It is known that the starting pitching is mint, however the Toronto Blue Jays are also said to be one of the top defensive teams in all of the major leagues. One section of the defence that’s highly praised is the outfield and four specific men who patrol the green.
In this case, we’re going to dissect two of them: Daulton Varsho and Davis Schneider. These two outfield pieces have made some noise with the bats, on the basepaths, and with the leather. Varsho became a Blue Jay as a part of a staggering trade that sent baseball’s top catching prospect, Gabriel Moreno, to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Schneider lingered in the Blue Jays system and was promoted in 2023 to the big club, and has remained here ever since.
Starting with the man under the microscope, Daulton Varsho. Why’s he under so much pressure? He was the return that was supposed to pay dividends after the Blue Jays sold their highest-valued stock in the game of baseball. The trade had hopes that an outfield piece would be the medicine to a soft-handed lineup where scoring runs and moving baserunners were lacking. What makes things even more appetizing is Gabriel Moreno’s current success and projections.
Varsho completed a semi-disappointing season last year with bits of impressions and hope. He played in 158 games with 526 at-bats, slashing a .220 batting average, .285 on-base percentage, and a .389 slugging percentage.
The upside to his offensive performance was his 116 hits, which ranks the second most career hits in a single season. He also put up 20 home runs which also ranks the second most home runs in a single season. His main tool that translates to all of his game is his speed, which was flashed on the base pads for 16 stolen bases. He was a menace on the bases and took the 90s to place himself in scoring position, where he scored a total of 65 times. The downside to his offence was his strikeout-to-walk ratio. Varsho strikes out a lot, too much to satisfy confidence in big situations. He struck out 135 times and only walked 45 times.
Fast-forward to 2024, and he already has a better average at .263 with 20 hits, six home runs, and 13 RBIs. Getting the job done with the glove will always be a given with Varsho. His projection this season will look like a .285-.311 batting average with 20-28 home runs, 70 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases.
Davis Schneider was called up in August of 2023 and took the baseball world by storm with one of the best rookie debut series in MLB history, going 9-for-13 with two homers and five RBIs in three games against the Boston Red Sox. He cooled down after that and was in and out of the lineup the rest of the way but still finished with an impressive 1.008 OPS over 35 games in 2023.
Fans in Toronto have been begging to see Schenider play an everyday role on the Blue Jays, but, unfortunately, the starting outfield is an established one. Schneider came up as a second baseman and saw most of his innings there with the Blue Jays in 2023, and now the majority of his starts in 2024 have come playing in left field, where he’s the right-handed bat in a platoon.
With only 20 games played so far in 2024, Schneider already has half of the RBIs of last year at 10, with three home runs and 11 hits. Schneider can guarantee to see a tad more playing time this year than he got last season down the stretch, especially now that he can play two positions. He should see around 130-140 at-bats based on reliability and lack of team offence. He’s projected to drive in 45 RBIs with 13-16 home runs and a similar strike-out-to-walk ratio.
These two outfielders will play a huge role for the Blue Jays in both offensive and defensive categories this season.
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