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Seven Blue Jays featured on MLB.com Top 100 players for 2022

By Tyson Shushkewich

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 02: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during a MLB game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on October 2, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 02: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during a MLB game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on October 2, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 24: Jose Berrios #17 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Minnesota Twins on September 24, 2021 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) /

An annual tradition when it comes to Major League Baseball, MLB.com has released its rankings for the Top 100 baseball players “right now”, essentially the best of the best heading into the 2022 campaign. This list is generated by the brain trust and analytics department from within the MLB Network, hopefully avoiding any bias and focusing solely on production only. While no rankings list is sure to appease every fan, Blue Jays fans will be happy to see multiple players from Toronto make the list this season.

97. Jose Berrios – SP

After being acquired by the Blue Jays at the 2021 trade deadline, right-hander Jose Berrios didn’t find himself ranked last season but enters the upcoming campaign slotted in at #97. With this upcoming year being his first full season with the Blue Jays, Berrios finished last season strong, earning a 3.58 ERA through 12 starts while posting a 1.7 BB/9 and a 10.0 K/9 with the club.

While the Blue Jays traded two top prospects to bring Berrios north of the border, the Puerto Rican product inked a seven-year extension with the club this past offseason (opt-out after the fifth) and was recently tabbed as the Opening Day starter against the Texas Rangers on April 8th.

83. Matt Chapman – 3B

The Blue Jays’ newest acquisition to the active roster, Matt Chapman was acquired from the Oakland Athletics back in mid-March with four prospects heading the opposite way (eerily similar to the 2014 Donaldson deal).

An elite defender, the addition of Chapman shores up the left side of the diamond while his power bat helps offset the recent departure of Marcus Semien this past offseason. Even after posting what many would describe as a down year (.210 batting average and .716 OPS), Chapman still finds himself ranked at #83 heading into the 2022 campaign, a true testament that his career 79 bDRS (2021 = 10 bDRS) at third base carries a lot of weight even if the bat is hovering just above the Mendoza line.

Factor in that he moves to a hitter-friendly park in the Rogers Centre, the addition of Chapman makes an already dangerous lineup that much more powerful and adds more security to the left side of the infield.

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