Blue Jays Needed Someone to Step Up. Myles Straw Has Delivered

It won't show up in the box score, but Myles Straw is coming up clutch.

Blue Jays right fielder Myles Straw (3) on the field before a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park | Mady Mertens-Imagn Images

It is always hard to give credit to the players who are stealing headlines, no matter the sport. Whether that is an offensive lineman in football, or a defensive specialist in basketball, they will never receive the recognition that All-Stars get simply because what they do isn't flashy.

Just because a play isn't out of this world doesn't mean it isn't vital to a team's success, and Myles Straw from the Toronto Blue Jays has been that key piece to the puzzle.

It isn't often that Straw makes consecutive starts for this ballclub, but with Addison Barger and now Daulton Varsho on the injured list, they are in short supply of rock-solid defenders in the outfield, so Straw has been suiting up at center in the meantime.

Myles Straw is EVERYWHERE! pic.twitter.com/fqXRDP1j3u

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 17, 2026

At first glance, Straw isn't much to look at as he stands barely 5-foot-9 as others tower over him, but he is fast and great at reading the ball off the bat. His baseball knowledge is why he is consistently used as a pinch-runner and defender.

While he isn't put into the game to slug baseballs, he does his job offensively, and that came in Toronto's Tuesday night victory over the Boston Red Sox. However, it didn't show up in the stat sheet.

A Perfect Example of How Straw Helps This Team Offensively

Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It is talked about frequently- the game within a game. Well, that starts very early on as quality at-bats will wear a starting pitcher down, and the top of the order has not consistently given that back to the ballclub, but Straw sure did in their 6-1 victory.

Straw might not have been one of his three teammates who homered at Fenway Park, but in his first at-bat, he worked one of the best plate appearances by any Blue Jays this season- 14 pitches.

It is somewhat hard to fathom how hard it is for a pitcher and a hitter to keep a duel going for that long, especially with a pitcher as good as Payton Tolle. Tolle was not uncontrolled, as only three of those 14 were balls; Straw just fought for his life to stay alive.

Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider high-fives right fielder Myles Straw after hitting a solo home run against the Red Sox during the fifth inning | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

So, when Davis Schneider and Andres Giemenz were up to bat next, they hit back-to-back homers, which does indeed directly coincide with the work that Straw put in, because an at-bat like that doesn't come very often.

Had that not went down that way, then it seems highly unlikely that Tolle's night would have been over after the 5th inning. But, Straw, with the help of his teammates, worked Tolle's pitch count up rapidly and got the lefty off of the mound.

A team only thrives when each player knows their role within the dugout, and it is when others try to do things outside of their parameters that the game can go sideways. Straw knows his role, and he executes it to perfection.