The Blue Jays need these three players to step up once the ALDS begins

Prior to the impressive finish to the 2025 MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays were actually amidst some struggles with their offense during the final two weeks. If it hadn’t been for the exceptional play of some unsung heroes in the final few games, we wouldn’t even be talking about the Blue Jays and their American League East division title win right now.

But with the postseason set to start officially for Toronto this Saturday, they will need their offense to be firing on all cylinders to have any chance against some of the league’s best pitchers during the MLB Playoffs.

The Blue Jays need these three players to step up once the ALDS begins

Addison Barger

Addison Barger had been a feel-good story for the Jays in 2025. After struggling to maintain a permanent gig on the big league roster in 2024, Barger finally had his breakout season this year with Toronto. In addition to showing defensive flexibility by playing both at third base and the outfield, the 25 year old posted a .243 average, .756 OPS, along with 61 runs scored, 32 doubles, 21 home runs and 74 RBIs in 135 games played.

However, Barger surprisingly struggled to quite some extent down the stretch, batting just .179 with a .589 OPS, with nine runs scored, three home runs and 15 RBIs in his last 36 games to finish off the regular season.

He will need to recapture some of his earlier magic to help Toronto provide some much-needed secondary production when opposing pitchers will be focussing on shutting down the Jays’ stars. Otherwise, Barger could see his playing time limited during the postseason in favour of more role players such as Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider.

Anthony Santander 

As the Blue Jays’ biggest free agent signing this past offseason, Anthony Santander has had quite the disappointing campaign in his first year with the club. Dealing with inconsistency and injuries all season, Santander ended up compiling a dismal .175 batting average, .565 OPS, along with just 16 runs scored, six home runs and 18 RBIs in 54 total games played. Those numbers were among the worst of his nine-year MLB career.

Even when Santander finally made it back just before the end of the regular season at full health, his abysmal showing of recording just one hit with six strikeouts in 12 total plate appearances doesn’t instill much confidence that he can be a significant contributor in the playoffs.

As a result, the 30-year-old outfielder will need to step up big time in the postseason to finally show the true value he could provide to the Jays. If Santander manages to be even adequately productive in October, then Jays fans will likely be quick to forget about his previous struggles in 2025.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Finally, we have the face of the franchise in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Once again, Guerrero has helped lead the offensive attack for the Jays this season, compiling a stellar .292 average, .848 OPS, together with 96 runs scored, 34 doubles, 23 home runs and 84 RBIs over 156 games played. Those numbers ranked him among the top three on the team for each statistical category.

However, when the Jays needed him most down the stretch, Guerrero struggled immensely to find his game as he batted just a feeble .172 with a .403 OPS, along with just four runs scored, zero home runs and four RBIs in his final 15 games of the season. More importantly, it felt like every time he came to the plate in a crucial part of a game, he failed to deliver for the most part.

With the upcoming postseason likely filled with tense, high-leverage at-bats, Guerrero will need to come through for the Jays in such game-changing moments for Toronto to have any chance of winning and success. Otherwise, the last thing Jays fans would want is another early playoff exit with the stars not showing up once again.