The Jays desperately need to start hitting for power

Here we go again. 

The Blue Jays can’t score runs. It seems like the theme of an anemic Jays’ offence has been at the forefront of discussion around the team for the past several years. Somehow, the team that led all of MLB in home runs just four seasons ago with seven different players reaching the 20-homer mark has now become a singles hitting team. 

The Jays are ranked 26th out of 30 teams in runs scored per game, 29th in home runs, 14th in batting average and on-base percentage, 25th in slugging percentage and 22nd in OPS. They are ranked 17th in stolen bases. 

At the heart of the Jays’ offensive issues is the lack of power. It is difficult to put a crooked number on the scoreboard when a team doesn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark. Not hitting for power means they have to string hits together to score multiple runs in an inning. It may take four or five singles in an inning to score two runs. It is tough to have that many hitters come up with hits in the same inning. The Jays are hitting only .242 as a team, which doesn’t scream lumping five hits together very often. 

The power needs to kick in. First, the fact that light-hitting second baseman Andres Gimenez leads the team with three homers is absurd. Anthony Santander (two) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (one) need to start hitting the ball over the wall. They are being paid to be run producers and are expected to hit at least 30 homers each, if not more. Bo Bichette (zero) has now had enough time to get comfortable playing again every day, and it’s time for him to look for pitches to drive. It is hard to be critical of George Springer (two homers) so far as he has been consistently good, but he is not making up for the lack of power from everyone else. I truly believe the power production will improve, but it may not be enough. 

If a team isn’t going to hit for power then they better be able to manufacture runs. That will mean reaching base more than everyone else and being able to steal and take extra bases whenever possible. The Jays are ranked 17th in stolen bases, showing that not only have they not hit for power, but they lack impact speed as well. 

There don’t seem to be any answers at Triple-A right now. Orelvis Martinez is scuffling. Jonatan Clase is hitting well (.377/.493/.443) with speed and should help the Jays, but he has no power. Utilitymen Riley Tirotta and Michael Stefanic are both off to good starts in Buffalo but they aren’t every day players at the big-league level right now. 

The lacking offensive production affects the pitching as well. The natural instinct for a pitcher who doesn’t get run support is to be perfect. They try to miss bats instead of attacking the zone. It is counter-intuitive, but the more a pitcher tries to avoid contact, the more contact they give up. When hitters are selective, they find themselves in more 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1 counts where they can look for a pitch to drive. The pitcher has to throw the ball over the plate and can get crushed. Pitchers are better when they attack hitters and throw strikes. When they get run support they are more aggressive in the zone. The starters need some margin for error to be successful on a consistent basis.

Fifth starting spot a question mark

Max Scherzer had a second injection in his thumb and is now able to grip a baseball. That is progress, but it is a long way away from being ready to pitch in a game. While he has been unavailable, Easton Lucas has made four starts. The first two starts were quite impressive but his last two have been clunkers. The Jays optioned him back to the minors after only lasting an inning and two-thirds against the Seattle Mariners in his last start. I would not give up on Lucas as he has pretty good stuff. Without Scherzer, Lucas and righty Yariel Rodriguez are the best solutions for Toronto’s fifth spot. 

General manager Ross Atkins will be on the lookout for more starting pitching, but so too will everyone else. Very rarely is a good starter available this early in a season, unless a team is looking to dump someone. 

Soto waiting on signature moment

The New York Mets are 18-7 to start the season and are in first place in the NL East with a five-game lead over the second place Philadelphia Phillies. In fact, they swept the Phillies earlier this week. The Mets have won seven in a row and are 12-1 at home this season. One might think that this fast start would be as a result of the huge free agent signing they made this off-season in Juan Soto. But Soto has gotten off to a bit of a slow start. He is hitting .233/.364/.389. Certainly, those are subpar numbers for him.   

The fans are excited about the team as a whole, but they are still letting Soto know they are underwhelmed so far. In New York, fans communicate displeasure by booing, and they do it quite easily. There is no regard for the feelings of the player. Some even believe their boos will help motivate the player to try harder. Of course, in baseball, poor hitting isn’t about a lack of effort. In fact, it is often about trying too hard. Players have to have thick skin in New York and can’t allow themselves to develop hurt feelings.

Mike Piazza struggled in his first week after we traded for him in 1998. The fans booed him and were unforgiving even after line-drive outs. But once he finally came through in a clutch moment, the love affair began between Mets fans and Piazza. Soto is headed down the same path. Once he comes up with a huge game-winning hit in front of the home fans, he will start a relationship that will be unbreakable. He will be their guy at that point.