FCL Blue Jays win FCL Championship

The Toronto Blue Jays organization has already picked up some hardware this season.

On Monday afternoon, the Florida Complex League Blue Jays defeated the FCL Twins 7-5. After a 2-1 victory on Sunday, the FCL Blue Jays swept the best-of-three series. It’s the first time the FCL Blue Jays have won the FCL/Gulf Coast League title in franchise history.

The FCL Twins led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth on Sunday, but Aldo Gaxiola hit a game-tying double before Yorman Licourt cashed him in for the 2-1 lead. Franley Urena struck out the side in order in the top of the ninth for the 2-1 victory.

On Monday, Dylan Leach hit a bases-clearing double to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth, but the FCL Twins answered back with three runs of their own in the bottom half. Gaxiola hit another clutch hit on Monday, this time a two-run single to give the FCL Jays a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh. 

In the top of the eighth, Raimundo De Los Santos hit a single to make it 6-3, followed by David Beckles taking a walk with the bases loaded to make it 7-3. The FCL Twins threatened in the bottom of the ninth, even scoring two runs, but it wasn’t enough.

It’s quite an impressive turnaround for the FCL Jays, as they finished with a 12-44 record last season. That wasn’t just the worst record in the Florida Complex League, but that team had the worst win percentage in all of baseball, a sample size of about 200 teams.

Since 2017, at least one team in the Blue Jays organization has made the finals or finished at the top of the league. In 2017, the Dunedin Blue Jays were co-winners of the Florida State League, as Hurricane Irma cancelled the championship series. That team was led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, who also went on to win the Eastern League title in 2018.

In 2019, the D-Jays finished with the best record in the North Division of the FSL, but Hurricane Dorian cancelled the postseason. The 2020 season was cancelled because of the COVID pandemic, but the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons finished as the runner-up in the International League Finals. 

Since 2022, the High-A Vancouver Canadians have made the Northwest League Championship Series, winning it all in 2023. On top of that, the D-Jays made the FSL finals in 2022. No affiliate in the Blue Jays’ system has a realistic chance of making the finals, as all six teams are seven games behind or worse.