The start of the season for the Blue Jays hasn’t been the smoothest. There have been a few issues with star players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. But there have also been great standouts like newly acquired Justin Turner and last year’s rookie sensation Davis Schneider.
But the Blue Jays are not producing wins like other teams and although it is too early to think about the playoffs, with their current rate, they need to start improving on their season.
The Blue Jays Roster New Additions
After a miserable offseason with the miss of Shohei Ohtani and then not signing anyone else, Justin Turner became the biggest signing of the offseason. There wasn’t much to be expected as the 39-year-old would be one of the oldest on the team. His role would have probably been more off the field as a veteran voice who had won a World Series before and was on the Dodgers for almost eight years.
Despite the low expectations he has done his part. He isn’t the most shining player, but he has been a solid offensive player. He has already solidified himself as a leader on the team and has had a positive impact when the Blue Jays need him most. However, he still has hot-and-cold tendencies like a lot of players on the team, and that is a problem, especially when the team needs to be more consistent. But as of right now, he is the hitting leader on the team.
One of the most underrated players in the season is Davis Schneider. The rookie had issues cracking the main lineup on the year even though he would be the only player that would be getting points in a game. In the month of April alone, Schneider has had two home runs and six runs. He has a lot fewer runs compared to other players in the team, but when he does hit and get home runs, they are at the most clutch moments of the season. The Blue Jays have won a few games because of him.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has improved a lot since last year. With him admitting he had an injury in his off-year last year, it’s great to see him being the offensive powerhouse he was earlier, even though he has cooled down with his home runs. His biggest problem is that he still struggles infield as he has made decisions in plays that would get players out if he passed the ball to the right person or would be more accurate. He had a disaster of a game against the Kansas City Royals where he committed his first error of the season.
The bad, the inconsistent
Bo Bichette has started the season struggling to get back to his 2023 form. Bichette has only one home run this season. His total bases at bat have gone down significantly compared to last year, and his on-field performance at shortstop hasn’t been the most impressive, with two errors already committed. However, he had been injured earlier in the season and there could be a chance he still hasn’t fully recovered.
While the offense has been improving, it’s still very inconsistent from day to day. One day, the team could be scoring eight points and multiple home runs and then go into a slump for five games with few hits. There were games such as the first game of the recent Kansas City series where the first six innings only had one hit. They aren’t constant, and that is a huge problem when they are in the AL East, where teams such as the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees have constancy and a great roster.
The hope is that the team could be more consistent and a huge shakeup can happen so the team can come back to the playoffs and move forward. Although it’s only early in the season, it’s still not a great start.
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