3 Blue Jays who could take a leap this season

After the Blue Jays' dismal 2024 season, Toronto fans need some hope. Maybe not the "Yankees will collapse" kind of hope, but the hope that some players on the Blue Jays roster will step up and help lead the team on a postseason push.

So, who’s going to take that leap in 2025? Let’s look at three players who end up being Toronto's X-factor this season.

Alejandro Kirk

While Kirk is a guy that pitchers love having behind the plate, there's no deny that his offensive production took a nosedive last season. Once heralded as one of the best contact-hitting catchers in baseball, Kirk’s numbers slipped (.253 batting average with just five home runs), which led to Blue Jays fans wondering if his 2022 All-Star season was an aberration.

We're not at a point where the team needs to consider getting a replacement behind the plate, but also not the level of production the Blue Jays need from their primary catcher.

However, there’s reason to believe a turnaround is coming. Kirk’s plate discipline is still elite, and, if he can regain some of his power stroke while maintaining his strong contact skills, he could once again become one of the most valuable catchers in the American League. A bounce-back year from Kirk would be a massive boost to a Jays lineup that desperately needs more consistency.

Chris Bassitt

Bassitt may not be the flashiest name in the Blue Jays rotation, but he’s quietly been one of the most reliable starters in baseball. While he finished last year with an ERA over four, he still ate innings, something Toronto desperately needed given the unpredictability of their rotation.

Bassitt’s strength lies in his ability to mix pitches effectively to keep hitters off balance. He doesn’t rely on overpowering velocity but instead uses command and pitch sequencing to induce weak contact.

This is where the concept of "regression to the mean" comes into play. Averages are averages for a reason, and Bassitt finished last year with numbers that were far and away above his career averages (his ERA and WHIP were both the highest of his career).

If Bassitt can continue to be a durable, consistent presence on the mound, he’ll provide the Jays with much-needed stability and should finish with stats that are closer to his career averages. A strong 2025 from Bassitt could be the difference between a playoff berth and another disappointing finish.

Daulton Varsho

Varsho arrived in Toronto with the kind of expectations usually reserved for a high-priced free agent since the Jays gave up Gabriel Moreno for him... a trade that looks worse every time Moreno guns down a baserunner in Arizona. But here’s the thing: Varsho might finally be putting it together at the plate.

He’s already elite defensively and his base-running has the ability to be top-tier. But the bat? Well, let’s just say that when a guy with his power potential is rocking a .230 batting average, you start questioning your life choices.

However, there’s reason to believe 2025 could be different. His barrel rate improved last year and his expected power numbers were better than his actual output. If he can simply improve his plate discipline a little, he might become the power-speed weapon we were promised.

He set a career-high in walks last season and improved on his OPS and slugging compared to 2023. Let's call a spade spade here: he still struggles with the fastball (especially high in the zone) and teams exploit it. But he's making improvements and there's a good chance he's on the cusp of a breakout.

The Bottom Line

Look, the AL East isn’t getting any easier. The Orioles are terrifying, the Yankees exist to make Toronto fans miserable, and the Rays somehow turn random guys from the grocery store into Cy Young candidates. The Jays need players to step up, and Kirk, Bassitt and Varsho are the best bets to do it.