Blue Jays: Best players in franchise history to wear jersey numbers 21-30

#23 José Cruz Jr.

José Cruz Jr. brought youth, excitement, and some pop to the Jays when he was attained from the Seattle Mariners halfway through his rookie season in 1997. 

Going the other way was Paul Spoljaric and Mike Timlin, one of the few remaining pieces from the back-to-back World Series-winning teams from earlier in the decade, signaling the team was going in a new direction with the hopes that Cruz would be a big part of that. 

The then-23-year-old acclimated himself well in his new surroundings, hitting 14 homers in 55 games, and made a case to receive more playing time down the road. 

Cruz took advantage of his opportunity and, after performing well in a part-time role in 1998 and 1999, he would play all 162 games in 2000 and 146 in 2001, topping 30 home runs in both seasons. 

The Puerto Rico native left via free agency following the 2002 season, but not before launching 112 dingers, the 12th most in franchise history.

#24 Shannon Stewart

Shannon Stewart was a home-grown talent that generated a considerable amount of buzz upon making his major-league debut in 1995. 

After receiving a scant amount of playing time (and wearing number seven) in his first three seasons, the former first-round pick approached the 1998 season knowing he had a real chance to make an impact but also aware that the clock was ticking on his young career.

After a strong camp, Stewart began showing what he was capable of in his first real shot in the bigs. He hit .279 with 12 home runs, 55 RBI, and 51 stolen bases on a team that went 88-74.

The best was yet to come as Stewart put together an impressive stretch of five consecutive seasons with a batting average above .300 between 1999 and 2003. He also eclipsed the 100 runs scored plateau in four of those years.