It was a rough season for Toronto Blue Jays fans as they watched their club limp to a fourth-place finish in the American League East with a 73-89 record.
For the second straight year, the Toronto faithful will have to watch October baseball from home and figure out which team to root for over the next month.
We’re here to help. Here’s who conflicted Blue Jays fans should cast their support behind, ranked from first to worst.
1. Cleveland Indians 
The sting of the 2016 ALCS loss has worn off and Blue Jays fans can go all-in on a team featuring former fan favourites Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson. Cleveland also features a dynamic one-two punch in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez that is among the best (and most likeable) duos in baseball.
On the pitching side, Corey Kluber anchors a starting staff that ranked third in ERA this season. The path won’t be easy, but the Indians are a complete enough team to make a World Series title a realistic possibility.
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2. Milwaukee Brewers 
The Brewers are another team littered with former Blue Jays with Curtis Granderson, Eric Thames, Erik Kratz and Jeremy Jeffress on the roster. Milwaukee posted the best record in the National League, but still had to earn its chops by playing a Game 163 tiebreaker with the Chicago Cubs for NL Central supremacy.
Led by MVP candidate Christian Yelich, the offence boasts a stellar combination of power and speed, finishing second in the National League with 218 home runs and leading the Senior Circuit with 124 stolen bases. Combine that lineup with a lights-out bullpen and the Brewers seem primed for a run at their first championship. Hop aboard.
3. Colorado Rockies 
Another team looking for its first title in franchise history is the Rockies, who will battle the Brewers in the NLDS. Colorado has been through the ringer already on its path to the division series, falling to the Dodgers in Game 163 before squeaking past the Cubs in a wild-card game thriller.
Behind big bats like Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story and MVP candidate Nolan Arenado, Colorado enters the playoffs as the hottest team in baseball, winning nine of its final 10 regular-season games. That was also the case the last time the Rockies made a trip to the World Series in 2007 and they’ll look to seal the deal this time around.
4. Atlanta Braves 
The ‘Baby Braves’ arrived ahead of schedule, winning the NL East due in large part to young stars Ronald Acuna Jr., 20, and Ozzie Albies, 21. That youth makes the Braves an easy team to cheer for in October as many players experience the bright lights of the post-season for the first time. Veteran Freddie Freeman, who proudly represented Canada at the 2017 WBC in honour of his late mother, helps anchor a lineup that finished with the second-best batting average in the National League.
Blue Jays supporters can cast their support behind this group with no guilt because Alex Anthopoulos, former Toronto GM, now holds the position in Atlanta. Plenty of other familiar names also found homes in the Braves organization, including former Blue Jays hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and athletic trainer George Poulis.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers 
The Dodgers came painfully close to winning it all last season, falling to the Astros in Game 7. They didn’t have an easy go of it this season, clinching the NL West in Game 163 Monday. The roster is largely the same as last year’s club, with the biggest change being trade-deadline acquisition Manny Machado replacing the injured Corey Seager at shortstop.
It would be great story for Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw to add to his impressive resume with a World Series ring but there are a couple key factors holding the Dodgers back from climbing this list: They have an enormous payroll of $200 million and their games can drag on and on due to manager Dave Roberts’ pitching tactics.
6. Houston Astros 
Houston won the World Series last year, which is the main reason they appear so low in these rankings. The Astros are still one of the most watchable teams out there thanks to their bevy of superstars, but it’s more entertaining to cheer on a squad that has a lengthy championship drought. Variety is the spice of life, right?
7. New York Yankees 
It’s a tough sell to get Blue Jays fans to back an AL East rival, but at least the Yankees are loaded with exciting young players. If you value home runs above all else, this is easily the team for you as New York blasted an MLB-high 267 long balls on the year.
8. Boston Red Sox 
Another of Toronto’s division rivals, the Red Sox finished 2018 with the best record in baseball. It’s no fun to root for the favourite, even if that team features Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez.