John Schneider's Blue Jays slipped from 17th to 19th in this week's MLB power rankings, and it is not hard to see why.
The number itself is not the biggest story. The bigger issue is what it says about how the rest of baseball sees Toronto right now: talented enough to hang around, not steady enough to trust.
CBS Sports had the Blue Jays at No. 20 in its May 11 rankings and pointed straight at Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s missing power as part of the concern, noting his .395 on-base percentage but only 2 home runs in 146 at-bats at that point.
That gets to the heart of the problem. Toronto still has enough recognizable names to look dangerous on paper, but too many nights have felt flat in the spots where a contender usually lands a punch.
The standings make the drop easier to justify. After Wednesday's walk-off win over Tampa Bay, the Blue Jays sat at 19-24, 9.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East.
That is not a disaster in mid-May. But it is exactly the kind of record that leaves a team drifting in the middle tier instead of pushing upward.
The recent stretch against Tampa Bay did not help the mood. Toronto lost the first 2 games of that series before Daulton Varsho's extra-inning grand slam saved the finale and kept the homestand from feeling even worse.
The ranking drop fits the way Toronto has looked
This is why the slide from 17th to 19th lands as fair instead of harsh. The Blue Jays have not looked like a club getting cleaner by the week. They have looked like one still trying to figure out where its traction is coming from.
The roster churn has played into that. Toronto has been juggling injuries, moving pieces around the bullpen, and still searching for a stable answer at the back of the rotation.
At the same time, there are enough good signs to keep this from becoming a full panic story. Kevin Gausman reached 2000 career strikeouts this week, Dylan Cease has given the club front-line stuff, and Varsho's walk-off blast against the Rays showed this lineup can still create a real moment.
That is what makes No. 19 feel uncomfortable but honest. Toronto is not playing like one of the league's bottom clubs. It also is not playing like a team that deserves the benefit of the doubt.
For Schneider, the next step is simple. The Blue Jays do not need to obsess over a ranking number in May. They need to stack wins, get healthier, and make this feel like a bad week instead of an accurate read on who they are.
Right now, the league sees Toronto as a club stuck in between. Dropping from 17th to 19th only put that truth in writing.
Is No. 19 a fair spot for the Blue Jays right now?
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