3 areas the Blue Jays need to improve in

It's no secret that the Toronto Blue Jays have underperformed so far this year. While they have a roster filled with talented players, they entered the weekend one game under .500 and four games behind the Yankees in the race for the American League East.

And with a disappointing record like that, it shouldn't come as a surprise that there have been some problem areas that have popped up for the Blue Jays this year.

Here are three obvious area where the Blue Jays could use some improvement.

Note: all stats are entering Friday.

Three areas the Blue Jays need to improve on this season

Starting Pitching

The Toronto Blue Jays starting pitching rotation looked like a strength at the beginning of the year, but it's been everything but so far this season.

The unit took a big hit at the beginning of the year when Max Scherzer hit the injured list after three innings in his season debut, and it's depth took a hit recently when top prospect Jake Bloss underwent surgery for a UCL injury.

Scherzer continues to remain on the shelf, though he had to delay his rehab this week due to back tightness.

The starters who have been on the mound haven't been much better. Kevin Gausman and José Berríos are two mainstays in the rotation, but neither of them have been dominant so far this season. While Berríos' ERA isn't horrible (4.33), he's already given up nine home runs and an American League-leading 24 walks.

He's gone at least five runs in each of his starts so far this year and had a 2.00 ERA in a three-start span from April 25 to May 7, but he gave up five runs in his last start against the Rays. The Blue Jays will need more from him this year if they want cto

Gausman's last start was also a rough one, as he allowed three home runs in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays after only giving up four home runs across his first eight starts.

But that somehow wasn't his worst start of the year. He allowed six runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Yankees and the end of April in a start that featured a disastrous 53-pitch third inning. He currently has a 4.59 ERA across 51 innings, and also needs to be better.

It wouldn't be surprising to see the Blue Jays go after a starter at the trade deadline if they can't find their groove over the next month.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s defense

The Blue Jays 'defense has been been solid this year thanks to the addition of Andrés Giménez alongside returning solid defenders in Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement.

And then there's Guerrero.

He's already committed four errors (which is second among all first baseman behind only Rhys Hoskins) and his peripherals aren't much better. While he's been worth one Out Above Average (66th percentile), he's been worth -0.1 dWAR this season.

And he's not the only superstar who is struggling in the field. Bo Bichette has also committed five errors this season (2nd percentile), so the Blue Jays aren't getting much in the field from two key hitters.

Hitting home runs... and limiting the number of home runs they give up

In 2015, the Blue Jays lineup was filled with sluggers like José Bautista and Edwin Encarnación who could make any game look like batting practice. That's not the case 10 years later.

While the Blue Jays have started to hit more home runs, it's still not the kind of production that fans expected at the start of the season. Daulton Varsho, Anthony Santander, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer are currently tied for the team lead with five home runs, which is tied for 96th in MLB.

In contrast, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber lead MLB with 15 home runs.

The Blue Jays' offense is 23rd in MLB in home runs (38), while their pitching staff has surrendered 64 home runs (the second-highest mark in baseball).

The Blue Jays don't have the offense to keep up with a track meet, but it seems like they keep ending up in them thanks to their pitchers inability to keep the ball out of the seasons.

That needs to improve.