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

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.