Ranking the 5 Best Toronto Blue Jays Players of the 2026 Regular Season
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Undoubtedly, the Blue Jays’ 2026 season left us with fewer bright spots than shadows, with many questions after a disappointing performance without being able to reach the postseason after having won the American League title last year.
Toronto was two outs away from winning the World Series against the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers, in a ninth inning to forget, where Miguel Rojas’ home run against Jeff Hoffman broke the hearts of the fans.
But this time, let’s talk about the positive feelings the season left us with, so there is no better time for this rating of my list of the five players who contributed the most to the Blue Jays in 2026.
5. Nathan Lukes, OF
In his last 44 games, he is hitting .306/.346/.435 with 4 2B, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 20 R, 8 BB and a .781 OPS. His left-handed hitter profile delivered against right-handed pitchers, hitting .291/.336/.408 with 12 doubles, nine home runs, 37 RBI, 21 walks, an 84.3% contact rate and a .745 OPS. Lukes was also a devourer of breaking and offspeed pitches, finishing with an offensive line of .333/.343/.530 with four doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and a .874 OPS.
His contact bat also joined with his usual defensive value, as Lukes recorded 13 defensive runs saved, with nine in right field, two in left field and one in center field. His nine DRS in right field rank sixth in MLB, behind Wilyer Abreu (28), Seiya Suzuki (14), Corbin Carroll (13), Zach McKinstry (13) and Victor Mesa Jr. (12).
At the same time, he also led the team with nine outfield assists, the sixth-highest total in the American League, behind Andy Pages (13), Wilyer Abreu (12), Isaac Collins (10), Steven Kwan (10) and Carson Benge (10). His seven outfield assists after the All-Star break are tied for second among American League outfielders.
4. Spencer Miles, RHP
Miles was a revelation this season and could become a much more useful pitcher for the near future. Among American League rookies, with a minimum of 350 batters faced, he ranked first in FIP (2.65), first in average exit velocity allowed (87.1 MPH), first in opponents’ wOBA (.252), first in opponents’ OPS (.571), second in ERA (2.63), second in groundball rate (51.8%), second in walk rate (6.4%), third in WHIP (1.10) and sixth in hard-hit rate allowed (35.3%).
In his last 22 appearances, he allowed only three earned runs in 31.2 IP, with a 0.85 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and a 1.76 FIP. In his 41 relief appearances this season, he had a 1.71 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, a .200 opponents’ batting average and a 25.3% strikeout rate.
Among American League pitchers with a minimum of 75 IP this season, he ranked tied for second in barrel rate allowed (3.7%), behind Max Fried (2.4%). And here comes another point that, in some way, compensates for a strikeout rate that is not usually exorbitant: his 51.8% groundball rate was the sixth-highest in the American League, with a minimum of 350 batters faced.
Miles also ranked eighth in the American League in average exit velocity allowed, at 87.1 mph, among pitchers with a minimum of 350 batters faced. Right-handed batters had 31 hits in 162 at-bats (.191) against him this season, with a 1.02 WHIP, a .464 OPS, a .219 wOBA, an average exit velocity of 84.6 MPH and a 29.9% hard-hit rate.
Among Blue Jays rookies with a minimum of 90 IP in a single season, his 2.63 ERA was the second-lowest in franchise history, behind Mark Eichhorn (1.72 in 1986).
3. Louis Varland, RHP
Let’s remember a key point in Louis Varland’s season, and that is that he did not start as Toronto’s closer. Jeff Hoffman had that spot and lost it because of his inconsistencies from the very beginning of the season. Varland received the opportunity to save for the first time on April 21, after not allowing runs in his first 11 relief appearances, with 12.1 innings with 19 strikeouts and only three walks, a span in which he recorded three holds.
From that save in a 4-2 Jays victory against the Los Angeles Angels, Varland became an almost guaranteed closer for the rest of the year. He blew only two of his 37 save opportunities, recording the best MLB marks this season in ERA (1.27) and FIP (1.83), with a minimum of 300 batters faced. He averaged 98.8 mph with his four-seam fastball, the third-highest velocity in the American League, with a minimum of 350 pitches, behind Andres Muñoz (99.87 mph) and Jordan Hicks (99.4 mph).
