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Blue Jays Veteran Outfielder Provided Immense Value Compared to Peers

Originally posted on Toronto Blue Jays on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Heading into the 2025 MLB regular season, several Toronto Blue Jays players fantasy baseball managers were keeping a close eye on.

First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is among the most productive sluggers in the game. After a down 2024, a lot of eyes were on shortstop Bo Bichette, who can be as prolific as anyone at his position.

On the pitching staff, Jeff Hoffman was taking over the closer’s role after a stellar stretch with the Philadelphia Phillies in their bullpen. Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer all generated some level of interest as well.

All of those players had their moments throughout the campaign, where they helped lead fantasy managers to victory. However, there is one player who stands out as a legitimate MVP in the fantasy baseball world: outfielder George Springer.

Last season was the least productive campaign of the four-time All-Star’s career. He recorded a .674 OPS, by far the lowest single-season mark. Not much was expected out of him in his age-35 campaign, and fantasy managers mostly ignored him.

George Springer Was MVP for Blue Jays, Fantasy Baseball Managers

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As shared by Eric Karabell of ESPN, he was going in fantasy drafts around the 16th round on that platform. Other outfielders selected near his average draft position were Nick Castellanos, Adolis Garcia and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Anyone who came away with Springer has to be thrilled with how things turned out. He turned the clock all the way back to his prime days with the Houston Astros and was incredibly productive throughout the year.

A .309/.399/.560 slash line was recorded with an OPS+ of 161, which is a career-high. He launched 32 home runs with 27 doubles while knocking in 84 runs. The cherry on top was 18 stolen bases.

That production was enough to have Springer ranked at No. 10 on the ESPN Player Rater. That put him ahead of Seattle Mariners superstar center fielder Julio Rodriguez. The only outfielders who finished ahead of the Blue Jays veteran were Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Juan Soto of the New York Mets.

He was the No. 8-ranked hitter, putting together an incredibly productive campaign to help put Toronto atop the American League East as the No. 1 seed in the AL. His championship experience is going to come in handy for a team that is relying on a lot of key contributors who have zero or very limited time playing in October.