With all the talk about the Yankees and Red Sox once again duking it out in the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays could be the sleeper of this division. They are led by arguably the best pitcher in baseball, ace Roy Halladay. Halladay was well on his way to the second Cy Young Award of his career last season before taking a season-ending line drive off the leg, which sent him to the ground and the DL, courtesy of Kevin Mench. The irony of his injury is that its normally Halladay who gives batters seats. He appears to be fully recovered heading into 2006 and has looked sharp already in spring training. Theres 20+ wins the Blue Jays can count on in one man.

Right hander A.J. Burnett should couple with Halladay for a formidable 1-2 punch. He looked good in his first spring training start and has proven that he has the ability to strike batters out to get out of jams. Chacin and Lilly are good enough to round out the rotation and keep opposing teams in check, especially with two aces at the top of this rotation. BJ Ryan was added to the bullpen this year after having a big year by picking up 36 saves on the Baltimore Orioles last season. He held batters to a .208 batting average and has the potential to pick up 40 plus saves if this team will play up to its potential.

First baseman Lyle Overbay and former Angel Troy Glaus bring big bats north of the border as well. Troy Glaus is the real deal and he showed it again last year by hitting 37 home runs and driving in 97 RBIs. Overbay doesnt have a lot of power but is solid defensively and hits for a nice average. Vernon Wells is a superstar in the making and last season he ended up with 28 home runs and 97 runs batter in.

Toronto backers should be ready to profit on the 2006 Blue Jays as the organization has made great off season moves and their team appears to be a serious contender on paper. Toronto has provided backers with 3 winning seasons in the past 4 years and 2006 should be an even better campaign as they appear to have great balance on both sides of the coin.

One thing to watch for is that the Jays were often undervalued by bookmakers as an underdog last season. I dont expect this to be the case as often as we have every reason to believe theyll be even better than last year. They won 15 of 28 games as a road underdog in division play last season for a positive 10 unit gain, and I expect them to improve on that mark this season. Look for the 2006 Blue Jays to sneak up on the Yanks and Sox and leave the Orioles in the dust. This team has enough pitching to make a statement and a lot of powerful hitters in the middle of the lineup.

This article was written by Jimmy Boyd. Pick up his Baseball Picks here.