Barging Down the Door to First Place

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  • By Nathan Baker

    Last Updated on July 4, 2025 12:19 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: July 4, 2025

    Coming off of season of disappointment, Blue Jays’ fans could be forgiven for feeling pessimistic about 2025, especially with many of their key players on the doorstep of free agency. In the offseason, the Jays have tried their best to get stars to take their money, infamously coming in 2nd to the Dodgers in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, and pursuits of Juan Soto, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Willy Adames, Pete Alonso and more all proving to be unsuccessful. Ultimately, the Canadians found panic(ish) deals for Anthony Santander and Jeff Hoffman, and managed to extend star slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. well after his self imposed extension deadline.

    To compete for the AL East title, the Jays would need a bit of luck, but more importantly, some key contributions from younger players on the periphery. Bowden Francis has struggled mightily, and injuries and under performance from Davis Schneider and Andrés Giménez haven’t helped, but adversity has hit the Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles much harder, and Toronto has finally seen one of their young hitters step up.

    Addison Barger was very well regarded prior to his promotion last season, enough so that many believed he’d be a fairly surefire every day player, either at third or in the outfield. Outside of his cannon throwing arm, his power is his biggest tool, yet he hadn’t reached double digit home runs in a season at any level since 2022. Despite his tendency to pull off the ball, his exit velocities and bat speed have always provided an intriguing ceiling, and we are seeing that ceiling manifest itself in real time.

    After a 225 plate appearance sample size in 2024 where very little went right at the plate, Barger is an All-Star caliber player through the same sample size in 2025, and not by focusing on his weaknesses. His strikeout and walk rates are marginally improved from last season, but both still sit below league average, and the same is true with his chase rate. Most prospect evaluators thought that his value would follow his ability to limit his swing and miss, but Barger has worked in the exact opposite direction.

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    July 4, 2025, 12:19 pm