Blue Jays announce surprising lineup against the Diamondbacks

The lineup starts with Davis Schneider in left field, then turns to Varsho in center and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first. That top three gives Toronto contact, speed, and its biggest middle-order bat right away.

Jesús Sánchez hits fourth in right field, which keeps a left-handed bat in a run-producing spot. Lenyn Sosa follows at designated hitter, a sign that Schneider wants another aggressive right-handed bat in the middle third.

Andres Gimenez at short and Kazuma Okamoto starts at third, giving the Blue Jays 2 gloves they need to trust behind an opener. Ernie Clement at second, while Tyler Heineman catches and hits ninth.

That last part matters because Toronto is not handing this game to a traditional starter. Braydon Fisher gets the ball first, and the Blue Jays are clearly trying to control the early innings with a bullpen-style plan.

Fisher has earned that look. He enters with a 0.93 ERA and 12 strikeouts, which makes him a sensible choice to face the top of Arizona's order before the game starts stretching out.

This lineup card also says something about where Toronto thinks it can do damage. There is not a heavy bench-bat feel here. Schneider is leaning on mobility, defensive coverage, and enough traffic in front of Guerrero to pressure Arizona early.

That puts extra weight on Schneider and Varsho. If those 2 get on, Guerrero hits in the first inning with the game moving instead of trying to start everything himself.

Sánchez becomes a big swing spot behind him. Toronto does not need a home run in every big at-bat, but it does need that fourth spot to stop innings from dying once Guerrero is pitched around.

Sosa is another name worth watching. When he is in the lineup, the Blue Jays are usually looking for quicker damage, not a slow grind built on walks and deep counts.

The lower third has its own job. Clement and Heineman do not have to carry the game, but they do need to keep the order from falling flat before it turns back to the top.

That is the shape of this lineup. It is not built to overpower Arizona from one through nine. It is built to stay clean in the field, create some early pressure, and hand Fisher enough support to make the opener plan work.

If Toronto gets that from this group, the Blue Jays will give themselves a real shot to start the series the right way.