With playoff hopes non-existent, the Blue Jays still have realistic goals to reach in 2024

The Blue Jays are one of the hottest teams in baseball. They just recently had a six-game winning streak (technically five, but their jump back in time makes it six!) snapped by the Boston Red Sox. As a result, they are just four games under .500 and two games behind Tampa Bay; four behind Boston in the AL East. Toronto's offence and pitching has finally come together perhaps a little late to make the playoffs but it's still possible for them to make moves within the division.

Though a short sample size the Blue Jays offence ranks second in OPS, second in home runs and third in RBI tied with the Diamondbacks over the past 15 days. Ernie Clement secured his status as an everyday player leading the team in RBI, Alejandro Kirk has been firing on all cylinders since the departure of Danny Jansen; Joey Loperfido and Addison Barger are finally showing Blue Jays fans what they're capable of combining for five home runs between them in this timespan. On the opposite side of the spectrum the Rays rank 27th in OPS, 26th in home runs and tied for 28th in RBI. Not mention they have the second hardest schedule remaining playing teams currently leading their divisions including the Guardians and the Phillies. The Red Sox have the easiest schedule remaining compared to the two teams mentioned above unfortunately their playoff odds have plummeted to 18.2% on the back of a recent five-game losing streak.

Not only has the Blue Jays offence been stellar the pitching has been a strength. Bowden Francis has been excellent in August. He nearly made history against the Angels falling an inning short of throwing the first no-hitter since Dave Stieb in 1990 he's held his opponents to a .100 average together with a sparkling ERA. Kevin Gausman is showing signs of his ace-like self also José Berríos picked up his 13th win last night the most he's had a member of the Blue Jays. Out of the three teams mentioned the Blue Jays are the only team with a record above .500 in past month, (15-12). They've excelled on both sides of the ball which the other two teams have simply failed to do. Furthermore, they've become more watchable largely due to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s offensive and Francis' pitching breakthroughs in addition to the young guys finally showing their potential.

Even if a postseason berth is out of the question, the Blue Jays could still conceivably finish the year above that dreaded .500 mark and beat out the likes of the Rays (and maybe even the Red Sox!) in the AL East standings. That would certainly be a way to get back into the good graces of Jays fans and turn the hype-meter way up on the 2025 campaign.