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Blue Jays vs. Mariners: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not Heading Into the Wild-Card Series?

By Jason Lee

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 30: George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates with Whit Merrifield #1 after hitting a 3 run home run in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre on September 30, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 30: George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates with Whit Merrifield #1 after hitting a 3 run home run in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre on September 30, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 07: Yimi Garcia #93 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on after pitching to the Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning of the game at Target Field on August 7, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Blue Jays defeated the Twins 3-2 in ten innings. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 07: Yimi Garcia #93 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on after pitching to the Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning of the game at Target Field on August 7, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Blue Jays defeated the Twins 3-2 in ten innings. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

Toronto Blue Jays: Who’s (Not) Hot?

Matt Chapman – 0 HR, .098 AVG, .400 OPS, 41 wRC+ (13 games)

Regardless of what he does with the bat, Matt Chapman can always contribute to this team with his strong defensive efforts. However, Chapman’s sluggish end to the season is definitely a concern for the Toronto Blue Jays. If there is a silver lining, the swing-and-miss tendencies weren’t the concern (22.6 K%).

Alejandro Kirk – 1 HR, .146 AVG, .401 OPS, 43 wRC+ (12 games)

Alejandro Kirk is another Blue Jays bat that’s struggling at the wrong time. He’s still showing excellent plate discipline (12.8 BB% vs. 12.8 K%) but the lack of power is the cause for concern. Fortunately for the Blue Jays, if Kirk continues to struggle in the playoffs, they have a more-than-capable deputy in Danny Jansen who finished his year on a positive note.

José Berríos – 13.1 IP, 8.10 ERA, 3.49 FIP (3 starts)

It’s been a weird season for José Berríos as he’s alternated between streaks of brilliance and struggle. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, it doesn’t seem like the Puerto Rican righty is on one of his hot streaks right now. However, the 3.49 FIP is definitely an encouraging sign and the Blue Jays will need Berríos at his best if they have hopes of playing deep into October baseball.

Yimi Garcia – 5.1 IP, 8.44 ERA, 5.36 FIP (6 games)

One of the Blue Jays’ best relievers this season, Yimi Garcia’s struggles have come at an inopportune time. After going through a stretch where he gave up nine runs combined in four straight appearances, Garcia does seem to have righted the ship a bit with two clean outings to end the season. Still, it’ll be a big worry for the Blue Jays if they can’t rely on Garcia to throw shutdown innings in high-leverage playoff situations.

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