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Compare those results to what has been happening in the AL Central. It’s the division that has long been rated among the worst in baseball thanks to the lack of big markets and an unwillingness to spend, but this year it happens to be the most competitive group the sport has to offer.

The Central has four teams above .500 and the division-leading Detroit Tigers arrived in º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøtied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most wins in baseball. 

“If you win 11 games in a row and you’re in fourth place, that’s a tough division,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, referencing the Minnesota Twins’ recent streak. “I think teams around the league are just better … they’ve done a good job at being really competitive and some teams do it differently than others. Detroit is very platoon heavy and they’re getting the most out of every single guy on the roster.”

It’s worth pointing out the success might not last. The Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Guardians and Twins can each be found inside the top 10 for the most difficult remaining schedules in the majors. The surging Tigers have a much easier path as they rank 22nd, while the Jays are 11th.

Still, the East did this to itself. The Orioles declined to replace former ace Corbin Burnes with a comparable front-line piece. Despite having a new billionaire owner, they also cheaped out on the rest of the pitching staff and it has cost them in a big way. The Orioles are 15-27 and in last place.

The Red Sox were only marginally better during the off-season. They went out and traded for an ace in Garrett Crochet, while also signing Alex Bregman. But they didn’t do much else and the franchise that used to be continuously among baseball’s biggest spenders is outside the top 10 in payroll.

With a top five payroll, nobody can accuse the Jays of cheaping out, but it’s fair to question how that money is being spent. Andrés Giménez has been a bust at second, Anthony Santander has yet to figure things out and there is a noticeable lack of impact bats in the everyday lineup.

Entering Friday, the AL Central held the balance of power by possessing all three wild cards. Meanwhile, the AL East appears to only have one legitimate contender and a bunch of middling teams. Times have changed.

Slumping Santander

A few weeks ago, this columnist tried to quiet some of the early season criticism surrounding Santander. It was pointed out that the veteran slugger was a notoriously slow starter and there wasn’t anything to worry about unless those struggles carried into May. Well, it’s now the middle of May and Santander still looks lost.

In 10 games this month, Santander is batting .220 with a well-below average .606 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He has just two extra-base hits during that span, and after finishing last year with 44 homers, the former Oriole has five through more than a quarter of the year.

If it’s any consolation for the Jays, Santander wasn’t exactly lighting it up at this time last year either. On May 16, he was batting .220 with seven homers and a .744 OPS before getting hot. Even so, that’s noticeably better than his current .187 average and .582 OPS.

It’s pretty simple, until Santander starts living up to his reputation of being a reliable middle-of-the-order bat, the Jays offence will be hard pressed to go on a sustained run.

“Giving him a break,” Schneider said while explaining why Santander was held out of Friday’s starting lineup. “I think it’s beneficial for guys to just stop thinking for 24 hours, let your mind rest and get back to the things that we think are important that are going to get him on the right track.”

Quick hitters

-Left field has been a major weakness for most of the year but the numbers have been much improved of late. Nathan Lukes entered Friday with a .333 average over his last 14 games to go along with three homers, eight runs and nine RBIs.

-Recently signed Spencer Turnbull made his season debut Thursday by allowing one run over four innings for Class-A Dunedin. He threw 54 pitches and is expected to be stretched to a range of 80-100 before being considered for the big-league staff. Until then, the Jays likely will continue using openers in front of left-hander Eric Lauer.

-The Max Scherzer situation is starting to feel like last year with Joey Votto: countless medical updates and little noticeable progress. Scherzer is playing catch again and he might be nearing another bullpen. How many times have we heard that? Wake me up when he’s ready to start a rehab assignment. Until then, the Jays just need to focus on the pieces they already have in place.