Blue Jays all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

The Toronto Blue Jays have had their share of star players over the years. Despite being a relatively young franchise compared to some of the more famously storied teams in Major League Baseball, the top players to play in Toronto is an impressive list.

But who has been the best to put on a Blue Jays uniform since the team's inception in 1977, and how do you measure their value?

Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is the go-to formula for deciphering a player's overall value. Using FanGraphs' WAR data, we have compiled the all-time best starting lineup the Blue Jays franchise has ever fielded.

We begin at the catcher position. Although the Blue Jays have employed a number of top-end backstops, one name stands above the rest among the players to don the catcher's gear in Toronto.

Catcher: Ernie Whitt, 21.8 fWAR

Ernie Whitt helped carry the Blue Jays teams of the 1980s to prominence through his consistent offense and steady defense behind the plate. He accumulated a 21.8 fWAR during his 12 seasons in Toronto after being selected from the Red Sox in the expansion draft before the 1977 season.

Whitt played 1,218 games in a Blue Jays uniform, easily the most by a catcher, and holds records in almost every offensive category. He leads all Toronto catchers in hits (888), home runs (131), singles (578), doubles (164), triples (15), runs (424), RBI (518), walks (403) and stolen bases (22). Not to mention his 487 Weighted Runs Created (wRC) and 208.2 Runs Above Replacement (RAR).

His lone All-Star appearance came during the 1985 campaign. He slashed .245/.323/.444 with 19 home runs, 55 runs and 64 RBI that year, en route to helping the Jays capture their first AL East pennant. He helped the team return to the playoffs in 1989 before being traded to the Braves in the offseason.

Next: The best all-time Blue Jays first baseman shouldn't be a surprise.

First base: Carlos Delgado, 34.7 fWAR

While familiar names like John Olerud and Edwin Encarnación might spring to mind when you think about the top Blue Jays' first basemen, Carlos Delgado easily eclipses all other contenders with a 34.7 fWAR during his 12 years in Toronto.

After making his major league debut in 1993, he played parts of the 1994 and 1995 seasons before bursting onto the scene in 1996 with 25 home runs in 138 games.

One of the most feared sluggers of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Delgado helped carry the Blue Jays' offense with his awe-inspiring home runs.

Delgado played 1,423 games in Toronto and remains the club leader with 336 home runs, 889 runs scored and 1,058 RBI. He finished his Toronto tenure with a beefy .282/.392/.556 slash line and his .556 slugging percentage ranks as the best among all qualified Jays hitters, not just first basemen.

The two-time All-Star paces all Toronto first basemen in hits (1,413), doubles (343), singles (723) and OPS (.949). He also leads the franchise in walks with 827, of which 128 were intentional.

With a smile as big as his bat, Delgado mashed his way into the hearts of Blue Jays fans and the franchise record books on his way to earning three Silver Slugger awards and MVP votes in four of his 12 seasons in Toronto.

In 2000, he batted a ridiculous .344, with a 1.134 OPS, 41 home runs and 137 RBI, finishing fourth in MVP voting. In 2003, he was the MVP runner-up after batting .302 with 38 homers, an AL-best 1.019 OPS and a major league-best 145 RBI.

The Blue Jays let Delgado go in free agency after the 2004 season. He played five more years for the Marlins and Mets before retiring in 2009 after hip surgery. He returned to Toronto in 2013 to see his name inducted into the team's Level of Excellence.

Next: The best all-time second baseman was an All-Star in every season as a Blue Jay

Third base: Josh Donaldson, 21.3 fWAR

Despite his short stay in Toronto, Josh Donaldson tops the list of the best third basemen in Blue Jays history with a 21.3 fWAR, beating out Rance Mulliniks and Kelly Gruber.

Donaldson came to Toronto in a trade with the Oakland A's prior to the 2015 season and joined one of the most prolific power-hitting lineups the Jays had ever fielded. He teamed up with José Bautista, Edwin Encarnación and Russell Martin to usher in a new era of Blue Jays baseball and helped take the team back to the postseason for the first time since 1993.

He only played three full seasons in a Blue Jays uniform before being traded to Cleveland during the 2018 season, but golly, those three seasons were something special.

In addition to playing strong defense on the hot corner, Donaldson put up gaudy offensive numbers in all three campaigns.

In his first season in Toronto, Donaldson lit up pitching in the AL East and all across the majors. He finished with a .297 batting average and .939 OPS, with 41 home runs and 123 RBI en route to winning the second AL MVP in team history. He was named to his first of two All-Star teams as a Blue Jay and took home his first of two Silver Sluggers.

