Blue Jays: Five Players Who Need to Have Career Years
Kevin Pillar
Kevin Pillar came to camp possessed to make amends for a season where he regressed at the dish. Pillar worked with hitting coach Brook Jacoby during the offseason and identified problem areas in his approach and swing at the plate in 2016. In a recent interview Pillar mentioned recognizing that he had a terrible soft contact rate at pitches out of the strike zone and is working to negate that.
If his spring results are any indication of what lies ahead in 2017, he should be poised for a career year. Pillar is batting .340 with more walks than strikeouts in 47 spring at bats thus far. In Pillar’s defence, he did play most of the second half of last season with a torn thumb that required offseason surgery. His thumb is 100 percent now and he is locked and loaded for 2017.
Pillar had a slash line of .266/.303/.376 with 90 strikeouts and only 24 walks in 584 plate appearances in 2016. The outfielder who is affectionately known as “Superman” did swipe 14 bags in 20 attempts down from the 25 he stole the previous season.
The one thing about Pillar is he will not accept mediocrity and won’t stop until he achieves his goals. The guy is a gamer through and through and is my bet to have a huge breakout campaign. This will be the season that Pillar’s proves he is just not a defensive master. Bank on it.