His name isn’t unknown to the many Blue Jays fans that watch him every day. Bo Bichette has been an offensive leader for the team ever since he joined the team in 2019. But now he is transitioning from just a valuable hitter to an all-around player with much more to offer.
The Past Five Years for Bo Bichette
Bichette made his debut at 19 years old. Before that, he ran through the minor leagues and never stopped for too much time at one destination. In 2019 he was the youngest player in Triple-A when he started with the Buffalo Bisons. Later that year he got the call-up to join the major team up in Canada.
Since then, he has become an unexpected powerhouse for the team. While he always had talent in the prospect pool, his numbers flourished with the Blue Jays. However, it would be in 2021 that he had his best season to date. Despite the soul-crushing finish to the season with only being one game away from the playoffs, Bichette became a fan favourite alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. In that year he had 29 home runs and 191 hits. Despite the high number it looks like he will improve this season as well.
Not just the Numbers
Despite only being a month into the season, Bichette has already shown huge signs of improving. He has already has 43 hits to lead the league and has seven home runs this season. But his stats don’t tell most of the story. It’s when he steps up those matters. Recently he has had two cases that showed that he can be more of a reliable player in the box.
In the last game of the Seattle Mariners series, he helped the Blue Jays climb out of a disastrous first inning. With two men on base, Bo Bichette smashed a ball into left-centre field for a home run. Another was in the first game of the series against the Boston Red Sox. In the top of the second, down by two, he would smash a three run home run. He hit it almost 400 feet to gain the lead for the Blue Jays.
Despite losing both games, they are great examples of when Bichette steps up to the plate when the team is down and does what he needs to do. A lot of younger players would feel the pressure of going up to the plate in a situation that could help gain the lead for the team. But Bichette answers the call.
Shortstop Star
Despite being known for his offensive capabilities, Bo Bichette is also improving on his defensive talents as well. Last year he was part of 58 double plays for the Blue Jays and had over 500 assists. It’s tough to look at his numbers and see a huge improvement though. What he will need to work on is minimizing the number of errors. He had 23 errors last year and already has three this young season.
Despite mistakes, he has become a strong shortstop for the Blue Jays that isn’t talked about as much. With a little work, he will become one of the best offensive and defensive players the team has seen in a long time.
But for now, Blue Jays fans should just watch the show. As long as the Blue Jays want to build around Bo Bichette, he will hopefully be on this team for a long time. With that, it will be interesting to see what happens next.
