Toronto Blue Jays: Players who have impressed in spring training

As the Toronto Blue Jays prepare for their two-game spring training finale in Montreal, we break down which players had an impressive preseason.

Toronto Blue Jays fans are probably at a point where they wish spring training was coming to an end but luckily the season is just under a week away.

The big question this offseason has been the improvements made to the team’s depth, Josh Donaldson‘s contract and the team’s chances to compete in a tough AL East.

While a 13-14 record is not something to get overly excited about, the main goal of spring training is to watch players battle out for spots on the roster.

With the injury to Troy Tulowitzki, the team has a better backup option available to them in Aledmys Diaz, who Sportsnet‘s Shi Davidi reports will be the starting shortstop. 

There will also be a tough decision between Danny Espinosa and Gift Ngoepe for the other spot on the bench as Davidi reports, although Espinosa’s bat might have him ahead. It is a good problem to have than in past seasons where the default options were Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney.

The rotation looks all set with J.A. Happ earning the opening day nod, followed by Aaron Sanchez, Marco Estrada, Marcus Stroman and Jaime Garcia. This is the obvious strength of the Blue Jays and if the team wants any hope of competing for the playoffs it starts on the mound.

It is hard to ignore the strong performances from various players over the course of spring training so here is a breakdown of the most notable ones.