3 dream Silver Slugger pairings Blue Jays fans wish they could have seen

Baseball history is filled with dream lineup combinations that never had a chance to become reality. What if David Ortiz and Wade Boggs had shared the middle of Boston’s order? What if Aaron Judge had hit behind Don Mattingly in New York? How many home runs could the Dodgers have launched with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Piazza at their peaks? The commonality between all of them? They were all Louisville Silver Slugger winners during their careers.

For the second straight year, FanSided will have a prominent role in the Silver Slugger announcement process through The Baseball Insiders YouTube channel, giving Jays Journal readers another reason to keep an eye on the award conversation as the season winds down. It also allows the fanbase a chance to ask, "What if?"

The Toronto Blue Jays have plenty of their own Silver Slugger winners in team history where they can practice that exercise. By matching players from different eras and using their best award-winning seasons, it is possible to build several combinations of teammates that would have made life miserable for opposing pitchers.

3 dream Blue Jays pairings fans can only wish they had seen in the same lineup

Carlos Delgado and José Bautista would have been an impossible assignment

Let's start with perhaps the most obvious pairing: peak Carlos Delgado and peak José Bautista hitting back-to-back.

Delgado’s 2000 season remains one of the greatest offensive performances in franchise history. He hit .344 with a 1.134 OPS, 41 home runs, 137 RBI and a major-league-leading 57 doubles. It's one of those seasons that show how good he was at the height of the power era, and just one of many reasons he deserves Hall of Fame recognition.

Bautista’s 2011 follow-up to his historic breakout was every bit as dominant, as he led the majors with 43 home runs, 132 walks, a .447 on-base percentage and a 1.056 OPS. Why not use his 2010 season? Aside from the home runs, his 2011 campaign was actually better. He was regarded as a more complete and efficient hitter in 2011.

He had a higher average (.302 - .260), OBP (.447 - .378) and OPS (.1.056 - .995), while he also walked more (132 - 100) and finished with a higher WAR (8.5 - 7.0).

By combining Delgado's 2000 and Bautista's 2011 seasons and the Blue Jays would have received 84 home runs, 240 RBI, 255 walks and 15.6 WAR from two spots in the order. Their adjusted OPS figures were nearly identical — 181 for Delgado and 182 for Bautista — meaning both hitters produced at roughly 80 per cent above league average.

The most frightening part is how differently they could punish a pitcher. Delgado offered elite power while spraying line drives and doubles across the field. Bautista worked counts relentlessly, forced pitchers into the strike zone and could turn one mistake into a souvenir in left field.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jesse Barfield would have brought homegrown thunder

Few combinations capture the evolution of Blue Jays power better than Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jesse Barfield in their first respective Silver Slugger seasons.

Guerrero’s 2021 breakout produced a .311/.401/.601 slash line, 48 home runs and 111 RBI. He led the American League in home runs, runs scored and total bases, finished second in MVP voting and established himself as one of the sport’s most dangerous hitters.

Barfield’s 1986 season was equally significant for an earlier generation. He became the first Blue Jay to lead the AL in home runs, setting a then-franchise record with 40. He also finished with a .559 slugging percentage, a .927 OPS and 108 RBI.

Together, their Silver Slugger seasons produced 88 home runs, 219 RBI and 14.1 WAR. Guerrero would have supplied patience and exceptional plate coverage, while Barfield’s right-handed power could change a game even when he was not hitting the ball out of the park.

There is also something fitting about pairing two homegrown stars who became franchise cornerstones in radically different eras. Barfield emerged as part of the first great Blue Jays core in the 1980s. Guerrero arrived carrying enormous expectations and then delivered one of the best age-22 seasons baseball has ever seen.

Josh Donaldson and George Bell would have united Toronto’s MVP seasons

Only two players have won an MVP Award in a Blue Jays uniform. Imagining them in the same lineup is a fascinating exercise.

Donaldson was the engine of the 2015 team that snapped Toronto’s 22-year postseason drought. He hit .297 with 41 home runs, 123 RBI and a league-leading 122 runs. In a lineup that was already incredibly deep, he stood out amongst his peers.

Bell’s 1987 campaign was similarly overpowering. He batted .308 and set new franchise records for home runs (47) and RBIs (134), becoming the first Blue Jay to win MVP honours.

The two seasons combined for 88 home runs and 257 RBI, the highest run-production total among the strongest pairings in franchise history. Both hitters were at their best with men on base, and proved to be dangerous to pitch to in those high -leverage moments.

Blue Jays fans were fortunate to watch these guys become franchise icons. Seeing their best seasons overlap would have produced some of the most intimidating middle-of-the-order partnership's Toronto never had.

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