Edwin Encarnacion Is A Beast

Apr 23, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion (10) rounds third base after hitting a three-run home run in the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles defeated the Jays 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports /

Edwin Encarnacion

has been a model of consistency for the Toronto Blue Jays since the 2nd half of 2011. He plays for a team that has super popular players like

Jose Bautista

and

Brett Lawrie

. He plays for a team that just had an offseason for the ages. It’s because of this that we don’t talk about

Edwin Encarnacion

enough.

But in the last week or so he has 7 home runs. He had a 4 game homerun streak. He has 2 games where he hit 2 homeruns. In one of his 2 home run games he hit one to the 5th deck at Rogers Center. That is just the 14th time in Rogers Center history that’s happened. It’s also the first time it’s been done since Vernon Wells did it in September 2004!

So it’s time to talk about Edwin Encarnacion.

By now everyone knows Encarnacion had a career year in 2012. He hit 42 homeruns, had a 384 on base percentage and put up a 4.2 WAR according to fangraphs.

Encarnacion is just 30 years old. So judging by the way he’s started 2013 we may need to stop calling Edwin’s 2012 a career year and start calling it his norm.

So far in 2013 Encarnacion has a .843 OPS with a decent .319 on-base percentage with 24 hits, including 9 homeruns, 2 doubles and 11 walks.

He’s already on pace for more homeruns this season than the 42 he had last year. More than 42 homeruns means 50 is a very real possibility. If the Blue Jays go to the playoffs and we count playoff numbers and the Jays go deep into the playoffs 50 home runs is darn near almost a sure thing.

Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion could be the first duo to hit 40 homeruns in the same season for a team since David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez did it for the 2005 Boston Red Sox.

If Jose Bautista isn’t careful Edwin could challenge him for 2013 MLB homerun king. If Bautista’s really not careful Encarnacion could be the new Blue Jays franchise player. Or at the very least Bautista may need to start sharing the honor.

The fact that either of those things could happen just shows you how great Edwin’s been. A year ago today Jose Bautista was hands down the Blue Jays franchise player. If Encarnacion continues at the pace he started last season Bautista has some serious competition.

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