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.

The 22 year old phenom- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

I think it’s safe to say that most of us expected Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to be some kind of star in the big leagues, but it was hard to foresee him becoming an elite producer to this level, or this quickly.

Heading into the second last series of the regular season, Vlad Jr. is slashing a ridiculously impressive .315/.405/.601 with 46 home runs and 105 RBI. He’s the only hitter in the American League with an OPS above 1.000 (Bryce Harper and Juan Soto are the only others across all of baseball), and he’s earned 6.7 bWAR, and 6.6 fWAR for his efforts.

After he spent last offseason working on his conditioning, Guerrero Jr. entered camp in the best shape we’ve seen him in as a professional, and it’s paid off on both sides of the ball. In addition to becoming arguably the best hitter in the American League, Vlad Jr. has also become an asset on defence since his move to first base, routinely picking balls out of the dirt. Playing first base hurts his case a bit when it comes to the WAR measures, but there’s no doubt that he’s one of the most valuable corner infielders in the game.

What Blue Jays fans should be truly excited about is the fact that he’s doing this in his first full season as a big leaguer. He played in 123 games as a rookie after being called up in late April, and was held to just 60 games in the pandemic shortened season last year. He was far from a rookie when this season began, but we have to remember that most players his age are still working on their craft in the minor leagues. Guerrero Jr. is a legitimate middle of the order threat in one of the best lineups in baseball, and also the All-Star game MVP from this summer.

He may come up just a little short of his MVP aspirations in 2021, but this will be just the first of many times we’ll see his name among the top candidates for the award. And who knows, if he catches fire for the final six games and helps push the Blue Jays into the playoffs, don’t write him off as a potential winner this year either.

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.