4 Blue Jays land in MLB’s top 100 players list entering 2024

Recently, the MLB Network revealed their complete list of the top 100 players in all of baseball for 2024, and also broken down by team, through its release of the Top 100 Players Now series. From their rankings, the Toronto Blue Jays found that four of their current players have made the distinguished list. They included shortstop Bo Bichette, pitcher Kevin Gausman, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and outfielder George Springer.

For both Bichette and Guerrero, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise as the dynamic duo are currently the faces of the franchise. Coming in at No. 35 (down one spot from 2023) and the highest ranked Blue Jay on the list, Bichette has done practically everything we could have asked for and more for Toronto. As a two-time All-Star and twice leading the American League in hits, Bichette has let his prolific hitting do the talking in most part for the past few years with the club. In 2023, he batted .306 with an .814 OPS, 20 home runs and 73 RBI in 135 games played. More importantly, with his drastic improvement in his defense, along with taking more upon a leadership role on the team, it has clearly showed his maturity and advanced development in his game over the past season.

For Guerrero, ranked 52nd on the list (considerably down from 18th in 2023), he had a slightly down season in 2023 compared to his usual standards as he compiled a .264 average, .788 OPS, 26 home runs and 94 RBI. Nevertheless, he has still racked up an impressive overall resumé so far in his five-year career with the Jays. Not only does he have three All-Star appearances, he also has won one Silver Slugger Award and one Gold Glove Award, showing that he can get it done both at the plate as well as on the field. On top of that, he has finished as an MVP finalist in 2021, losing out only to the best in Shohei Ohtani. Guerrero looks to bounce back big time in 2024, as he appears in game shape and ready to go.

Ranked 41st (after shockingly being unranked in 2023) on the top 100 list was Jays’ ace Kevin Gausman. Gausman has been absolute money for the team since joining them in 2022. The two-time All-Star set the pace for the Jays’ rotation last year by leading the American League in strikeouts with 237 and finishing third in AL Cy Young voting. In total, Gausman went 12-9 with a 3.16 ERA, 134 ERA+, 1.18 WHIP in 31 starts. Without him, the Jays certainly don’t make the postseason in 2023.

Finally, Springer surprisingly comes in at No. 76 (down from 49th in 2023) after struggling for much of 2023. Last year, Springer set career lows in on-base percentage (.327), OPS (.732), OPS+ (102), along with grounding into a career-high 20 double plays. In total, he hit just .258 with 21 home runs, 72 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 154 games played. Most likely he was able to somehow remain ranked had to do with some of his past performances, along with the probability of him bouncing back in 2024; otherwise, the majority probably wouldn’t have expected him making the top 100 list for this year.

The Atlanta Braves lead all teams with a whopping nine players on the list, including top-ranked superstar Ronald Acura Jr., with both the Houston Astros and the Ohtani-led Los Angeles Dodgers having seven of their own. So in comparison, it seems like the Jays are trailing quite behind some of the top teams in the league in terms of quality players in the organization. But if we take a look at the Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals, they all have none of their players in the rankings, so it could have been a lot worse.

Nevertheless, hopefully some of the current Jays not on the list will have a breakout season this year to team up with these big four to help the team be successful and prosperous in 2024.