BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The most important thing to happen at Sahlen Field on Saturday came three hours prior to first pitch, when George Springer bolted from first base, rounded second and sprinted to third.

Springer went through a full session of drills prior to the Blue Jays’ game against his former team, the Astros, starting with baserunning before moving into shallow left field, where he ran straight-line sprints with the club’s medical staff watching closely. Later, he went through throwing drills in the outfield, took fly balls and a few rounds of batting practice before calling it a day.

“This is the best day he’s had,” said manager Charlie Montoyo. “He did everything at 100 percent, so now he’s looking better to start his rehab games. Today was his best yet.”

Running at 100 percent is the big news here. Throwing and hitting aren’t issues, but given the nature of Springer’s right quad strain, this has been about sprinting all along. Until Springer ran at 100 percent, it was difficult for the Blue Jays to map out much of a timeline for his return, but that just got a little less blurry.

“I would think that, whenever it’s time to rehab, he would go to Trenton,” Montoyo said. “That would be the next step. When that happens, we don’t know yet.”

Trenton, of course, means Triple-A, as the Buffalo Bisons are currently calling Trenton, N.J., their home with the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field.

Following Sunday’s series finale against the Astros, the Blue Jays have an off-day on Monday before heading to Chicago for a three-game series against the White Sox. That brings them up to Friday, when they’ll begin a four-game series in Boston before coming back to Buffalo for a three-game series against the Yankees beginning June 15. Just where Springer fits into this is still unclear, as Montoyo said, but we’re getting to the point where the club will be mapping out some different paths.

Springer’s return will be a clear boost to a lineup that is already one of baseball’s most productive, and it also leaves Montoyo with a good problem. Springer was the presumed leadoff hitter entering the season, but Marcus Semien just won American League Player of the Month while batting leadoff and is one of the hottest players in the league. Having both of those bats in front of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sounds awfully attractive.

Ryu studying video after rough outing

Friday’s ugly, 13-1 loss featured an uncharacteristic outing from Hyun Jin Ryu, who allowed six earned runs on seven hits, including a pair of homers, over 5 2/3 innings. He also walked three, a season high, and struck out just one, a season low. Something wasn’t working.

“I have to look at the video first, and I’ll try to study these videos, but I feel like it’s with my mechanics. I’m just rushing a bit,” Ryu explained through a team translator.

The outing bumped Ryu’s ERA from 2.62 up to 3.23, but this should be a quick fix for the ace. Up until these last two outings, Ryu had walked just five batters over eight starts, showing the best control of his career.

Top prospects finding their groove in Double-A

Double-A New Hampshire was billed as the Blue Jays’ prospect hotbed this season with one of the most talented lineups in Minor League Baseball, headlined by No. 2 prospect Austin Martin, No. 3 prospect Jordan Groshans and No. 7 Gabriel Moreno.

Moreno has been the early star, batting .368 with a 1.016 OPS through 19 games. Martin finally launched his first home run of the season on Friday, though, while Groshans has homered twice in his last five games. Don’t forget the name Otto Lopez, though. The versatile 22-year-old is hitting .339 while playing all three outfield positions and second base -- plus, he’s already got a spot on the 40-man roster.