The Blue Jays don’t have a bad offense. She lost some punch following the departures of Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in recent weeks, but it is still good.
But above all, it is more balanced.
What’s interesting is that in Daulton Varsho, the Blue Jays got their hands on a left-handed hitter who can play a good role offensively. The club lacked that.
But where will he strike?
What you need to know is that he can evolve as a first hitter. He won’t do it regularly in Toronto due to the presence of George Springer, but when the latter is injured, Varsho will be a good option.
In 2022, the Jays lacked that. The departure of Marcus Semien had created a hole at this level.
Moreover, to get a left-handed fielder who can be leadoff, you had to pay. It was either in cash (the Mets gave Brandon Nimmo $162 million) or by giving a Gabriel Moreno.
All that to say that last year, Varsho hit the first line, but he mainly played as the fifth hitter for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
And that’s good because, in fact, that’s where I see him hit.
Number one, I would put Springer. Thereafter, Bo Bichette would be my choice to see him often on the trails for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Thus, Junior could get RBIs.
I would not be against, having said that, seeing Vladdy in second place. His turn would come back to bat more often and that’s not a bad thing.
Alejandro Kirk, in my opinion, has to hit fourth and that’s where Varsho would come. Why? Because my sixth hitter, Matt Chapman, is as right-handed as the first four guys in the lineup.
Having Varsho cuts right-handers. After all, Danny Jansen is also right-handed and I have a feeling that if he’s not a receiver he’ll be the club’s DH more often than not.
Second baseman and Kevin Kiermaier will bring up the rear in what would be my start-of-the-season lineup.
- George Springer (9)
- Bo Bichette (6)
- Vladimir Guerrero (3)
- Alejandro Kirk (2)
- Daulton Varsho (7)
- Matt Chapman (5)
- Danny Jansen (0)
- Santiago Espinal (4)
- Kevin Kiermaier (8)
- Alex Manoah (1)
I put Kirk as the catcher and Jansen as the hitter of choice due to the presence of Alek Manoah as the pitcher. Kirk is Manoah’s personal catcher.
What do you think?
