{"id":429260,"date":"2026-01-24T01:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T01:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/429260\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T01:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T01:50:09","slug":"blue-jays-superstar-finishes-as-teams-highest-ranked-player-in-top-100-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/429260\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Superstar Finishes As Team&#8217;s Highest-Ranked Player in Top 100 Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"68\">Over the last week, MLB Network has been rolling out its list of the top 100 MLB players entering the 2026 season. Before Thursday, the Toronto Blue Jays had three representatives. Their newest acquisition, Dylan Cease, snuck in at No. 100, Alejandro Kirk at No. 74 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/george-springer-named-blue-jays-all-time-mount-rushmore-free-agent-signings\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">George Springer<\/a> at 47. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6b\">It&#8217;s a little surprising to see the reigning American League champions finish outside the top five of teams with the most players on the list. However, fans were patiently waiting to see where Toronto&#8217;s best player would finish.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">If you like our content, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Finishes in the Top 10 MLB Players<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01kfp1pyxrnd19yzgp1a.jpg\" alt=\"Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walks to first base.\" title=\"Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walks to first base.\" width=\"4886\" height=\"2748\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6q\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Toronto Blue Jays&#8217; Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walks. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ranked as the 10th-best player entering the 2026 season. The 26-year-old turned in another phenomenal season, earning his fifth consecutive All-Star nod and becoming a postseason legend.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6x\">Guerrero Jr. broke multiple franchise playoff records in 2025. His seven home runs in October broke Jose Bautista&#8217;s previous record of most homers in a single postseason. He slashed .397\/.494\/.795 with a whopping 29 hits and 15 RBIs in 18 games. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"70\">There was not a single pitcher who could slow down Guerrero Jr. in October, and he became the driving force in their run to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/blue-jays-getting-national-tv-attention-world-series-run\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">World Series<\/a>. With his tremendous year, an argument could&#8217;ve been made that he should&#8217;ve placed higher in the rankings.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"73\">Six position players finished ahead of him, including Aaron Judge (No. 2), Bobby Witt Jr. (No. 3), Cal Raleigh (No. 4), Jose Ramirez (No. 5), Juan Soto (No. 6), and Corbin Carroll (No. 9). A case could&#8217;ve been made for Guerrero Jr. and Carroll to swap spots in the rankings.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here are the top ten players entering the 2026 season! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Top100RightNow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Top100RightNow<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DDsxA6YdG9\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/DDsxA6YdG9<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bC6mU78n8v\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/bC6mU78n8v<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBNetwork\/status\/2014515174665756925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 23, 2026<\/a>Guerrero Jr. Will Have to Spearhead the Offense Once Again in 2026<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01kfp2qxaapg1pz4xjaq.jpg\" alt=\" Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer celebrates with Guerrero Jr.\" title=\" Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer celebrates with Guerrero Jr.\" width=\"6797\" height=\"3823\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7i\"\/><\/p>\n<p>George Springer celebrates with Guerrero Jr. | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7m\">The Blue Jays received unfortunate news after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/bo-bichette-breaks-silence-blue-jays-pursuit-reunion\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bo Bichette<\/a> departed for the New York Mets on a three-year deal. With Bichette leaving, the offense is still in good hands, after they signed Kazuma Okamoto to a three-year, $45 million deal.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7p\">Toronto was able to make a deep playoff run without Bichette for the majority of the time. There still could be pressure on Guerrero Jr. to deliver, as there are several guys who still have to prove they can stay consistent for a full season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7s\">The good news is that the Blue Jays have been one of the most active teams this offseason, strengthening their pitching staff with Cease, Cody Ponce, and Tyler Rogers. Toronto has a balanced roster, and they&#8217;ll find multiple ways to win. However, they have a big target on their back now, and multiple teams in the American League will attempt to dethrone the Blue Jays next season.<\/p>\n<p>Recommended Articles<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the last week, MLB Network has been rolling out its list of the top 100 MLB players&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-429260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}