Blue Jays Quick Hits: Smith Jr., Maile and Hernandez

Notes on the recent performance of young outfielder Dwight Smith Jr., the continued offensive production of Luke Maile and an underrated aspect of the play of Teoscar Hernandez.

Smith Jr. Solid in Short Stint

Dwight Smith Jr., a former first-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2011, was recently recalled by the team on May 3rd ahead of the doubleheader. He was then optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo after appearing in just two games.

In four at-bats, he went 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. He left one man on base and saw just 10 pitches throughout his four ABs. Not much can be said about his performance. He’s been long known to be a solid defensive outfielder but has recently developed a bit of pop in his bat.

In 16 games with the Bisons, Smith has slashed .230/.329/.361 with two homers and 11 RBI, stealing three bases and walking 10 times (13.5% BB rate), striking out 17 times (22.9% K rate).

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Maile Continues Unexpectedly Productive Campaign

After slashing a ridiculous .353/.405/.471 in the month of April, Luke Maile has continued to be more productive at the plate than we saw last season. Although his May OPS sits at a lowly .585, it’s a lot better than his May OPS last season, with was an abysmal .317.

This month, Maile has two hits through 10 at-bats, good enough for a .200 batting average.

Teoscar Quick on the Bases

While there’s been a lot of talk about the offensive prowess of young outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, his speed has not been talked about nearly as much as it should. So far this year, he’s swiped three bags, good enough for second on the team.

He’s been caught just once and has picked his spots extremely well. With a mediocre OBP of .319, his ability to steal bases makes the most out of his limited time spent on the base paths. Overall, Hernandez has slashed .259/.319/.541 with four home runs and 12 RBI, striking out 20 times (21.2% K rate) and walking just eight times (8.5% BB rate).

Next: Blue Jays: A Look into the Devon Travis Conundrum