Toronto Blue Jays: Picking the Optimal Batting Order

By Vinnie | Sep 14, 2016

Aug 3, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson (20) celebrates with first baseman Edwin Encarnacion (10) after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

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Sep 10, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson (20) hits a single during the third inning in a game against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Josh Donaldson

This one is an obvious no-brainer here. Donaldson is the reigning MVP and he did it by hitting in the two slot.

This slot in the past was used to sometimes hide a weaker batter with speed around the team’s best bats to balance the batting order. However, Donaldson redefined the two slot last season.

He is the team’s best all-around hitter. His OBP is .400, slugging percentage .552, and batting average is down to .284 because of his recent slump.

Donaldson’s numbers don’t lie, as he hits for a high average, hits the ball long and hard, but also takes plenty of walks. He has decent speed too, so if he doesn’t hit the ball out, he’ll have speed on the base paths to come home, should the batters following him in the batting order get a hit.

Next: Batting third

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