The Athletic hands out bold prediction for the second-half Blue Jays

With the Toronto Blue Jays sitting at 45-40 entering the day, things aren't going exactly as planned, but playoff hopes are not yet lost for the club. All year long so far, it's consistently felt like this is a team that could throw together a nice win streak at any point to make up some serious ground in the AL East.

The Athletic recently released their latest power rankings article (subscription required) and included a bold prediction for all 30 teams around the league. The Blue Jays fell from the 11 spot down to No. 14 between the Phillies and Brewers.

The prediction that the staff from The Athletic hands the Blue Jays is: An entire season comes down to two weeks and one trend.

Can't necessarily disagree with this one, even though it isn't all that bold.

The Blue Jays currently boast a 38-20 record against all teams that are not from the American League East. Against opponents in their division? Well, that record is at 7-20, which simply is not going to cut it if the club is serious about their playoff aspirations. To end this year's regular season, the Jays play 15 straight games against opponents in the AL East, which quite literally will either make or break the entire year.

Tampa Bay Rays: 3-4 record

Baltimore Orioles: 1-5 record

New York Yankees: 3-4 record

Boston Red Sox: 0-7 record

There's really no way to put a positive spin on this. The final two weeks or so of the regular season are going to be of the utmost importance for the Blue Jays. In that stretch, the Jays will take on the Yankees for three games on the road, followed by an away series against the Rays. After an off day, the Jays will then host the Yankees for three games, followed by a series in which they'll host the Rays for three more games.

Of course, both of these teams are ones the Blue Jays currently trail in the standings.

Again, this Blue Jays squad has felt like a team that has the talent to string together wins at a rate that'd put them near the top of their division. A lineup led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette paired with a starting rotation featuring Kevin Gausman and a resurgent José Berríos should be a juggernaut on both sides of the ball. As manager John Schneider likes to frequently say, it's just about getting the guys to sync up and play better ball together as a unit.