By Jacob Becquey

The Blue Jays sit at 65-48 after Sunday’s 7-4 loss against the Royals. Despite being 1st place in the AL East, Toronto has preformed rather poorly in the past week. The Jays have lost 5 of their last 7, dropping their last 2 series heading into this week’s 6-game road trip. It’s easy to get negative and see the worst of the situation, but the truth is that this happens to every Baseball team. To help restore the hope, here’s 5 storylines to look forward to.

No. 1: The Bieber Fever Outbreak is imminent

The Blue Jays shocked many by trading for a rehabbing Shane Bieber just before Thursday’s deadline. Bieber, who has a player option for next year, underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. Bieber made a rehab start on Sunday, where he threw over 60 pitches while walking just one batter. Because of this, it is likely that Bieber will return to the Majors soon.

Bieber has been a rock solid starter in his years with Cleveland, even winning the AL Cy Young back in 2020. Back in 2022, which was his last fully healthy season, he pitched in 31 games with a 2.88 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. If Bieber can pitch like that down the stretch for the Jays, then Toronto will have an ace-level arm down the stretch, as well as a Game 1 Starter in the Postseason.

No. 2: Max Scherzer is pitching like an animal

The Blue Jays signer Max Scherzer to a 1-year deal last January. Scherzer battled injury for the first few months of this season, starting in 8 games and posting a 4.39 ERA in 41 innings. Those numbers may appear rather poor, but Scherzer has been much better recently.

In his last 2 starts, Scherzer pitched 13 innings while only allowing 8 hits, 4 earned runs, and 16 SOs. Those runs all came from home runs, and while they negatively impact his stats, they came off of slight mistakes in Scherzer’s control. In his most recent start, Scherzer looked like an animal on the mound, putting down batters like he was still in a Nationals jersey. If Scherzer can continue getting back to form, he will prove to be a playoff-caliber arm that is invaluable to the success of the Blue Jays.

No. 3: Vladdy’s heatin’ up

It’s been a rather down season for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2025. After his 2024 campaign, where he finished 6th in AL MVP voting, the All-Star slugger has hit a serious power slump. He’s been good, don’t get me wrong, but he hasn’t been the type of MVP-caliber player that he has been in the past. Well, at least he wasn’t for the first half.

In the period before the All-Star break, Guerrero slashed .277/.384/.818 with 12 homeruns. Since the All-Star break, Vladdy has slashed .354/.455/1.070 with 4 homeruns. These numbers are elite, and Vladdy’s showing no signs of stopping. Vladdy’s power, exit velo, barrel percentage, and every other underlying factor has shown signs of better days to come for the 26-year-old. If he can keep this level of production up, the Jays may have a good shot at the AL East crown.

No. 4: Barger’s breakout season continues

Addison Barger has had a surprisingly strong season for Toronto. Since coming up in April, Barger has slashed .260/.313/.813 with 16 bombs, the second most behind George Springer. Not only has his presence at the plate been great, but he’s shown heavy promise in the field with his elite arm strength. His average exit velocity also proves his development as a hitter, as he ranks 17th among major-league qualified hitters in that remark.

Barger is still developing, however. He’s had a rough couple of games, hitting just .203/.254/.695 in his last 15 games. Despite these recent struggles, Barger has shown that he has all the talent needed to be an MLB Star. As a Blue Jays fan, I am very excited to see how Addison Barger develops and plays for the next 5 years.

No. 5: IL stints are starting to end

Every MLB Team is subject to major injuries, but lately it has felt like the Blue Jays have gone through some of the worst. George Springer was placed on the IL after being hit in the head, Alejandro Kirk had an IL Stint for a concussion, and Daulton Varsho recently came back from a hamstring injury.

With Varsho and now Kirk back in the lineup, the Blue Jays get some key bats back in the lineup with another to come with Springer. This team has been slow the past few weeks, but now that some of the best bats are coming back, the near future is bright for a team who’s had the best offense the last few months.

Baseball can bring out some serious negativity in people, so it’s important to keep some hope while watching your favorite team. Hopefully these storylines can help the Toronto faithful keep that hope for the next few months.