Blue Jays 6/20
G. Springer DH N. Lukes RF V. Guerrero Jr. 1B B. Valenzuela C K. Okamoto 3B D. Varsho CF D. Schneider 2B A. Giménez SS M. Straw LF
P. Corbin SP
The Toronto Blue Jays have announced a decision regarding rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela ahead of their game today vs. the Chicago Cubs.
The Blue Jays released the official starting lineup for Saturday’s game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, which begins at 2:20 p.m. ET.
For the first time in Valenzuela’s MLB career, he is getting the start in the No. 4 hole as he is batting cleanup against the Cubs.
Check out the official lineup below.
Blue Jays 6/20
G. Springer DH
N. Lukes RF
V. Guerrero Jr. 1B
B. Valenzuela C
K. Okamoto 3B
D. Varsho CF
D. Schneider 2B
A. Gimenez SS
M. Straw LF
P. Corbin SP
Blue Jays 6/20
G. Springer DH N. Lukes RF V. Guerrero Jr. 1B B. Valenzuela C K. Okamoto 3B D. Varsho CF D. Schneider 2B A. Giménez SS M. Straw LF
P. Corbin SP
When the Blue Jays traded Will Wagner to the San Diego Padres for Valenzuela, no one could have expected him to do what he’s done this year for Toronto in his rookie season.
After All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk went down early in the season with a broken thumb, the Blue Jays called up Valenzuela from Triple-A Buffalo, expecting him to be the backup catcher to veteran Tyler Heineman while Kirk was out.
Instead of being Heineman’s backup, Valenzuela stole the veteran’s roster spot, as the Blue Jays recently traded Heineman to the Los Angeles Angels after Kirk was activated from the IL.
The reason? Because Valenzuela forced the Blue Jays to keep him on the big-league roster after an absolutely incredible start to his MLB career.
Through the first 48 games of his big-league career, the 25-year-old Mexican catcher has hit 7 home runs in 134 at-bats, good for a .805 OPS and a 117 OPS+, which means he has been 17% better than league average with his bat.
His defense has also been strong, leading to a 1.4 bWAR so far this season, with much more to come.
Valenzuela has garnered the respect and trust of Blue Jays manager John Schneider and the entire pitching staff, as he calls a great game from behind the dish.
The Blue Jays love what they’ve seen from Valenzuela so far, as have their fans, and he will continue to get these big opportunities as long as he keeps hitting, including batting cleanup for the Blue Jays against the Cubs in Chicago.
The Blue Jays lost Game 1 of their three-game set against the Cubs 16-2 on Friday. Starting pitcher Kevin Gausman got lit up for 7 ER in just 2 IP, while relief pitcher Brendon Little was shelled for 4 ER in 1 IP in his return to the big leagues.
Still, despite that loss, the Blue Jays are 37-39 this season, putting them just 1 GB from the Athletics in the hunt for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.
The AL as a whole has been extremely weak this season, so even though Toronto is having a down year, they still have a good chance to make the playoffs this season if they can keep treading water until they get some of their players back from the IL, like starting pitcher Shane Bieber and outfielder Addison Barger.
When the team gets the kind of production they have from Valenzuela, that helps a lot, too, though he can’t carry the team on his own, and they need the rest of their roster to step up, especially first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., if they want to make the playoffs this year.
Adam Martin Adam Martin is a sports journalist with over 15 years of experience. He has a speciality in MMA, while also covering the Big 4 Sports. Adam is currently a contributor to Heavy.com, with previous experience working for The Toronto Star, Sportsnet, theScore, Bookies, BJPenn.com, and MMAOddsbreaker.com. More about Adam Martin
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