Could this Blue Jay make a leap this year?

Third base could be a revolving door for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025. From Ernie Clement to Orelvis Martinez and Addison Barger, the Blue Jays have no shortage of quality options who could potentially man the hot corner. But that glut of options also means they don't have a bonafide starter

While rival teams like the Red Sox now have two All-Stars who could play third base, Toronto will likely have to start the season with a more unproven option at the hot corner. Of those options, Barger stands out the most as a guy who could make a leap and become the top option at third.

While Barger can also play in the outfield, third base seems to be the spot where he can lock down the most playing time after the offseason addition of Anthony Santander.

Anoother reason why he could work in the outfield is his cannon of a throwing arm. He averaged 96.4 mph on his throws last year (the fifth-highest mark in baseball), which is more than 10 mph higher than the positional average of 85.7 mph. That lighting arm likely gives him an edge over some of his contemporaries in the Blue Jays clubhouse.

While he may not have the greatest range, he handles himself well at third. He's made just 23 errors in 1,145 innings at third across all leagues during his six seasons of professional baseball.

But the biggest thing that could help Barger net more playing time is if he can break through with his bat and make good on the promise and potential he has shown since being drafted by Toronto in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft.

While Barger's first two stints with the Blue Jays last didn't go great, he seemed to find his groove during his third tour of duty. Barger hit .292 with three home runs and 10 RBI from July 25 through September 14, which was a huge step forward after he went 1-for-18 in his first trip up.

And although he tailed off in the final few weeks of the season — he tallied just three hits in his final 34 at bats — that can likely be chalked up to fatigue (he set a new career-high by playing in 126 games between Triple-A and MLB) and a right knee injury he sustained at the beginning of September.

While FanGraphs is predicating Barger to produce just 0.6 fWAR in 2025, there's still a lot to get excited about. He was among baseball best in average bat speed (74.3 mph) and finished the year in the 99th percentile in arm strength and the 68th percentile in sprint speed.

Although he would have finished the year with a barrel rate in the 50th percentile had he gotten enough at-bats to qualify for the leaderboard, he had a max exit velocity of 114.7 mph, which shows that he can square up the ball.

Couple that with his impressive advanced stats in Triple-A, and you've got a potential recipe for success.

Barger has all the tools to become an everyday player for the Blue Jays, and the opportunity will be there for him. It's just up to him to capitalize on it.