The Toronto Blue Jays are officially assured of being well-represented at next week’s All-Star Game. The next question is: will anyone else join Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion and Marco Estrada, the three Blue Jays who were elected by their fellow players.
Michael Saunders (.914 OPS, 15 HR, 24 2B) has a shot after being selected as one of five vote-in candidates for the final spot on the team, while Aaron Sanchez (2.94 ERA, 99 strikeouts, 113.1 innings) should be considered as a fill-in for any All-Star pitcher who needs to be replaced.
If one of those players makes the team, the Blue Jays will have at least four All-Stars for the sixth time in franchise history and the first time since 2013, when Jose Bautista, Steve Delabar and Brett Cecil joined Encarnacion at the mid-summer classic.
Should two more Blue Jays somehow make their way onto the AL roster, they’d have five All-Stars for the third time ever and the first time since Roy Halladay, B.J. Ryan, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells and Alex Rios represented Toronto a decade ago. Meanwhile, the franchise record of seven, set in 1993 after one World Series title and on the way to another, remains safe for at least one more year.
From Ron Fairly to Juan Guzman to John Buck, here’s every All-Star in 40 seasons of Blue Jays baseball…
1977
Ron Fairly
1978
Roy Howell
1979
Dave Lemanczyk
1980
Dave Stieb
1981
Dave Stieb
1982
Jim Clancy
1983
Dave Stieb
1984
Dave Stieb
Damaso Garcia
Alfredo Griffin
1985
Dave Stieb
Jimmy Key
Damaso Garcia
Ernie Whitt
1986
Jesse Barfield
Lloyd Moseby
Tony Fernandez
1987
George Bell
Tony Fernandez
Tom Henke
1988
Dave Stieb
1989
Kelly Gruber
Tony Fernandez
1990
George Bell
Kelly Gruber
Dave Stieb
1991
Roberto Alomar
Joe Carter
Jimmy Key
1992
Roberto Alomar
Joe Carter
Juan Guzman
1993
Roberto Alomar
Joe Carter
Pat Hentgen
Paul Molitor
John Olerud
Duane Ward
Devon White
1994
Roberto Alomar
Joe Carter
Pat Hentgen
Paul Molitor
1995
Roberto Alomar
1996
Joe Carter
1997
Roger Clemens
Pat Hentgen
1998
Roger Clemens
1999
Tony Fernandez
Shawn Green
2000
Carlos Delgado
Shawn Green
David Wells
2001
Paul Quantrill
2002
Roy Halladay
2003
Carlos Delgado
Vernon Wells
Roy Halladay
2004
Ted Lilly
2005
Roy Halladay
Shea Hillenbrand
2006
Roy Halladay
B.J. Ryan
Troy Glaus
Vernon Wells
Alex Rios
2007
Alex Rios
2008
Roy Halladay
2009
Roy Halladay
Aaron Hill
2010
Jose Bautista
John Buck
Vernon Wells
2011
Jose Bautista
Ricky Romero
2012
Jose Bautista
2013
Jose Bautista
Edwin Encarnacion
Steve Delabar
Brett Cecil
2014
Jose Bautista
Edwin Encarnacion
Mark Buehrle
2015
Josh Donaldson
Russell Martin
Jose Bautista
2016
Josh Donaldson
Edwin Encarnacion
Marco Estrada