The "Bringer of Rain" ranks first in home runs (116) among all Toronto third basemen and has the highest slugging percentage (.548), wOBA (.394) and wRC+ (150). He also sits fifth in runs scored (331) and fourth in RBI (316) despite playing in far fewer games (462) than the players ahead of him.

He also gets credit for one of the most dramatic series-clinching plays in Jays' postseason history, with his aggressive baserunning and slide into home that clinched a series sweep over the Texas Rangers in the 2016 ALDS.

Next: The top Blue Jays shortstop is an all-time fan favorite

Shortstop: Tony Fernandez, 35.1 fWAR

The sharp-hitting and slick-fielding Tony Fernandez leads the pack of the best Toronto Blue Jays shortstops with a 35.1 fWAR, which ranks him second among all position players.

Signed by the Blue Jays out of the Dominican Republic as a 17-year-old, Fernandez made his major league debut at the end of the 1983 season and became a big part of the team's success in the 1980s.

Fernandez took over the full-time shortstop job in 1985, playing 161 games and helping the Jays to the team's first postseason berth. He remained a fixture at short for the rest of the decade, going to three All-Star games and winning four Gold Gloves. He garnered MVP votes in each season from 1986 to 1989.

He was traded to the San Diego Padres in the Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar deal, but Jays reacquired him from the New York Mets during the 1993 season. He played 94 games in Toronto that season, and after doing so much to help the franchise grow into a perennial contender, he got to reap the rewards by helping win the second of the back-to-back World Series titles.

He returned to Toronto again for the 1998 and 1999 seasons and turned back the clock. He had two of the best offensive seasons of his career in front of a new generation of fans and earned his fifth career All-Star nod in 1999, in his age-37 season.

Fernandez was a joy to watch patrolling the infield. He played 1,450 games in Toronto, by far the most of any shortstop in team history. He still sits atop the leaderboard in hits (1583), doubles (291), triples (72), runs (704), RBI (613), stolen bases (172) and walks. He finished his Blue Jays career with an impressive .297/.353/.412 slash line.

The fan favorite returned to the Jays once more when he signed as a free agent partway through the 2001 season. He found his swing again in a Blue Jays uniform, hitting .305 over 48 games, and fittingly finished his career where it all began, taking his place on the Level of Excellence before the end of that season.

Sadly, Fernandez passed away in 2020.

Next: The top left fielder was the first Blue Jay to win an MVP

Left field: George Bell, 20.2 fWAR

The Blue Jays hit the jackpot when they snagged George Bell from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 Rule 5 draft. He became an integral piece of the team's success, and part of the heavy-hitting outfield of the 1980s, along with Jesse Barfield and Lloyd Moseby.

Bell made his major league debut in 1981, played in 60 games, and received some Rookie of the Year votes despite hitting a pedestrian .233 with a .606 OPS. He spent 1982 in Triple-A, and when he got his shot again in 1983, he didn't look back.

In 1984, his first full season patrolling left field for the Jays, he hit .292 with an .824 OPS, 26 home runs and 87 RBI, earning himself MVP votes in a foreshadowing of things to come.

He finished eighth and fourth in AL MVP voting over the next two seasons before winning the franchise's first MVP award in 1987. In what was the best offensive season of his career, he hit .308 with a .957 OPS, 47 home runs and an AL-leading 134 RBI. He also received his first of three career All-Star invitations and his third Silver Slugger in as many years.

Bell finished his nine-season Toronto career with a .286/.325/.486 slash line and leads all Jays left fielders in games played (1,181), hits (1294), doubles (237), runs (641) and RBI (740). His 202 home runs are surpassed only by Joe Carter's 203.

Bell left Toronto in free agency after the 1990 season and spent three seasons in Chicago, two with the Cubs and one with the White Sox, before retiring.

The beloved outfielder, who helped build a playoff contender throughout the 1980s but missed out on the World Series titles, was rightfully honored with induction into the franchise's Level of Excellence in 1996.

Next: Who takes home the hotly contested title of all-time best Blue Jays center fielder?

Center field: Vernon Wells, 24.8 fWAR

The Blue Jays have had some elite center fielders over the years. While Lloyd Moseby and Devon White are close, the all-time best center fielder is Vernon Wells, who amassed a 24.8 fWAR during his time in Toronto, the fifth-best mark among position players in franchise history.

A first-round, fifth-overall pick, Wells is the team leader in games played by a center fielder with 1,393, just one more than Moseby. His 223 home runs are the most at the position, placing him fourth among all players. He leads all center fielders in hits (1529), doubles (339), runs (789) and RBI (813).

