The top 10 Toronto Blue Jays Players of the 2010’s

Yep, we are at that point in the lockout – counting down the top 10 Blue Jays players of the 2010’s.

The Blue Jays posted a record of 794-826 (.490) during the last decade, well behind the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays decade success. However, that isn’t the whole story. The Blue Jays actually had five seasons .500 or better in those years, including 2010 (the Jose Bautista year), saw some success again in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and then went into the next decade with a whimper. But two playoff appearances – the first since 1993 – and the freaking bat flip mean this was the best decade of Blue Jays baseball since the ’90s.

A lot of talented ballplayers have passed through Toronto over the decades. The 2010’s saw their fair share, thanks in part to former general manager Alex Anthopolous who craftily put together some good teams, with the castoffs of the league and some established superstars as well. The run of 2015 and 2016 awoke a new generation of Blue Jays fans and united a nation in a way that hasn’t been seen in two decades. As someone who was an infant for the World Series Championships (my birth in 1992 was the lucky charm that propelled the Blue Jays), it was incredible to walk into any bar for the playoff games and participate in the palpable energy.

Before we get into the list, be aware this list is subjective, of course. It will include the best Blue Jays of the decade, not purely the best players of the decade who played on the Blue Jays. In other words, I am looking at those who contributed the most to the team. On any other list, I would include David Price. Although he only pitched 74 regular season innings for the team, his value for that half a season was so huge. That day the Blue Jays acquired him changed everything.

Now, onto the list.

9. Justin Smoak: 2015-2019

This one may be somewhat controversial, as “Smoaky” was beloved by most during his time with the Blue Jays. Justin Smoak played more games with the Blue Jays than any other team in his MLB career, suiting up for 684 contests. Only Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and Kevin Pillar appeared in more games from 2010 to 2019.

The Blue Jays picked Smoak up on waivers in the fall of 2014. The six-foot-four South Carolina native established himself as a slick-fielding first baseman, who had a power bat but struck out – a lot. His home runs were impressive to watch certainly, almost as incredible as his ability to strike out when the team needed him most. In three of his five seasons, Smoak posted strikeout rates of over 25 percent, well above the MLB average of 20.7 percent. Smoak also went 0-for-10 in postseason batting in his two appearances with the Blue Jays.

All that aside, Smoak was a staple in the Blue Jays lineup and a rock over at first base. He was named an All-Star in 2017 with a great season:

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Smoak was also in the top ten of range factor per nine innings for a first baseman in four of five seasons, led the league in fielding percentage, and made just two errors in 2017. Overall, Smoak hit 117 home runs as a Blue Jay and posted a respectable stat line of .237/.338/.459 with a .796 OPS.

Toronto was really the last taste of MLB success for Smoak. After stops in Milwaukee and San Francisco, Smoak played for the Yomiuri Giants in the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan for a portion of the 2021 season before the pandemic stopped his family from being able to join him over there, so he returned stateside. In 34 games with the Giants, Smoak hit .272/.336/.482 with 7 home runs and 14 RBI.

8. John Gibbons: 2013-2018

Yes, I realize I’m cheating. John Gibbons is not a player, but it’s my list and I can do what I want with it. Gibbons was an integral part of this decade and has been a big part of the organization as a whole. This was his second stint as the boss, as he also managed the Blue Jays from 2004-2008 before being fired by general manager J.P. Ricciardi.

Gibbons was known for being a players manager, although he certainly wasn’t one to shy away from confrontation or let the guys know when they weren’t meeting expectations. Paired with his fiery Texas personality, Gibbons was thrown out of 53 ballgames in his managerial career, which lands him 20th all-time. It’s said that players like when their manager comes to bat for them, and Gibbons certainly did that. In 2015, he finished fourth in Manager of the Year voting after steering the Blue Jays to a 93-69 record and its first postseason berth since 1993.

With his slow drawl, slouching on the dugout bench, and click-worthy postgame comments such as the one below, #Gibbythebest became beloved in his second tenure with the Blue Jays. Overall, Gibby amassed a 488-484 record and two postseason appearances in the 2010’s before departing the team as a mutual decision after the 2018 season. In total, Gibbons managed more than 1,500 games for this organization.

7. Kevin Pillar: 2013-2019

Full disclosure, I debated Pillar at being #7 or #6 for quite a while before ultimately leaving PIllar at seventh overall. Quality over quantity, despite the defensive metrics, as those aren’t the only factor here.

Pillar was homegrown by the Blue Jays, drafted in the 32nd round of the 2011 draft out of California State University, surely one of the best success stories that late in the draft for Toronto. After three strong seasons in the minors, Pillar was called up in late 2013 and then again in 2014 and didn’t leave until April 2019 when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Juan De Paula, Alen Hanson, and Derek Law. None of the return pieces are still with the Blue Jays organization.

Pillar, of course, will always be remembered as one of the best defensive outfielders in Blue Jays history. At least, he perhaps made the most highlight-reel catches that energized a fanbase, perhaps enough to overlook other flaws in his game. The 2017 catch was certainly one of a kind and what Pillar himself described that “put him on the map as not just an average outfielder.”

In the outfield, it seemed like no one was better. Pillar brought his greatest value to the Blue Jays over his five plus seasons in centre field. He consistently ranked in the top of nearly every defensive category year after year. In 2015, the California native finished 9th in overall WAR at 5.2 The fact that he never won a Gold Glove is simply absurd. Perhaps if Kevin Kiermaier wasn’t roaming Tampa Bay’s outfield, he would have, but even so, it seems crazy having watched him day in and day out. There’s something to be said watching balls get hit to the gap or the wall and feeling confident it will be hauled in by our Superman. Even today, he has the sixth-most putouts by active centre fielders.

Offensively, Pillar certainly had some pop in his bat and was a streaky hitter, evident by the fact that wouldn’t get on base consistently. He also had decent speed on the bases, swiping 69 in his Toronto tenure to a tune of a career 74.1 success rate. Only Rajai Davis stole more, and that’s basically all he did. Still, Pillar surprised a lot of people with what he brought to the team and his ability to play well above his career projections. According to Fangraphs, Pillar’s 10.1 WAR in his time as a Blue Jay was fifth-best of the decade. Not bad for a guy scouts relegated as a corner outfielder at best.

Pillar went on to post perhaps his best statistical year with the Giants in 2019, hitting career highs in homeruns (21), RBI (88), slugging percentage (.432) and OPS (.719). Pillar had a solid 2021 with the New York Mets last year, reunited with former teammate Marcus Stroman, but is now a free agent.

6. Russell Martin: 2015-2018

I debated putting Russell Martin higher on this list because I felt like he contributed more to the Blue Jays teams of the 2010’s. And maybe he did. After all, in the decade, he contributed the fourth-highest WAR behind Bautista, Encarnacion, and Donaldson. It certainly goes to show what kind of a decade it was for the Blue Jays. Although Martin only played two full seasons – he was hurt for at least half of 2017 and 2018 – his 447 games played were the eight-most of the decade, and his value shows itself in the 11.3 WAR posted.

It marked the start of something new that day in November 2014 when the Blue Jays introduced Martin after signing him to a five-year, $82-million contract. Part of it was an elite catcher, the first for the Blue Jays in a long time and part of it was he was the best Canadian-born baseball player at the time. Martin posted a strong year in 2015, despite a slow start. It was the best production from the catching position in quite some time. Martin slugged 23 home runs, drove in 77 runs, and put together a nice stat line of .240/.329/.458 with a .787 OPS, all of which ranked in the top of catcher production for the year.

We are at that point in the lockout where we are counting down the top 10 Blue Jays of the 2010’s and what they accomplished with the organization.

Behind the plate, Martin had always been known for his ability to throw runners out, and his move to Toronto only continued that. In 2015, Martin threw out a career-high 44 percent of runners attempting to take a free base. The league average that year was 32 percent. His 32 runners thrown out led the league. It’s worth noting that particular stat dropped way down to 15 percent in 2016, as Martin allowed a league-high 61 runners to steal a base. In 2015, Martin was a finalist for the Gold Glove award, although he didn’t win it.

Like many of the Blue Jays hitters, Martin struggled in the postseason, going just 7-for-59 across two years in the Wild Card, ALDS, and ALCS rounds. It’s also hard to quantify the intangibles that players bring to a clubhouse and it’s perhaps overtalked about.

However, Martin did bring a wealth of postseason and major league experience and a leadership presence that the 2015 and 2016 teams certainly needed and reportedly benefited from. No, he wasn’t as elite a catcher as he had been for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates earlier in his career, but his 2015 season at the least is the best single-season season from a catcher, especially including both offensive and defensive metrics of the last 20 years.

5. Marcus Stroman: 2014-2019

Maybe it didn’t seem like it, but Marcus Stroman was as much a key part of the 2010’s as any other player. Stroman started more games (135) for the Blue Jays last decade than any other pitcher, throwing only fewer innings (789.2) than R.A. Dickey. His 14.9 WAR certainly easily beats every other Blue Jays pitcher of the decade.

Stroman was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2012 and came up in early 2014 and never looked back. Together with fellow top prospect Aaron Sanchez, they represented the future of the Blue Jays rotation. Despite Stroman’s five-foot-seven stature, he made up for it in confidence, determination, and a six-pitch arsenal which he consistently throws for strikes. In particular, Stroman has thrown his sinker to account for more than 42 percent of all pitches he has thrown because it is consistently effective to produce a ground ball.

Perhaps what really endeared Stroman to fans was in early 2015, after tearing his ACL during Spring Training. The injury was expected to keep Stroman out the entire season, but in a typical “Height Don’t Measure Heart’ way, the pitcher tweeted out “The return shall be legendary” and he wasn’t wrong. Taking advantage of his time, Stroman returned to Duke University while rehabbing and completed his degree in Sociology. In September, he returned well ahead of what was expected and helped the Blue Jays clinch a division win by posting absurd stats: 4-0 in four starts with a 1.67 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and no walks in 27 innings. He wasn’t as stellar in the postseason but still good, throwing two quality starts in three opportunities.

Stroman threw more than 200 innings in both 2016 and 2017, winning a Gold Glove Award and receiving Cy Young votes in the latter year. He finished fifth in pitcher WAR that year as well, but perhaps the highlight was this home run in May. Stroman and catcher Luke Maille became the first batterymates to hit back-to-back home runs since 1970.

The same swagger that caused Toronto to fall in love with Stroman may have played a big part in the souring of relationships – with former best friend Sanchez, with Blue Jays management when Stroman publicly criticized them during arbitration, and with the fanbase. At first, it’s cute, but at some point, it turns into something else. The Blue Jays were rebuilding anyways and traded Stroman to the New York Mets shortly after he played in his first All-Star game amidst another strong season. The Blue Jays acquired Simeon Woods Richardson and Anthony Kay in the deal. The former turned into Jose Berrios and the latter will likely be a source of depth for the team in 2022.

Stroman signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs just before the lockout, worth $71 million.

4. J.A. Happ: 2012-2014, 2016-2018

Perhaps this is another surprising choice, but J.A. Happ was quietly and maturely one of the best Blue Jays pitchers of the last decade. In two stints with the team, one considerably better than the other, he was a consistent and reliable starter for the Jays, including being a part of the playoff team in 2016. Happ was traded to the Blue Jays in July 2012 for a raft of players who weren’t particularly valuable and fought for a starting role, which he ultimately achieved due to injuries.

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Happ was one of those pitchers/players who came into their own later in their career rather than earlier. When he came to the Blue Jays for the first time, he hadn’t really established himself as a consistently strong pitcher. By that time, he had amassed a 5.2 WAR, a total he nearly surpassed in 2016 alone when he returned to Toronto via a three-year, $36-million contract. He showed a very different side in his second stint, proving that some players do get better with age. In 2016, Happ was among the best pitchers in the league, becoming the sixth Blue Jays pitcher in history to win 20 games in a season. He finished that year sixth in AL Cy Young voting. The 195 innings pitched and 163 strikeouts were both career highs for the left-hander, as was his 3.18 ERA in a full season as a starter. The Illinois native also was strong in the playoffs, giving up three earned runs in 10 innings pitched over two starts, with a 1-1 record.

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Happ battled injuries in 2017 but still posted a strong season through 25 starts. In 2018, Happ was named an All-Star for the first time in his career but with the Blue Jays rebuilding, he was traded in the final year of his contract to the New York Yankees in exchange for Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney. Happ went on to finish a great year in New York and spent two more years there. In 2021, the pitcher struggled and is currently a free agent.

Overall, it’s hard to see what pitcher contributed more the last decade than Happ, as quietly as he seemed to do it. The Blue Jays certainly hadn’t had a season like Happ’s 2016 for a while, until, well Robbie Ray in 2021.

3. Josh Donaldson: 2015-2018

That brings us into the top three Blue Jays of the 2010s and although some may switch a couple around here, everyone’s top three list would certainly have to be the same. After all, it was this trio that slugged their way into the postseason again. But, no spoilers.

Donaldson was another era-changing transaction for the Blue Jays in November 2014, when Toronto brass flipped Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, Franklin Barreto, and Brett Lawrie to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for the “Bringer of Rain”. And man, did he make it rain in Toronto over the next few years. Of the four prospects, only Graveman turned into anything remotely worth holding onto. It certainly was a lopsided trade for the Blue Jays.

Number 20 was a huge part of the offensive juggernaut known as the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays, who made every game a nightmare for opposing pitchers. Donaldson did what the Blue Jays acquired him to do, slugging 41 home runs and driving in a league-leading 123 runs. He also led the league in runs and total bases, and his .939 OPS ranked third in the American League. His 8.8 WAR in 2015 set a Blue Jays record for a single season, passing a player to be yet revealed on this list. Donaldson, who had finished in the top-10 MVP voting the previous two years with Oakland, was easily voted the American League Most Valuable Player for 2015, the first for the Blue Jays since George Bell in 1985. That wasn’t all though – Donaldson also was an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger, participated in the Homerun Derby amongst various other achievements. All things told it was one of the most dominant overall seasons in Blue Jays history.

