Reasons to be optimistic about the Blue Jays right now

The struggles with RISP are completely unsustainable

It feels like the story of the season thus far has been the offence’s struggles with runners in scoring position. As of this writing, their .565 OPS with runners in scoring position is the worst in MLB, which is a stark contrast to the 2021 Blue Jays whose .811 OPS was the third-best in baseball. Their early season struggles in this area are probably the biggest issue the team has had so far, and while it’s certainly not ideal, don’t expect it to stay that way.

30th out of 30 is really bad, but the reality is that it can’t get any worse, and I fully expect them to bounce back. Regression to the mean is always bound to happen, and the Blue Jays offence is too good for this to continue. For reference, Juan Soto currently has a .083 batting average with runners in scoring position, which is the second-worst in MLB. In case you didn’t know this, Juan Soto is without a doubt, one of the best hitters on the planet. Because of his history, there’s no reason to expect that he remains this unproductive, and the same goes for the Jays offence.

To prove my point even further, let me tell you who currently sits fifth in MLB for OPS with runners in scoring position: the Cincinnati Reds. The league-worst, 9-24, Cincinnati Reds. It’s obviously nice to do well early, but at this point in the season, the stats never look anything like they do at the end of the year. I’m not saying the Jays don’t need to get better at driving in runs, but let’s not panic too much, it’s still early.