After debuting in 1999 as a 20-year-old, he played only 57 games in the majors between 1999 and 2001. By 2002 he was ready to take over as the franchise center fielder and patrolled the outfield at SkyDome for the remainder of the decade.

Wells hit his stride and had his best year at the plate in 2003, in his age-24 season. He hit .317 with a .909 OPS and led the majors with 215 hits. He swatted 33 home runs, drove in 117 and led the American League in doubles (49) and total bases (373), finishing eighth in AL MVP voting. He also earned his first of three All-Star nods and a Silver Slugger award.

He also got the job done with the leather, winning three consecutive Gold Gloves from 2004 to 2006.

Unfortunately for Wells, he never experienced the postseason in Toronto and could never live up to the expectations that came with the massive seven-year, $126 million contract extension the team gave him in 2006 after his second All-Star campaign.

He never quite found the form that had made him the highest-paid player in franchise history, and the team eventually traded Wells to the Angels following the 2011 season. He played three more seasons with Los Angeles and the Yankees before hanging up the cleats.

Next: Every Blue Jays fan knows the best all-time right fielder

Right field: José Bautista, 36.2 fWAR

José Bautista came to the Blue Jays in 2008 in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a 27-year-old journeyman with five other organizations, the move didn't make any waves. Luckily for the Jays, Bautista found something in Toronto. He unlocked his potential and helped to change the course of the franchise.

Over his 10 years in Toronto, he accumulated a 36.2 fWAR, the highest of any Blue Jays position player, and introduced postseason baseball to a new generation of fans.

In 2010, he became one of the most feared sluggers almost overnight. He exploded for a Blue Jays single-season record and major league-leading 54 home runs, made his first of six straight All-Star teams, won his first of three Silver Slugger awards and finished fourth in MVP voting.

He followed that up in 2011 by leading the majors with 43 long balls, 132 walks (24 intentional), a .606 slugging percentage and 1.056 OPS. He finished third in MVP voting that year.

Bautista holds the record for the most games played by a right fielder in team history, with 1,235, while his 288 home runs put him second among all Blue Jays, behind only Carlos Delgado. He leads all right fielders in hits (1,103), doubles (219), runs (790), RBI (766) and walks (803).

No discussion about José Bautista would be complete without revisiting one of the biggest, most emotionally-charged moments in franchise history.

The brash, unapologetic Bautista led the team back to the playoffs in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and had his signature moment in the wild seventh inning in game five of the 2015 ALDS against the Texas Rangers. He launched a go-ahead three-run home run and followed that up with a bat flip for the ages.

After leaving Toronto in free agency after 2017, Bautista finished his major league career in 2018, splitting the season between the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.

The beloved fan-favorite will return to Toronto this summer to take his rightful place on the Level of Excellence.

Next: Which fan favorite slugger holds the top Blue Jays DH spot?

Designated hitter: Edwin Encarnación, 23.2 fWAR

When Edwin Encarnación came to Toronto in 2009 from the Cincinnati Reds as another reclamation project, nobody could have foreseen the impact that he would end up having on the franchise. Much like José Bautista, Encarnación unlocked something special as a Blue Jay and became one of baseball's most feared power hitters.

Over eight seasons, he played 999 games for the Blue Jays, 425 as the designated hitter, compiling a 23.2 fWAR, seventh all-time among position players.

His first two full seasons in Toronto were nothing to write home about; he hit 38 home runs across 230 games. The 2012 season was a different story. He bashed a career-high 42 home runs — a mark he reached twice as a Blue Jay.

From 2012 to 2016, Encarnación put up monstrous offensive numbers. He slashed .272/.367/.544, hit 193 home runs, with 34 or more long balls each year, and drove in 550 runs. He earned three All-Star invitations and received MVP votes in four of those seasons, finishing as high as 11th.

His 239 home runs as a Blue Jay put him firmly at the top of the leaderboard among DHs and third all-time behind only Bautista and Carlos Delgado. He also ranks first in hits (977), runs (593), RBI (679) and walks (477).

Encarnación and his famous "Ed-wing" home run trot had some big moments for the franchise, including his "hat trick" three-homer game in 2015. But it was his playoff heroics that Blue Jays fans will remember most. He fully ensconced himself in Jays' postseason lore when he crushed an 11th-inning walk-off home run in the 2016 Wild Card game against the AL East rival Baltimore Orioles.

The Jays inexplicably let Encarnación go in free agency after the 2016 season, despite the fan-favorite slugger wanting to return to Toronto. He ended up playing four more seasons, with three seasons of 32 or more home runs, with Cleveland, Seattle, the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox.