Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto working to reverse this ugly trend

Before Sunday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Toronto Blue Jays' third baseman, Kazuma Okamoto, had been struggling against one pitch: the breaking ball. The Japanese star hitter has struggled to hit most curveballs, batting an abysmal .186 batting average against them while fanning against them 41% of the time.

That trend changed during the third inning of Sunday's game against the D-Backs as Okamoto smoked a breaking ball low in the zone deep to left-center field for his third home run of the season. This was a swing that followed a huge two-run double in the first inning that began Toronto's offensive production.

"He was really hitting through some of those pitches that were away from him, if that makes sense," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider to beat reporter Keegan Matheson. "The home run was a great swing. His walk was a great at-bat, too. He's getting there. He's getting pretty close."

Okamoto is making adjustments and still learning what it means to be in the MLB

Sunday's home run against the D-Backs is a positive sign in the development of Okamoto in his rookie season in the Major Leagues. The 29-year-old spent his entire career in Nippon Professional Baseball and expects to experience some growing pains as he transitions to the MLB playstyle.

"To be honest, I want to, obviously, hit more," said Okamoto through a team translator to The Athletic's Mitch Bannon after Toronto's 2-1 loss to Milwaukee. "But, over the course of a season, I know there are going to be ups and downs. That's no different from when I was playing in Japan. I think it's just a little lull right now. Hopefully, I get it going soon."

If Okamoto's Sunday performance, two hits, a walk, and three RBI, is the potential start of a hot streak, it is safe to say Okamoto has figured it out, at least the breaking pitch. This mirrored how Okamoto looked during the first six games of the season, when he had a hit in every game.

Through the first 15 games, Okamoto was only hitting .224 at the plate, a mark below the MLB average and far below the $60 Million Toronto spent on him. That mark is still about the same with a hitless game against the Angels on Monday, but Sunday's performance seems to be a good omen moving forward.

This is a good sign for the Blue Jays, who are starting to see some big names on the injured list move closer to full recoveries. One of those names is George Springer, who fractured his toe against the Minnesota Twins on April 12 and is a staple of the Blue Jays' offense, especially last season when he led the team with 32 home runs.

Getting big names like Springer back and having Okamoto starting to find his groove could be the spark the Blue Jays have been begging for offensively. This team has plenty of potential and there is still enough time to turn the tide on what has been a tough start to the season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow