bWAR, ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts, and lately it feels like he’s pulled away from other Cy Young contenders like Gerrit Cole of the Yankees, or Lance Lynn of the White Sox, both of whom have missed some time down the stretch. He’s become the unquestioned ace of a staff that also includes Jose Berrios and Hyun Jin Ryu, and if the Jays can qualify for the playoffs then he’ll be the horse they’re riding in on.

The timing of the career year for the 29 year old couldn’t be any better either, as he’s working on a one year contract that will see him hit free agency again this offseason. He signed for one year and eight million with the Blue Jays last winter, and he’s all but a lock to get far more than 10x that amount this time around.

As I already said, I can’t imagine that he has a real chance of factoring into the AL MVP race, but he might just be the most important player to the success the Blue Jays have had in 2021.

Headed for another 3rd place finish?

Back in 2019, Marcus Semien was considered to be one of the best players in the American League. He was so good that year that he ended up finishing 3rd in AL MVP voting behind only the winner in Mike Trout, who just slightly edged out Alex Bregman. Trout finished with 355 voter points, Bregman with 335, and Semien not far behind with 228, making it a legitimately close race.

If I were laying some money down on how I think the results are going to play out for 2021, I’m willing to bet that Semien will end up with another 3rd place finish.

As I’ve already talked about in this article, I’ll reluctantly concede that Shohei Ohtani is the favourite for the award. I believe that Ohtani’s closest challenger in the voting will be Guerrero Jr., but I’ll also recognize that it’s a debate whether that should be the case.

Semien has been fantastic in his first season in Dunedin/Buffalo/Toronto, and could make a legitimate claim to the title as the most valuable Blue Jay in 2021. Headed into the season’s last six games he’s been about as steady as you could ask for while playing in all 156 games thus far. He’s slashing .268/.339/.543 with 43 home runs, 39 doubles, 99 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. The 31 year old has been a quality contributor on both sides of the ball, and he’s earned 7.2 bWAR and 6.5 fWAR, easily putting him among the best in the AL. His 43 home runs also tie him for the most in MLB history from a second baseman, and he has six more games to take the honour all to himself.

Like Robbie Ray, Semien is working on a one year deal as well, and is all but guaranteed to sign a huge long-term deal this winter. He’s been exactly what the Blue Jays hoped for and more after signing on a one-year “show me” contract, and there’s a solid case that he’s been their best player throughout the year.

If I had a vote for the MVP of the Blue Jays this year, I’d probably vote for Semien after beating myself up over the debate for several hours. I still think he’ll finish third behind Ohtani and Vlad Jr. when all is said and done, but he’s been every bit as important to the Blue Jays success in 2021, and one of the best free agent signings in franchise history.