Donaldson put together another outstanding 2016 season, winning another Silver Slugger, finishing fourth in MVP voting, and being named an All-Star once again. Donaldson hit 37 home runs and drove in 99, but impressively his OBP (.404) and OPS (.953) were even better than his 2015 season. In 2017, the third-baseman battled injuries but still produced at a high level with 33 home runs and a .944 OPS in 113 games. In August of 2018, the Blue Jays traded Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians for Julian Merryweather. The full extent of that return remains to be seen.

Donaldson hit .325 in 77 playoff at-bats with the Blue Jays, adding four home runs and 13 RBI in 20 games. He certainly did his part in every at-bat as a member of the Jays. Chants of “MVP” were common for his entire tenure and he was a big part of a whole new fanbase of baseball fans in Canada, who quickly loved the Bringer of Rain for the way he intensely played the game and all he brought to every game.

Now 38 years old, Donaldson spent one season in Atlanta before signing a four-year deal with the Minnesota Twins and the slugger continues to be a key contributor into his late thirties.

2. Edwin Encarnacion: 2010-2016

Edwin Encarnacion entered his Blue Jays tenure on a whimper, a castoff of the Cincinnati Reds that the Blue Jays acquired as part of the Scott Rolen trade, and left Toronto a hero, an icon. It was reported that the Jays weren’t even trying to acquire Encarnacion but the Reds wouldn’t agree to the deal unless he was thrown in as well. EE was brought to the Blue Jays as a third-baseman but played very few games there, instead, being used as a designated hitter or at first base.

You cannot in good conscience call yourself a Blue Jays fan of that era if you don’t know “the parrot walk”, Encarnacion’s go-to move as he rounded the bases. It became an instant fan-favourite trademark in Toronto.

Although Encarnacion was not an All-Star from the getgo, the Blue Jays continued to show faith in him and he rewarded that with a breakout season in 2012 with 42 home runs, 110 RBI, and a .280/.384/.557/.941 slash line. From there, Encarnacion hit 30+ home runs in five straight seasons and drove in 100+ RBI in all but one of those five, the outcast being where he ended with 98. In 2016, he led the American League with 127.

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For the decade, Encarnacion played 957 games for the Blue Jays in the 2010’s with 231 home runs and 658 RBI. Those numbers only trail Jose Bautista. EE was a three-time All-Star, received MVP votes in four different seasons, was named American League Player of the Month twice, and ranked near the top of many offensive categories from 2012-2016. For all he contributed to the Blue Jays last decade, it’s easy to mark him down as the second-best Blue Jays player of that era.

1. Jose Bautista: 2010-2017

No one meant more to the Blue Jays or contributed more value or represented a franchise over a decade than Jose Bautista. “JoeyBats” suited up in over 1,100 games for the Jays

The Blue Jays acquired Bautista from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008 for catcher Robinson Diaz, who did not appear in the major leagues after 2009. Bautista had been a journeyman for a handful of teams and left the Blue Jays 10 seasons later as one of the best players of all time. No one in their wildest dreams could have imagined that.

2010 saw the breakout emergence of Bautista. The slugger hit a career-high, league-leading and franchise-record 54 home runs with 124 RBI, .617 SLG, and a .995 OPS. From there, Bautista was unstoppable. For six straight seasons, he was named an All-Star, four times finishing in the top 10 of MVP voting. His 2011 season was perhaps his best when he led the league in home runs (43), walks (132), slugging percentage (.608), and OPS (1.058). He finished third in MVP voting that year, his top result. Bautista consistently led the league in most offensive categories, including home runs, on-base percentage, OPS, runs scored and much more. He was simply dominant.

But throw all that out, because there is one reason Bautista will be remembered most by Blue Jays fans, even now more than six years removed from the moment. It was the greatest Blue Jays moment since 1993 – October 8, 2015. The Blue Jays were battling the Texas Rangers in a deciding Game Five in the American League Division Series. I don’t need to explain anymore. You’ll watch the video, chills will go down your spine, and you’ll remember the exact place you first experienced it and what you felt in that moment. I certainly do.

I realize it was just an ALDS and not a championship moment, but for an organization simply starved for playoff success, I cannot quantify what that moment meant to this country. It also started a conversation regarding bat flips, traditional baseball, and showing emotions as baseball players. The conversation seems to be heading in the right direction these days. As a whole, Bautista was successful in the playoffs, hitting .243/.364/.541/.904 with six home runs and 16 RBI in 20 games.

Bautista signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves after the 2017 season, ending his time with the Blue Jays, although his career petered out after that. In the last decade alone with the club, Bautista hit 272 home runs, scored 729 runs and drove in 716. The limits of the 2010’s aside, Bautista ranks high on many all-time records for the Blue Jays, including home runs (2nd – 288), games played (5th – 1235), runs scored (2nd – 790), RBI (3rd – 766) and plenty of others. We may even see him on the Level of Excellence at the Rogers Centre one day. He’s certainly done enough.