Toronto Blue Jays standout Daulton Varsho may not be ready in time for Opening Day in 2025, but he still enters the season with a solid dose of hype.
MLB Network kicked off its annual “Top 10 Players Right Now” series on Tuesday, starting with center fielders. Past performance, offensive and defensive metrics and input from the MLB Network research team were all taken into account, resulting in Seattle Mariners standout Julio Rodríguez taking hold of the top spot.
This past season, Varsho hit .214 with a .700 OPS across 136 games. He racked up 18 home runs, 58 RBI, 10 stolen bases and a 5.0 WAR, also winning a Gold Glove thanks to his five outfield assists and 28 defensive runs saved.
A right rotator cuff injury forced Varsho to undergo shoulder surgery in September, though, and he is no longer expected to be ready by the start of Spring Training.
Varsho became an everyday player with the Arizona Diamondbacks midway through 2021, and he got traded to the Blue Jays ahead of the 2023 campaign. So far in his career, Varsho is a .225 hitter with a .711 OPS, averaging 22 home runs, 67 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a 4.3 WAR per 162 games.
Since the start of 2022, Varsho has accumulated 72 defensive runs saved. No other player, regardless of position, has broken 60.
Toronto has struck out on a handful of top free agents this winter, and they could lose Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette next year, so Varsho might be viewed as one of the faces of the franchise by 2026. Then again, Varsho is set to hit free agency himself in 2027, giving the Blue Jays yet another franchise centerpiece they have to lock up before it’s too late.
