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Toronto Blue Jays: 5 biggest surprises so far this season

By Paul Taylor

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 01: (L-R) Aledmys Diaz #1, Lourdes Gurriel #13, Teoscar Hernandez #37 and Curtis Granderson #18 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate a win against the Minnesota Twins in 10 innings on May 1, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Blue Jays defeated the Twins 7-4. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 01: (L-R) Aledmys Diaz #1, Lourdes Gurriel #13, Teoscar Hernandez #37 and Curtis Granderson #18 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate a win against the Minnesota Twins in 10 innings on May 1, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Blue Jays defeated the Twins 7-4. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Blue Jays
CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 3: Yangervis Solarte #26 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after hitting a grand slam during the eleventh inning off Tyler Olson #49 of the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on May 3, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day in this makeup game from April 15. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

4) Solarte is team MVP so far

In the list of surprises so far this season, Yangervis Solarte is worthy of mention. If you claim you predicted his level of production, you either have a time machine or you’re telling a little white lie.

With the possible exception of Pillar, Solarte has been the Blue Jays’ best hitter so far in 2018. In fact, as Tip of the Tower‘s Thomas Hall suggested earlier this week, he might actually be the team MVP up to this point.

This claim is backed up by the 30-year-old’s success through the first month and a half of the season. As of May 10, he leads Toronto in home runs and RBs, on the back of a .271 batting average entering Friday’s slate of games.

Over the course of an entire campaign, Solarte would set career-highs in both categories. The home runs are particularly impressive, as he is already halfway to matching his previous best, which he set just last year.

The Venezuela native is also well on course to set single-season bests for OBP and SLG. As a result he has a .877 OPS, which is well above his career average of .755.

In a season of fantastic performances, Solarte’s best came on May 3 against the Cleveland Indians, in the first game of a double-header. He finished with five hits, one home run and six RBIs, as he helped the Blue Jays win 13-11 in a high-scoring affair.

The former New York Yankee has drawn favourable comparisons to Munenori Kawasaki, in terms of his personality and ability to bring a positive vibe to the team. However, with all due reverence to the fabulous Kawasaki, Solarte has extended his influence to on the field; long may it continue.

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