Blue Jays’ path to playoffs may depend on breakout spark and superstar turnaround

With the Toronto Blue Jays still trying to turn a chaotic season into a playoff berth, Jamie Campbell is pointing to two specific players as key guys down the stretch. The longtime Blue Jays Central host was reluctant to forecast exactly where the Blue Jays will finish, ("I don't do predictions,") he had no trouble identifying who could shape the final weeks of the season.

One has already changed the complexion of Toronto’s lineup. The other, if he catches fire at the right time, could transform the Blue Jays from a desperate Wild Card hopeful into a genuinely dangerous October matchup.

The first is Brett Bateman, who was acquired from the Chicago Cubs in the Kevin Gausman trade. Bateman has given the Blue Jays something their offence had been missing for much of the season: speed, contact, and the ability to put legitimate pressure on the oppositions defense.

Campbell was careful not to pin Toronto’s entire resurgence on one player, but he also made it clear Bateman’s arrival has been impossible to ignore. “There are a lot of reasons why they are where they are, and I hate to put the focus on one individual, but it’s interesting how Bateman has changed the perception of the offence by his mere presence, notably at the top of the order.”

With that presence, Bateman is batting .317 with a 116 wRC+ in his first 20 games (going into Wednesday vs Cleveland). Campbell said Bateman reminds him of the kind of player who can make an opposing defence uncomfortable simply by reaching first base.

“I remember in the middle of the summer watching a Tampa Bay Rays series and thinking, wouldn’t it be nice if the Jays had someone like Chandler Simpson?” Campbell said. “Someone who was just a terror on the basepaths and made you nervous whenever he got to first base because you’re thinking he could be at third at any moment. Or someone slapping balls into the infield, knowing that unless the infielders are on their toes, it’s likely a base hit. That’s kind of what Bateman serves for this team.”

Bateman’s impact has reinvigorated the Blue Jays and Campbell says it's had a positive effect on the other hitters in the lineup as well. He says, “I think his impact has re-energized a few people. Nathan Lukes has seemed to find his stroke again. Alejandro Kirk’s on fire and has been for about three-and-a-half to four weeks. It seems George Springer has absolutely come to life again. I’m not going to say it’s the kid’s responsibility or the kid’s impact entirely, but his presence certainly changes the look of the offence.”

The second player Campbell singled out was not named directly, but there was little mystery around the reference. When he mentioned “No. 27,” he was pointing to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the kind of hitter who can change Toronto’s entire trajectory if he gets hot over the final stretch. Campbell believes the path to a Wild Card spot becomes much clearer if he rediscovers the form he showed last postseason.

“This goes without saying — it’s an obvious statement — but if No. 27, in the next three weeks, can become the hitter he was in the postseason a year ago, I can’t imagine this team not surging into that third spot,” Campbell said. “If he catches fire, to me, it’s a foregone conclusion that your final spot would belong to the Blue Jays.”

That is what could be the separator for Toronto and the rest of the pack. Bateman has already changed the offence’s tempo. Guerrero has the ability to change the offence’s ceiling. If both are contributing at the same time, the Blue Jays become far more dangerous than their record might suggest.

Blue Jays' pitching also has a chance to steer the team into a playoff spot

Campbell also pointed to the pitching staff as another reason the Blue Jays remain alive. Dylan Cease has started to look dominant at the right time, José Soriano has been “an absolutely wonderful addition,” and Max Scherzer’s recent effort helped answer some of the uncertainty behind them.

“Cease has turned it up a little bit,” Campbell said. “It seems as the season goes longer, his performances have been utterly dominant. Soriano has been an absolutely wonderful addition. When you get a frontline starting pitcher, yes, you gave up Arjun Nimmala, and yes, he may become a frontline shortstop in the majors at some point, but in the short term, it’s worth it.”

Campbell added that Soriano could become even more valuable if Toronto eventually finds a way to keep him around beyond this playoff push.

“Maybe you get Soriano on a contract extension at some point and he ends up in your rotation for years to come,” Campbell said. “Scherzer’s effort yesterday (Sunday, Aug. 30) was so welcome because of the questions that lie beyond Cease and Soriano. If Max keeps doing that kind of thing, that solves a problem too.”

“I’d say that both Cleveland and Baltimore better take a good look over their shoulder and realize that the Blue Jays are a different team than they were, say, two months ago,” Campbell said.

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