Toronto Blue Jays offence getting major boost from unexpected contributors
The Toronto Blue Jays offence has been finding success from players who don’t have a long track record of success.
When a team like the Toronto Blue Jays goes into the season paying $48.6 million for players to play for other teams, you have to find ways to get contributions from unlikely sources.
Sure the roster has younger players who are cost controlled but we have seen the team insert veteran players who are relishing with the playing opportunity. This was a big theme in the team’s sweep over the Oakland Athletics.
Everyone was making their way to the ballpark to watch the debut of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and came away with three exciting games where the Blue Jays offence led the team to two walk-off wins.
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At the start of the season, there was clearly an adjustment period for the team but now we are starting to see Charlie Montoyo‘s vision for how he wants this team to grind out every at-bat. In both games where Guerrero Jr. got on base in the ninth inning, they elected to go with the pinch runner.
It might not seem like a big deal but having a more aggressive approach to win the game in the ninth puts seems to be paying off as the Athletics pitchers have blown two of their games.
Now it’s obviously not sustainable for the team to expect their offence to produce in those situations every time but there are encouraging signs. In just two weeks with the Blue Jays, Eric Sogard has already matched his career high in home runs with three while filling in at shortstop for the injured Freddy Galvis.
Even Galvis has been an early surprise batting .311/.333/.522 considering he came to the team with a career slash line of .248/.291/.378. Whether the 29-year-old is capable of maintaining his pace remains to be seen but the team will take his production while they can.
After a slow start to the season, Brandon Drury has started to hit his stride – although mostly against the Athletics. One adjustment that has helped is having the 28-year-old hit lower in the lineup rather than expect him to contribute at the top of the order.
As Jeff Blair of Sportsnet wrote, the Blue Jays are one of the top teams in the league when it comes to hitting with runners in scoring position. Part of it has to do with their speed and hustling for extra bases and not relying solely on hitting home runs.
Eventually, the team is going to have more reliable starters in the lineup when they have finished their development in the minors. They have already graduated Vlad Jr. and expect Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Anthony Alford not to be too far behind.
Next. Breaking down Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s MLB debut. dark
What do you think about the Blue Jays recent play? Is it something they can sustain? Let us know in the comments below.