Blue Jays and their puzzling struggles against southpaw starters

For a lineup with as many right-handed bats as the Blue Jays have at their disposal, they’ve had a terrible time against left-handed starters in 2018.

When Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro were done building the 2018 version of the Blue Jays, I remember one of the things I liked the most was the balance of the roster. There were a few more left-handed and switch-hitters for John Gibbons to line up, which was a nice change of pace after the Blue Jays have been so dominant from the right side for several years.

When the likes of Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and even Josh Donaldson were in the Blue Jays lineup, the Blue Jays were a dreaded team for southpaw starters. It wasn’t just those three either, as there were other powerful right-handed bats available like Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin, even the lefty-masher, Steve Pearce. I could go on, but you get the picture.

These days, the Blue Jays still have more than enough right-handed bats to stack up, but they haven’t been producing in 2018. In fact, the Blue Jays record is just 14-29 against lefties, a mark that is pretty hard to believe.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

As far as current regulars go, Devon Travis is about the only one who is truly hitting up to snuff. He’s hitting .286, but his OBP is just 10 points higher at .296 in 70 at bats this season. Beyond Travis, Justin Smoak is slashing .261/.342/.403 against southpaws, but it gets pretty ugly from there other than the short stint of success we witnessed from Lourdes Gurriel before he was injured.

Each of Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk, and Russell Martin share a batting average of .231 against lefties, and only Martin’s OBP is over .300. After that comes Yangervis Solarte at .221, followed by Aledmys Diaz at .220, Kendrys Morales at .214, and Kevin Pillar at .211. Each of those players has received plenty of playing time against lefties, and yet none of them have been able to perform when the situation is supposed to be in their advantage. For a look at the splits, have a gander at this link.

Meanwhile Diaz is hitting .282 against righties, with Smoak coming in at a consistent .267, followed by .265 from Pillar, and Morales at .263. Even Hernandez (.253), and Solarte (.240) have hit better against righties, although in the latter’s case, as it is with Morales, they can switch hit.

For a team that’s set up like the Blue Jays, this particular struggle shouldn’t have been as bad as it’s been this year, and yet here we are. Granted there are some solid left-handers in the American League these days like Chris Sale, or even the Blake Snell they saw on Friday night, but it’s still baffling that the splits are that much different, almost across the board.

Maybe it’s a hitting philosophy thing in Toronto, but more likely it’s an anomaly that we shouldn’t see very often from this collective group of hitters. Whatever it is, it’s weird.