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Toronto Blue Jays: Kendrys Morales continues to redeem himself

By David Morassutti

TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 22: Kendrys Morales #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a single in the fifth inning during MLB game action against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on August 22, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 22: Kendrys Morales #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a single in the fifth inning during MLB game action against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on August 22, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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With another home run against the Philadelphia Phillies, Kendrys Morales continues to show the Toronto Blue Jays what they saw in him as a free agent.

It wasn’t long ago that Kendrys Morales was being heavily criticized for his offensive struggles, but now he has a chance to set a new Toronto Blue Jays franchise mark for consecutive games with a home run.

The 35-year-old now owns the team’s home run lead with 20 and will be looking to set a team record on Sunday with seven straight games with a homer. A true reversal of fortune considering how his tenure with the Blue Jays had previously gone.

Through the first 75 games of the season, Morales was hitting .246/.320/.436 with 11 home runs, 30 RBI and an OPS of .756, while over the last 31 games he is hitting .292/.382/.538 with nine home runs, 20 RBI and an OPS of .920.

When the Blue Jays signed Morales, the expectation was that he would replace Edwin Encarnacion‘s production offensively. It would have been tough to expect him to do that however, considering he’s never hit more than 34 home runs in a single season.

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For now, fans should appreciate that Morales is one of the hottest hitters in baseball. It should also come as no surprise that Toronto is on a five-game winning streak as well.

A team could potentially show interest in Morales, especially a contender struggling to create offence. Unfortunately, his value is limited because he can only play at first base (unless a team is crazy enough to have him pitch) or at DH.

At least his recent hot streak is being followed by strong production from Billy McKinney, who has three home runs this week, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. continuing his strong showing from July and Danny Jansen‘s nose for extra-base hits.

With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. expected to come up next season, the Blue Jays will need players like Morales in the lineup to avoid having opposing teams zone in on Vlad Jr.

Next. Would the Jays actually trade Justin Smoak?. dark

What do you think about the hot steak Morales is on? Can he continue it going into next season? Let us know in the comments below. 

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