When the Blue Jays dealt Shaun Marcum to the Brewers for 21-year old righty swinging 3B Brett Lawrie, many were skeptical…including myself. Marcum has pitched really well for the Brewers, but Brett Lawrie has been on fire for the Blue Jays since getting called up from the minors. Lawrie has played in 35 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 39 for 121 (.322 avg, 1.075 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 9 homers, 22 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Lawrie is looking like a big key to the Blue Jays’ future as he really plays hard all of the time.

25-year old righty swinging rookie catcher J.P. Arencibia and 36-year old righty swinging Jose Molina are giving the Blue Jays solid production offensively behind the plate. Arencibia has played in 96 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 73 for 344 (.212 avg, .710 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 19 homers, 57 RBIs and 106 whiffs. Arencibia is an all or nothing hitter but he has a ton of power, so the Jays can deal with a low batting average out of him. Jose Molina is easily putting up the best offensive year of his major league career in 2011. Molina has played in 38 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 39 for 126 (.310 avg, .831 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Arencibia and Molina is a nice pairing for the Blue Jays behind the plate.

30-year old righty swinging RF Jose Bautista has been elected by the fans to start in RF for the American League All-Stars next week. Bautista really burst on the scene last year for the Blue Jays. He played in 161 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 148 for 569 (.260 avg, .995 OPS) with 109 runs scored, 54 homers (led the majors), 124 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Many skeptics were wondering if Bautista could do it again in 2011, and he has been even better. Bautista has played in 78 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 91 for 277 (.329 avg, 1.146 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 27 homers, 56 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has also walked 70 times while only whiffing 50 times so far this year. He richly deserves the honor he’s getting next week.

24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Eric Thames came into this season as the Blue Jays’ #12 prospect according to Baseball America. Thames has played in 20 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 23 for 72 (.319 avg, .871 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs. He has been hacking like a madman as he has only walked 4 times while whiffing 23 times so far this year, so his average could come down at some point. Thames also played in 53 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 74 for 210 (.352 avg, 1.033 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 7 homers, 45 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Thames has now played in 242 games in his three years in the minors and he is 284 for 922 (.308 avg, .920 OPS) with 170 runs scored, 37 homers, 188 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. I think Thames is in Toronto to stay this time around.

The Blue Jays were thinking that 31-year old lefty swinging Corey Patterson might be able to fill a role similar to the one Fred Lewis had with them last season. But he has been much more than that for the Blue Jays. Patterson has played in 71 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 73 for 278 (.263 avg, .699 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 6 homers, 31 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He has had a rough time in June though. Patterson has played in 25 games so far in June and he is 19 for 94 (.202 avg, .530 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers, 5 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Patterson better get his act back together soon as Travis Snider is playing well in AAA.