Blue Jay's Ernie Clement on pace to earning his first trip to MLB All-Star game

This time a year ago, Ernie Clement was scuffling. On Apr. 30 2025, Clement was slashing .239/.276/.282 through his first 28 games of the season. He was coming off a productive 3.3 bWAR 2024 campaign in which he produced a .711 OPS with nine home runs and 151 hits in 157 games. But he was also viewed by many in the fan base as more of a utility type player.

Going into 2025, the Blue Jays had made the trade with the Cleveland Guardians to pick up an everyday second baseman in Andrés Giménez. Bo Bichette was firmly planted at shortstop. The Blue Jays also tried to acquire free agent third baseman Alex Bregman and during Spring Training, Will Wagner was displaying the tools of being the fresh faced shiny new object that the Blue Jays absolutely needed to insert somewhere in their lineup, and if he was going to be in the field, he would be playing the same positions as Clement.

Clement picking up where he left off after record setting postseason

But Clement didn't let any of those obstacles get in his way. He hit .282/.321/.419 the rest of the way, with nine home runs and a .740 OPS in 120 games in the regular season. And then, he got really hot. Clement would go on to set the Major League record for hits in a single postseason with 30 base knocks, including one home run. He also, twice, had the opportunity to get a hit that would have given the Blue Jays the World Series championship.

Coming off that hot playoff run, and maybe fueled by the disappointment of not becoming the next Joe Carter, Clement has been on a tear to start 2026. He's tied for the MLB lead in doubles (13) going into Thursday night's games (Apr. 30). His 37 hits are just two back of the MLB lead his strikeout percentage of 7.1% is the second best mark among all qualified hitters, behind only Luis Arraez of the San Francisco Giants.

Clement, who really became a fan favourite last year, just continues to have competitive at bats and seems to be getting even better as the season pulls it's way through the first month. Over the last seven games he's hit .308 with a .539 SLG, .895 OPS and has only two strikeouts, with two walks and four extra base hits.

At the rate Clement is going, he's got to be in the conversation as being an early MLB All-Star game candidate. He tops all AL second baseman with a .301 batting average, sits second in SLG (.457) and as mentioned the doubles, and low strike out rate also lead at his position. He will face some tough competiton though. Cole Young (.286/.357/.420, three home runs, 126 wRC+) is having an awesome start with Seattle, while Brayan Rocchio of Cleveland and Jeff McNeil of the Athletics are also having great starts as well.

Although, when it comes to the voters, Clement may have the added benefit of being a well known name now after what he did in the 2025 playoffs, and he's also been one of the few productive hitters for the Blue Jays while they struggled through the first month, dealing with injuries. That can usually draw upon some sympathy votes as well, putting Clement in a good position to earn that first All-Star game nod.

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