This year has shaped up to be very interesting for the Toronto Blue Jays. After several disappointing seasons, along with core players Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette entering the final years of their contracts, there was a reasonable question about the direction of the franchise. But they have shocked the baseball world, leading the American League East by three games with a 52-38 record through 90 games–– and George Springer has been the team’s best hitter.
Resurgence Of George Springer
It would be relatively easy to forget the type of hitter Springer once was at the big-league level. He posted a 131 OPS+ across seven seasons with the Houston Astros. It led to the Toronto Blue Jays inking Springer to a six-year, $150M contract in the 2020 offseason. But heading into 2025 – the penultimate year of his deal in Toronto – it seemed that Springer’s hitting prowess was on the downturn.
Although he was great offensively in his first couple of years as a Blue Jay, Springer’s OPS slipped substantially each season. Injuries derailed Springer’s inaugural season north of the border, where he put up a .907 OPS in 78 games. His OPS dropped 77 points on average in the three subsequent seasons, bottoming out at .674 in 2024, good for a 91 OPS+. Springer’s time as a DH also increased as he got deeper into his mid-30s.
Springer is slashing .281/.374/.512 so far in 2025. His 148 wRC+ ranks him fourth among all position players in the American League. Springer leads the Jays with nearly 20 Offensive Runs Above Average, per Fangraphs. He has been especially hot as of late, hitting .439 with a 1.246 OPS in his last 15 games, including six home runs and 21 RBI in that stretch.
His plate discipline has been elite; Springer is rarely chasing — walking at an above-average rate while keeping the strikeouts down as well. His barrel and hard-hit rates are at levels Springer hasn’t eclipsed since his prime years in Houston. He has maintained the ability to slug to all fields, and with the process he has maintained at the plate – there’s no reason to believe Springer won’t sustain his production.
George Springer 2025 MLB All-Star Snub
But even with being the premier bat on a first-place club, Springer wasn’t named as a reserve to the American League All-Star team. All 30 teams need to be represented at the Midsummer Classic, leading to seemingly egregious snubs from the All-Star Games each year. Springer is no different; he’s clubbed 16 homers while driving in 53 runs and swiping 10 bags.
Guerrero Jr. and catcher Alejandro Kirk were the Blue Jays representatives, but as we’ve seen in the past, there have been All-Star replacements named in the week leading up to the game to accommodate for injuries, players choosing not to attend, etc. Hopefully, the 35-year-old Springer gets some recognition in his resurgence as one of the best hitters in baseball.
