Blue Jays: Who has brought the offence over the eight game win streak?

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Throughout the opening part of the season it has been well-publicized that although the Blue Jays pitching has seen some shining moments with both Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman providing cases as Cy Young candidates, the offense has been disappointing.

Recently the Blue Jays have put together an eight-game winning streak which has included sweeping both the Los Angeles Angels and Chicago White Sox, with the key factor being the bats coming alive. Here is a look at how each of the hitters has done through the stretch.

Alejandro Kirk

The 23-year-old Alejandro Kirk is seeing time both behind the plate and as the designated hitter. During these eight games, Kirk has started six games, while also coming in as a pinch hitter once. Kirk has gone 12 for 25 (.480) with six extra-base hits, including a pair of home runs on Tuesday night. Kirk has seen his batting average jump 33 points as he now sports a slash line of .301/.379/.429 on the season.

Danny Jansen

Danny Jansen is giving the Blue Jays exactly what they need from him: sound defense, good leadership, and an above-average bat. Jansen led the team in home runs during the win-streak with four and in total went 6 for 22 (.273). He has walked just once but has also struck out just four times.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr

It seems like Vladimir Guerrero Jr is the only player that has struggled at the plate through the winning streak. Guerrero Jr started seven of the game eights, while coming in as a pinch hitter once, but has gone just 6 for 30 (.233). On the upside, Guerrero Jr has collected three home runs and a pair of doubles. Despite the slow start to the season, he is still on pace for more than 30 home runs this season.

Santiago Espinal

Vlady isn’t the only player struggling right now. After starting the season on fire, Santiago Espinal has come back down to Earth. Espinal had just three hits over the first seven games but posted a solid performance in the series finale against the White Sox as he went 3 for 5 with three RBI. However, during the stretch, he is now just 6 for 32 (.188).

Matt Chapman

When the Blue Jays acquired Matt Chapman, I wasn’t looking for a superstar, all I wanted from his offense was to be good enough to go with his elite defense. Chapman struggled to start the season but has been hitting a little better which has helped the team over the stretch.

Chapman collected eight hits in 32 at-bats (.296) and the team cashed him in when he got on base as he crossed the plate seven times. He has seen his season batting average creep over the Mendoza line heading into the upcoming series against the Twins.

Bo Bichette

It wasn’t just the winning streak, Bo Bichette was on fire for the entire month of May as he posted a slash line of .296/.339/.537. He has continued this streak over the eight-game winning streak and collected two or more hits in five of the eight games to go 12 for 35 (.343) with six extra-base hits. His current stretch has helped him lift his season batting average by 18 points.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr

Manager Charlie Montoyo has eased off the workload for Lourdes Gurriel Jr as he has started just six of the game games, but the lighter load has helped him get his bat going. Gurriel Jr went 7 for 20 (.350) which has included three doubles and six RBI and has also drawn more walks (6) than strikeouts (4). Gurriel is still batting around 40 points lower than his career average but has amassed a career average of .242 through May, while boasting a career average of .295 once the calendar shifts over into June. I would start getting excited to see how he does for the remainder of the month.

George Springer

The club has been without George Springer over the last couple of games due to an undisclosed illness, but he was his steady self through the first six wins. Springer went 7 for 22 (.318) with four extra-base hits and six runs. Like Gurriel, Springer walked (5) more times than he struck out (3). He returns to the lineup tonight against the Minnesota Twins.

Teoscar Hernandez

The most important bat to get going during the stretch was two-time Silver Slugger Teoscar Hernandez. Prior to the win streak, Hernandez was struggling at the plate once he returned from the IL, sporting a slash line of just .149/.213/.257 with only two home runs on the season. Hernandez played in seven of the games and collected hits in each of them, including a pair of hits in the most recent three contests, in which he amassed four doubles and one home run.

Overall during the eight games, Hernandez is 10 for 26 (.385) and has seen his batting average rise 61 points. If Hernandez can sustain his current hitting, that should give Guerrero Jr the proper protection to get him going as well.

Raimel Tapia

Would you be surprised if I told you Raimel Tapia had the highest batting average of the players during this stretch? The fourth outfielder on the team started six games and went 8 for 20 (.400) with four doubles and the same amount of RBI. He just seemed like he was consistently making good contact with the bat and is forcing himself into the line-up.

Cavan Biggio

The Blue Jays recalled Cavan Biggio right at the start of the winning streak, so is he the key to the turnaround?

Unfortunately, no matter how much I like him, the answer is no. Biggio has been better compared to the start of the season when he went 1 for 23 before a stint on the injured list. He started six of the seven games since being recalled and has gone 4 for 17 with a pair of doubles and has an on-base percentage of .350 during the win streak. I jokingly say that if MLB had robotic umpires, Biggio would be a .300 hitter because of all the bad strike calls that go against him.

Bradley Zimmer

It still baffles me that Bradley Zimmer has a spot on the active roster. Sure, he has speed and good defensive abilities but he has been so bad at the plate. Zimmer started three games and came into the game late in another four. In total, he has gone 0 for 9 with five strikeouts, while being walked twice and getting on one other time by the way of being hit by the pitch. He also has zero stolen base attempts during the streak and has now seen his season slash line drop to .111/.200/.222 on the year.

Bradley Zimmer is the only Blue Jays player to fail to register a hit during the eight-game win streak, it may be time to move on.

Next. Who throws the next complete game. dark

I don’t think the Blue Jays’ offence has come even close to what they are capable of doing, but they are going in the right direction. Do you foresee the club making any moves to give the offence an even bigger push or are they are good with where the direction has turned?

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