Power Rankings: Jays skyrocket into second

How high is too high to rank the surging-but-second-place Toronto Blue Jays?

I honestly don’t think I’d argue if someone said they should be number one right now. No, that’s not where I have them, but I did think about it and they are sitting pretty at number two. Am I nuts? Nope. I’m smart and open-minded.

Consider:

– Since the Blue Jays acquired Troy Tulowitzki, they’ve gone 12-1. They are 12-0 when he starts and only two of those games came against a team under .500.

– As my colleague Mike Axisa noted, the starting pitching has become a strength and it’s not just because of David Price being added to the fray.

– They have the best run differential in baseball at plus-131. The Cardinals are second at plus-122. No one else is above plus-76.

– They have the best offense in baseball and it’s not even close. They have scored 601 runs with the Yankees second at 533. Just think about how scary the first four men in the lineup being Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion has to be for an opposing pitching staff.

– The back-end of the bullpen has settled, with rookie Roberto Osuna looking great as closer and Aaron Sanchez looking excellent in relief. LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe add veteran presence as well.

– Most metrics show the defense as middle of the road, but note that Tulowitzki over Jose Reyes is a massive upgrade and gives the Jays the best defensive left side of the infield in baseball along with Donaldson at third.

– The best record in the AL belongs to the Royals. The Jays took three of four from them a couple weekends ago without David Price taking the hill.

No, the Blue Jays haven’t been this good all season, but they are now 10 games over .500 and playing better than anyone else (save for maybe the Cubs) in the here and now. They are within a sniff of leading the AL East and get to play the struggling Yankees 10 more times.

As a pre-emptive strike against the people who despise me — a very small number of people, obviously — let’s look back at my comment on the Yankees two weeks ago:

“You know how all season I’ve been saying I still don’t believe the Yankees will win the AL East? I’m done saying it now and fully prepared to be accountable by the end of the year and admit I was wrong.”

No, I didn’t predict the Yankees would win the AL East, guys. I said I was done saying they couldn’t win it and I was prepared to admit I was wrong. I worded it like that on purpose. If I take an umbrella with me, I’m prepared for rain but that doesn’t mean I’m predicting it will definitely rain. There’s a difference. I was simply saying I would stop counting the Yankees out. I stand by that. They could still win it and I won’t count them out.

(I’m also “fully prepared” to have lots of people tell me they don’t believe me and say I predicted the Yankees would win the East. See how that works?)

Of course, if I had to predict as of Aug. 12, it’s awfully tough to justify picking anyone but the Jays. Things can change and my only actual set-in-stone predictions come in the preseason (when I took Boston, lol at me!). So, no, I’m not predicting the Blue Jays take it. I’m saying at this snapshot in time they are the most likely division winner.

Please feel free to contact me with comments either on Twitter (@MattSnyderCBS) or via email: [email protected]. As always, allow me to remind you that if we disagree about something, one of us is either stupid or biased — maybe both. It’s probably not me, either.

Will the red hot Blue Jays run away with the AL East division race? (USATSI)

RANK	TEAM		MOVE (LW)

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