Brett Bateman is already one of the Blue Jays’ most valuable players

While it wouldn’t be fair to credit one player for the Toronto Blue Jays’ shocking late-season turnaround, the team has played much better since Brett Bateman’s debut—and the numbers back up the eye test. 

Bateman entered Sunday having already accrued 1.2 fWAR in 24 games. That’s an 8-fWAR pace over a full 162-game season, which is more than it sometimes takes to win an MVP award. He’s been a fantastic all-around contributor. 

Is this likely to continue? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean Bateman won’t keep being valuable, or that what he’s already accomplished should be downplayed. He’s already one of the Blue Jays’ most valuable players in 2026. 

How valuable has Brett Bateman been compared to his teammates?

The Blue Jays’ two most valuable players by fWAR in 2026 are Dylan Cease (5.4) and Louis Varland (2.8), which should surprise absolutely nobody. Cease is a frontrunner for the American League Cy Young Award while Varland has arguably been the best reliever in baseball since the season began. 

Andrés Giménez leads Blue Jays position players with 2.5 fWAR—primarily on the strength of his defence—with Kazuma Okamoto (2.4) and Alejandro Kirk (2.2) close behind him. After those three are Brandon Valenzuela (1.9), Nathan Lukes (1.7), Ernie Clement (1.3), then finally Bateman. 

It’s important to remember that fWAR is a cumulative statistic. The caveat is obvious: Bateman has played a fraction of the games that everyone ahead of him on the list has. Even Kirk, who missed several months, has racked up more than double his plate appearances. No Blue Jay has been more valuable on a per-game basis in 2026. 

And what about Daulton Varsho, the man Bateman replaced? He entered Sunday having accrued 1 fWAR total over 128 games. Bateman has eclipsed his value by this metric despite having played more than 100 fewer games. That’s about as meaningful an upgrade as a front office can possibly hope for. 

Oddly enough, Bateman has done all this without hitting a single home run. His lack of power potential was a serious red flag when he was acquired for Kevin Gausman. He’s instead been fantastic at doing the little things right, whether it’s laying down a perfect bunt, stealing a base, or getting a great jump in the outfield to make a tough catch. It all adds up to a winning player. 

The proof is in the results, as the Blue Jays have been one of the best teams in baseball since Bateman’s debut, re-inserting themselves in the Wild Card race despite “selling” at the trade deadline. Bateman has led the way, batting ahead of Kirk and a resurgent George Springer. 

Nobody should expect Bateman to hit almost .400 the rest of the way or make every single play on defence. He’s not going to win an MVP award next season. But he clearly can be counted upon to make the Blue Jays better—they’re unquestionably a better team with him playing centre field. 

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