Welcome to a new series that will feature a few Toronto Blue Jays who have made significant contributions to the team this week. There will be two runners-up, and then the player who had the biggest impact will be your Blue Jay of the Week!
Marco Estrada is Not A One-Season Wonder
The Blue Jays had a very good week, with five wins and just one loss on their way to sweeping the New York Yankees before winning two of three against the Boston Red Sox. After great weeks like this one, finding players to praise is the easy part. The hard part this week is narrowing it down to just three people.
For that reason, honorable mentions need to go out to a few guys who just missed out this week.
Dickey only gave up two hits in his 6.2 innings of work this week and got the win. No earned runs and four strikeouts made him a serious threat to break into the top three, but ultimately his five walks allowed were just too many for him to make the cut.
Sanchez continues to impress week-in and week-outm and without a doubt will find himself in the top three sooner rather than later. However, even with an impressive line of 6.2 innings, zero earned runs, and six strikeouts, he has been left off this week. This is mostly due to the seven hits he gave up in his outing this week.
With five hits this week, Saunders was an impact player. Throw in that three of those hits were for extra bases, and it seems as if he would surely crack the top three. But his paltry two RBI put him a few other guys who just came out above him.
Runners Up
Barney had a great week for the Blue Jays. Playing in all six games, he hit .353 with six hits, one of which was a home run, four walks, and three RBI. Hitting at, or near, the bottom of the order, this is massive production. Mix that in with his stellar defensive play and it becomes a no-brainer for him to be in the top three this week. Barney has stepped up and made the Troy Tulowitzki injury a lot easier to handle. The play of Barney and Devon Travis gives the Blue Jays four legit starters to battle for the two middle infield spots. If Barney continues to play as he did this week, expect him to command the majority of the playtime.
Edwin Encarnacion Has Found His Stroke
Encarnacion had a monster week, leading the team in hits (seven), home runs (two), and RBI (eight). He also had two doubles to go along with that. As the primary DH, he needs to contribute with his bat, and he did just that this week with big hit after big hit. He even played first base on Sunday to allow for Josh Donaldson to rest his injured thumb. Without a doubt, he is better utilized as a DH; but having the ability to play the field serviceably allows manager John Gibbons to have flexibility in his lineups. If Encarnacion can use this week to get back onto the track that the Jays know he is capable of, look for him to take the top spot in this list soon.
Blue Jay of the Week
Without a doubt, Estrada takes the honor home this week. With two starts and two wins this week, he was absolutely sensational. Estrada gave up a measly five hits over his two starts, and even took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Sunday. The location of pitches in both starts this week was fantastic, and he had all of his stuff working. As a pitcher that won’t overpower you with his stuff, he needs to rely on his breaking pitches and his location, and he did that to near perfection. He has been fantastic all season, showing Jays fans why he was a great choice to bring back in the off-season. Estrada has arguably been the best Blue Jays pitcher so far this season, and this past week exemplified that. For this reason he is the Blue Jay of the Week!
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