TORONTO -- It’s so tempting to believe in the 2026 Blue Jays again when they tease us with another glimpse of ‘25.
The Blue Jays rode a wave of bloops, blasts and Angels blunders to a seven-run inning in the fifth, the type of offensive explosion this roster has desperately needed. Saturday’s 14-1 win at Rogers Centre felt like one long, enjoyable exhale after another week of offensive struggles.
This is what mattered most from the win:
1. TREY DAY: Yesavage at his best
We had all offseason and a one-month IL stint to wonder how Trey Yesavage could possibly follow up his 2025 season. How about a 0.68 ERA through his first three starts?
Yesavage struck out six over four innings of scoreless ball, and some of those strikeouts made the Angels’ batters look downright foolish. Yesavage’s famous splitter looked great, but it’s his slider that was most encouraging. That pitch got Yesavage six whiffs on 13 swings, and if he’s going to sustain this level long-term, that’s the key to unlocking it.
For a pitcher to survive on a fastball and splitter alone, they need to be truly elite with that two-pitch mix. We’ve seen Kevin Gausman do just that for years now, but even Gausman has mixed in a few sliders each game along the way. Even planting that small shred of doubt in a hitter’s mind can help Yesavage’s splitter to stay the dominant weapon it is.
It’s another sign of the evolution of Yesavage. Version 1 was brilliant, one of the best stories in the 2025 World Series run. If Yesavage has another level, good luck to the American League.
2. BATTING SECOND: Barger’s new home?
Addison Barger had the play of the day in his first game in more than a month, throwing a 101.2 mph rocket home to cut down a tagging Jorge Soler. It was the hardest throw that Statcast has tracked on a Blue Jays outfield assist since it began in 2015 and the hardest outfield assist in MLB this season. At the plate, Barger’s two walks felt just as surprising.
Barger wants to swing the bat, but if he’s going to bat No. 2 for the Blue Jays, someone needs to be on base in front of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Expect this job to be Barger’s against righties and more of a rotating cast against lefties, but regardless of how it looks from night to night, this lineup needs to put Guerrero in more spots to break games open. This lineup is built to take off when Vladdy is launching home runs, not just singles to right field.
Finally, it feels like the Blue Jays have the framework for their top four, which will allow John Schneider to be more aggressive with the bottom half of the lineup, too, instead of just patching holes. It’s great timing for Ernie Clement to be heating up now that he can find a more regular lineup spot, too, after a 5-for-5 night with a home run in the seventh.
3. CATCHING COMPETITION: Advantage, Valenzuela
The biggest swing of the afternoon belonged to Brandon Valenzuela, who is no longer just a rookie trying to keep his head above water in the big leagues.
Valenzuela’s three-run blast in the fifth, his fourth home run of the season, was just another glimpse at why he’s taken over the majority share of catching duties recently. When Alejandro Kirk went down with a thumb fracture in April, it felt like Tyler Heineman would act as the starter and be spelled off by Valenzuela, but the 25-year-old rookie has forced that equation to flip.
In Valenzuela, the Blue Jays may have found their long-term backup catcher to pair with Kirk, an incredibly valuable position that’s thin around the league. Even when 100% healthy, the Blue Jays prefer to keep Kirk around 110 games catching each season. If Valenzuela can win this job by the time Kirk returns, he’ll still have a regular role, and an important one.