TORONTO -- Amid a season of opportunities for the Blue Jays, with a glimpse at the future core of the club and what it might bring, there have been a number of awe-inspiring performances along the way.
Many impressive tools have been showcased among those displays. Ahead of Wednesday’s series finale against the Indians at Rogers Centre, Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo and coaches Mark Budzinski, Luis Rivera, John Schneider, Shelley Duncan, Dave Hudgens and Guillermo Martinez built their ideal position player using pieces of players from the team, voting for the player with the top tool in each of the following categories:
Best swing
The votes were split between two players, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. taking the cake with four of them, earning the votes one day after he went 2-for-3 with a single, a double and a walk against Cleveland in Tuesday’s matchup, the fourth multi-hit effort in his last five games. In his last six games, the 20-year-old third baseman has gone 9-for-20 and added a home run and five RBIs.
Just behind Guerrero was Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who nabbed three votes from the staff for his swing. Since his return from Triple-A Buffalo on May 24, the 25-year-old left fielder has hit .309 (64-for-207) with 18 homers, 12 doubles, two triples and 37 RBIs over 53 games.
Most power
Gurriel leads the club with his 18 long balls this season, and is followed atop the team leaderboard by Justin Smoak (17), Randal Grichuk (16) and Freddy Galvis (15). Galvis also leads the squad with 170 total bases, with Grichuk the next closest player behind him at 149.
But the top vote-getter among the squad’s position players was Guerrero once again, the man who put on an incredible display at this year’s Home Run Derby. He launched 91 balls over the fence and finished second to New York’s Pete Alonso.
Guerrero ran away with the vote with six, while Teoscar Hernández received a single selection. Hernandez has gone 9-for-27 over his last eight games, with four home runs, one double and seven RBIs over that span. He has 12 homers on the season.
Best plate discipline
Among the two vote-getters in this category, Cavan Biggio ran away with an overwhelming majority of six. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter owns a .342 on-base percentage this season, ranking him third among American League rookies. His 5.88 plate appearances per walk is currently fifth highest in the Majors, and Biggio has 33 walks in his first 47 games, the most ever by a Blue Jays player.
“I just try to be patient enough to take some pitches,” Biggio said. “Until I get the pitch that I really want, that I can really do some damage with. That’s always been something that I’ve been good at, where I take what the pitcher gives me. And if I don’t get what I’m really looking for, then I’m OK with taking a walk or battling with two strikes.”
Eric Sogard was the only other player to receive a vote in the category.
Best approach at the plate
The votes were split once more, with Sogard leading the charge this time with three votes, Biggio behind him with two, and Smoak and Gurriel getting a single selection each.
Among American League leadoff hitters entering Wednesday, Sogard ranked fourth with a .304 average, sixth with a .371 on-base percentage, and eighth with a .489 slugging percentage. He also has 10 home runs so far this season after hitting 11 in the eight seasons prior altogether. Sogard provided the only offense for the Blue Jays in Wednesday's 4-0 loss to the Indians with his 17th double of the season.
Best baserunning instincts
The votes were split among the staff, with an extra pair of choices it was a tie between two players for two of the coaches. Of the nine votes, Sogard received the most (four), Galvis was just behind him (two), while Biggio, Gurriel and Brandon Drury each received one.
Best fielding ability
Galvis took five of seven votes among the staff, with Gurriel snagging two. Also impressing at the plate, Galvis has hit .318 (47-for-147) over his last 37 games with six homers, eight doubles, one triple and 22 RBIs.
“It takes work every day,” the 29-year-old shortstop said. “Besides that, I try to keep my routine the same and improve every day. Whenever I do my defensive work before the games, I try to do everything perfectly so I don’t waste any time or any grounders. I try to be on point every single time, so that’s what helps me.
“I love to play defense. I’ve loved to take grounders since I was a little kid. Just to be on the field is a really good feeling. And to have the opportunity to take grounders is a blessing for me, so I take it really seriously, and I’m proud.”
Best arm strength
Three players received votes in this category among eight total votes because of a tie for one of the members of the coaching staff. Gurriel landed at the top of the leaderboard with five votes, Guerrero behind him with two and catcher Luke Maile taking a single vote.
“Definitely it’s great to have a good arm,” Gurriel said. “I really try to take care of my arm just so that I can maintain that and continue to have a powerful arm. … For the coaches to see that from me, I’m very proud about that, but I also want to take advantage of everything, my arm, power, speed.”
Best speed
The only completely unanimous vote among the staff of the Blue Jays went to Hernandez as the fastest guy on the field. After getting away from his speed for a couple of seasons, the 26-year-old outfielder is incredibly proud of the recognition, and his ability to start to get back to where he was.
“I always try to work on it in the outfield, taking fly balls,” Hernandez said. “I try to stay shallow and then run for any balls that I can because it’s the only way I can practice to get my speed up and maintain it during the season. … It’s a big point of my game, and I’ve been trying to get it back. I lost it for two years and I’m starting to get it back now.”
Competitiveness
Biggio led the charge in this category with four votes. He was followed by two votes for Galvis and a single selection for Sogard.
Best makeup
With one coach voting for two players in this category, there were a total of eight choices made. Biggio came out on top once again, leading with four votes, while Galvis and Sogard garnered two votes apiece.
So if Toronto’s coaching staff could build a player using the pieces on the roster, he would have Guerrero’s swing and power, Sogard’s approach at the plate and baserunning instincts, Galvis’ fielding ability, Hernandez’s speed, Gurriel’s arm strength and Biggio’s plate discipline, competitiveness and makeup.