27-year old righty swinging shortstop Yunel Escobar is off to a excellent start for the Blue Jays since coming over from the Braves in the Alex Gonzalez trade. Escobar has played in 5 games for the Jays and he is 9 of 21 (.429 avg, 1.240 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. He goes up to the plate swinging as he has only walked 1 time so far for the Blue Jays. But he has excellent bat control as he has yet to whiff for the Jays. Escobar has a huge upside as long as he stays focused and motivated and that has been the case in Toronto so far.

When the Blue Jays signed 29-year old righty swinging catcher John Buck and 35-year old righty swinging Jose Molina over the winter they couldn’t have thought in their wildest dreams that they would be as productive as they have been. Buck is the starter and he will be playing in the All-Star Game next week. He has played in 69 games for the Jays this year and he is 61 of 227 (.269 avg, .805 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 13 homers and 40 RBIs. Buck is a hacker at the plate as he has whiffed 64 times while only walking 9 times this season so he fits right in with the Jays. Jose Molina has been a great backup catcher as he has a rifle for an arm. On top of his stellar defense he is actually hitting well so far this year. Molina has played in 28 games for the Jays this year and he is 23 of 78 (.295 avg, .745 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. The Blue Jays hope that Buck and Molina and keep up the good work in the second half of the season.

3B/OF Jose Bautista, OF Vernon Wells and C John Buck will be heading to the All-Star Game. Bautista has played in 82 games for the Blue Jays this year and he is 67 of 284 (.236 avg, .891 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 21 homers, 52 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Bautista is having a career year and because of that he will be making his first All-Star appearance. Vernon Wells will be making his third All-Star appearance. Wells has played in 81 games for the Jays this season and he is 84 of 307 (.274 avg, .872 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 19 homers, 48 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. John Buck will be replacing the injured Victor Martinez on the All-Star team. Buck has played in 67 games for the Blue Jays so far this season and he is 60 of 219 (.274 avg, .821 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 13 homers and 40 RBIs. This will be Buck’s first All-Star Game.

29-year old lefty swinging LF Fred Lewis has really benefitted from his change of scenery. He came over from the Giants in a trade early this season and he has been starting in LF and leading off most of his time in Toronto. Lewis has played in 49 games for the Blue Jays this year and he is 56 of 199 (.281 avg, .788 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 4 homers, 17 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He’s not the most disciplined leadoff hitter in the league as he has only walked 13 times this season while whiffing 54 times. Still he fits right in with the free swinging Blue Jays.

29-year old righty swinging IF/OF Jose Bautista has been playing out his this world this year for the Blue Jays. He has played in 50 games for the Jays this year and he is 43 of 174 (.247 avg, .950 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 15 homers, 40 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Even though he goes up to the plate hacking (42 whiffs) he still has a very solid 30 walks this year showing that he’s being a tad more picky at the plate and the results have been outstanding. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up the good work as he has career highs of 75 runs scored, 16 homers, 63 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The fact that he’s so versatile in the field will likely mean that he will continue to get full time at bats thus he should set new career highs in all four of the categories mentioned earlier. He might even make his first All-Star team if he keeps hitting like he is right now.