Varland also finished tied for third in the American League in saves (35), behind Cade Smith (41) and Bryan Baker (41). He became the eighth pitcher, on the 10th occasion, in franchise history to record 35 or more saves in a season. His 1.27 ERA is the lowest in a single season in franchise history, with a minimum of 70 innings pitched.
2. Kazuma Okamoto, 3B
Since his debut, Okamoto did not take long to show his power and determination at the plate, which came to turn him into the most dangerous hitter in the Jays’ lineup throughout the season. He led the team with 92 RBI, a figure that finished tied for fifth among MLB third basemen. It was the highest number of RBI by a Blue Jays rookie in a single season.
He became the fifth player born in Japan, on the 10th occasion, to hit 30 or more HR in a single season. He surpassed Seiya Suzuki, who hit 32 in 2025, to establish the highest number of HR by a Japan-born right-handed hitter in a single season in MLB history.
Among qualified American League third basemen, he ranked second in HR (33), fourth in XBH (59), fifth in runs scored (81), fifth in SLG (.452), sixth in TB (257), fourth in RBI (92), sixth in OPS (.762) and sixth in hits (132).
His impact also opened a place for him among qualified American League rookies, as Okamoto finished with 33 HR, 92 RBI, 257 TB, 59 XBH, 132 hits, .452 SLG and .762 OPS. His 33 HR finished as the second-highest total by a Japan-born rookie in a single season in MLB history.
1. Dylan Cease, RHP
The Blue Jays’ investment in bringing Dylan Cease was an absolute success in the first year of the $35 million, three-season contract, with a Cy Young-caliber campaign. It is very likely that Cam Schlittler will end up beating Cease for the American League Cy Young Award, but that does not take away from the brilliance of the Blue Jays’ ace.
There are many noteworthy points that made him a safe bet when he took the mound in a Toronto rotation that often suffered injuries and inconsistencies throughout the year. Cease’s 5.7 fWAR was the best of his career and, more than that, represents 41% of his 13.9 fWAR over the last three seasons. That record, in general, has been higher than the 12.9 fWAR of his first five seasons.
That impact places Cease at the best moment of his career at age 30, and with the consistency of having completed his sixth consecutive season with more than 200 strikeouts. Although he finished with an 11-6 record, the Blue Jays had a winning record of 18-11 in his 29 starts.
Speaking of strikeouts, Cease set a new personal record for strikeouts in a season, with 239, and secured at least five innings in 25 of his 28 starts this season. During the regular season, he recorded nine or more strikeouts in a game 13 times this season, the most in the American League before today’s game.
He struck out 10 Yankees over 6.1 innings of two-run ball, allowing 2 hits and 3 walks on August 16 at Rogers Centre. He struck out Trent Grisham looking to finish the sixth inning and surpassed 200 strikeouts for the sixth consecutive season, becoming the first pitcher to do so in six straight seasons since Max Scherzer (8 from 2012 to 2019) and Chris Sale (7 from 2013 to 2019). He became the fastest pitcher in TOR history to reach 200 strikeouts in a season, doing so in 23 games.
Among qualified American League pitchers, Cease led in strikeout rate (34.9%), strikeouts (239)—tied with Schlittler—, FIP (2.56) and opponents’ batting average (.180), second in whiff rate (33.4%), WAR (5.5) and ERA (2.40), and third in swinging-strike rate (15.4%).
He was named American League Pitcher of the Month in July. Cease made five starts during the month of July, with a 1.00 ERA (4 ER/36.0 IP), a 0.72 WHIP, an opponents’ batting average of .125, a strikeout rate of 34.8%, a whiff rate of 31.4% and five quality starts. His 1.00 ERA is the third-lowest by a Blue Jay in the month of July in franchise history (minimum 100 BF), only behind Roger Clemens (0.89 in 1997) and Dave Stieb (0.94 in 1990).
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Yirsandy is a baseball writer specializing in MLB coverage with experience across multiple teams and storylines. He currently writes for Diamond Centric, where he covers the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. My work focuses on game coverage, player analysis, and storytelling that connects performance with context. My Substack has also been an important part of my writing development, where I’ve built much of my baseball coverage and storytelling voice over time. I’m passionate about combining reporting, research, and thoughtful analysis to produce engaging baseball content for readers.
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