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It is a picturesque Florida morning, and Vernon Wells and a Toronto Blue Jays teammate are playing catch -- with a twist.

Wells stands at the very edge of the dirt, where the grass begins, in foul territory along the first base line. Wells wants his partner to throw him the ball on the grass portion, and while Wells keeps his feet on the dirt, he'll still catch the ball as he dives onto the grass, like an NFL receiver tiptoeing along the sideline.

Throw after throw, Wells performs this ballet with perfection. Each time, careful to ensure that his feet remain on the dirt, he falls slowly onto the grass, snaring the ball just as his body, fully extended, lands softly.

It is a complicated athletic display, requiring timing and grace and confidence, and Wells somehow makes it look easy.

Perhaps that should come as no surprise. Wells can make a lot of things look easy on the baseball field. Over the last four seasons, he's averaged 95 RBI and 27 homers while winning two Gold Gloves.

And yet, in part because he plays in Canada, and also because the Blue Jays have suffered through one losing season after another, Wells remains a well-kept secret.

He's made just one All-Star team and is seldom mentioned in the roll call of the game's best center fielders.

That may change some this year. The Blue Jays have surrounded him with the best talent in his four full seasons, purchasing A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan to improve their pitching staff and trading for Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay to bolster their lineup.

The Blue Jays, an afterthought in the AL East after two straight World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, could loosen the stranglehold the Yankees and Red Sox have had on the division. That, in turn, could focus some attention on Wells.

Some think that's already overdue.

"A lot of people feel -- and I'm one of them -- that Vernon is going to be an MVP some year," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "Defensively, there's nobody better in the American League. He's in a class by himself. He's got a good release, and he flags everything down. There's not a better baserunner in the game. And his offensive numbers speak for themselves."

"He's up there in the upper tier of players in the league," concurs a longtime AL scout. "If Torii Hunter weren't around, [Wells] would get a lot more recognition. When you can hit home runs and play center field as well as he does, that's unique. It's like finding a really good shortstop who can hit for power."

Not that there isn't room for improvement. Wells can be too aggressive at the plate. Only once in the last four seasons has he walked more than 47 times, and his career on-base percentage (.330) is decidedly mediocre.

"Ideally," Gibbons concedes, "you'd like to see him be a little more patient. But he's always been a very aggressive hitter. And the bottom line is, just like [Alfonso] Soriano and [Nomar] Garciaparra, he produces."

	"	A lot of people feel -- and I'm one of them -- that Vernon is going to be an MVP some year. Defensively, there's nobody better in the American League. He's in a class by himself. He's got a good release, and he flags everything down. There's not a better baserunner in the game. And his offensive numbers speak for themselves. "
		— Blue Jays manager John Gibbons

Buffeted by a stronger supporting cast this season, the Jays hope that Wells won't feel compelled to do it all offensively like last year. After slugger Carlos Delgado left via free agency following the 2004 season, it fell to Wells to pick up the slack.

The result? Wells got off to his second consecutive poor start and never recovered.

"Sometimes," Wells admitted, "you want to do so much to help your team that you end up hurting yourself and your team. I was disappointed that I wasn't the hitter I needed to be."

"We've told him, 'Now you don't have to carry the whole load,'" Gibbons said. "I think Vernon always expects a lot from himself, and not having Delgado added to that."

Glaus likely will hit behind Wells to provide additional muscle, and Overbay, a line-drive hitter, will provide more run-producing opportunities.

Of course, with the better supporting cast, more is expected of the Jays and Wells.

"My approach this spring is still the same," Wells said. "Obviously, there's a different level of expectation for us. J.P. [Ricciardi, the Blue Jays GM] did a great job in the offseason. Now, it's our job to make the moves look good."

Paramount for Wells is getting off to a better start, especially with an early schedule that has the Jays facing division rivals Boston and New York 11 times in the first 23 games.

"Last year, I was just not ready," he said. "I can't really pinpoint anything. When the last out of the season was made, I just sat at my locker for a while. It felt like a wasted season."

In the past, Wells would take off the first month of the offseason before getting back to work. But last winter, he started hitting again in November.

"I made a conscious effort to start work earlier," he said.

That ethic was reinforced at the World Baseball Classic when Wells saw Ken Griffey Jr., his role model, spend 90 minutes a day in the batting cage.

"I couldn't keep up," Wells said, shaking his head in admiration. "After an hour and 15 minutes, I had blisters. But it made an impression on me. This is the guy I grew up watching and trying to emulate."

This season, Wells hopes to make it to October for the first time in his career. Already, there is a buzz about the Jays in Toronto that has been absent since the early 1990s.

"People are talking baseball again," Wells said. "The most important thing for us is to get off to a good start. You've got to earn this. No one's going to give us anything in this division. But I'm excited. This is a big year for me, and a big one for the team."

Sean McAdam of The Providence (R.I.) Journal covers baseball for ESPN.com.