3 Blue Jays who pushed hardest for an Opening Day spot over the last week

As we approach the halfway mark of Spring Training, the battle for potential roster spots for the Toronto Blue Jays has heated up. With a fair number of Blue Jays players currently playing in the World Baseball Classic, it has ultimately opened up the opportunity for aspiring candidates to get extra reps in camp to showcase themselves as much as possible.

Over the last week there are three players who have pushed harder than others for an Opening Day spot and could make a compelling case to head north at the end of March.

3 Blue Jays who have put themselves in the Opening Day roster spot conversation

C Brandon Valenzuela 

The Blue Jays may already have the duo of Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman set for their catcher’s position entering the 2026 MLB season. However, that hasn’t stopped promising prospect Brandon Valenzuela from making things more difficult by putting together a stellar spring to date.

Not only has he shown some hard contact with his hits, he has taken full advantage of his extra playing time in recent days by recording a hit in each of his past four games (through Monday, March 10). In total, Valenzuela is batting a solid .333 with an .821 OPS, two runs scored, two RBIs, along with displaying strong plate discipline with three walks and just two strikeouts over seven total games played. With a 26-man roster to begin the year, he has an outside chance to potentially sneak onto the squad.

P Spencer Miles

Selected from the San Francisco Giants as a Rule 5 draftee by the Blue Jays this past winter, Spencer Miles will be given all the leeway to show his worth this spring. That is because if he isn’t included on the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster to begin the season and stay there for at least 90 days, he would need to be returned to the Giants.

Miles has shown flashes of brilliance thus far, compiling a 3.60 ERA along with eight strikeouts in just five innings of work, albeit with some command issues at times. Nevertheless, he looked dominant in his last outing, striking out three in a scoreless inning against the Detroit Tigers with his fastball averaging close to 97 mph. At this rate, Miles has a good shot at sticking with the Blue Jays when the regular season commences.

INF Josh Kasevich

Finally, one of the most impressive prospects for the Blue Jays to date, Josh Kasevich has sure grabbed everyone's attention. That is because he is among the team hitting leaders this spring and has elevated his stock in the process. In eight games so far, Kasevich has amassed a .381 average, 1.006 OPS, with four runs scored, one home run and three RBIs.

Just for good measure, he showed off some speed by also adding two stolen bases to boot. Kasevich continued his momentum this past week with a two-hit game against the Tigers while constantly putting his elite plate discipline on full display with zero strikeouts to date. With Leo Jiménez failing to secure a full-time bench gig with the Blue Jays the past two seasons, Kasevich might have done enough already this spring to convince the Blue Jays’ brass to hand him the opportunity.