Fourteen switch-hitters have made more than 1,000 plate appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Any of the Jays’ switch-hitters have rarely been priced among the baseball betting favourites for AL MVP, yet they have played a key role in the franchise’s history.
Top Blue Jays Switch-Hitters
5. José Cruz
José Cruz spent five-and-a-half seasons as a Blue Jay after arriving in a trade with the Seattle Mariners in July 1997. Cruz crushed 122 home runs as a Jay and posted a 102 OPS+.
The former first-round pick leads all Jays switch-hitters in home runs. For his career, he was much better as a right-handed hitter against lefties than he was hitting right-handed.
4. Devin White
Devon White was a valuable member of the Jays’ title-winning teams, though much of that was down to his defence in centre field. White had a 102 OPS+ as a Jay and was a below-average hitter in three of his five seasons.
The volume is there, and his WAR numbers are strong, but when judged purely as a hitter, White isn’t in the top three switch-hitters in Blue Jays history.
3. Justin Smoak
Only one switch-hitter has a better wRC+ for the Blue Jays than Justin Smoak’s 114. He hit 117 home runs across five years in Toronto, including a 38-home run mark in 2017.
It took Smoak a while to get going as a Jay, and his peak was short, but he was one of the best switch-hitters in baseball across the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
2. Tony Fernández
The franchise leader in hits, there was no question that Tony Fernández deserved a spot in the top two. Fernández remarkably had his best offensive season at age 37.
There wasn’t much of a difference between Fernández’s production from either side of the plate, though he hit for a bit more power as a leftie.
1. Roberto Alomar
Roberto Alomar was a back-to-back champion and amassed 22.3 bWAR across his five seasons as a Blue Jay. His 125 wRC+ is 11 points ahead of any other Jays switch-hitter.
Alomar had an .833 OPS as a Jay and was named an All-Star in all five seasons.
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