How the Blue Jays can fix their offense without moving on from John Schneider

You know what the Toronto Blue Jays feel like these days?

A Ferrari in rush hour traffic.

All this talent, all this horsepower and somehow they’re putting up Kia Rio numbers.

Let’s be honest. Since John Schneider took over as manager midway through 2022, the Blue Jays’ offense has stalled. Under Schneider, Toronto has consistently posted lower runs per game (R/G) compared to the high-flying days of Charlie Montoyo and John Gibbons.

How the Blue Jays can fix their offense without moving on from John Schneider

You see the trend?

The Blue Jays under Schneider have never even sniffed five runs per game. They have a run per game average this year of 3.53, which is the worst output Toronto fans have seen in over a decade. Who were the managers in the top seasons? Montoyo and Gibbons. Top 3 for OPS? Montoyo and Gibbons. Top 3 for RBIs? That's the hat trick.

While Schneider is not the lowest in all three, the numbers don't look good.

Why is Schneider’s offense struggling?

Two big reasons jump off the stat sheet.

First, too much "contact hitting" and not enough power hitting. The advanced metrics tell a brutal truth.

Toronto’s Isolated Power (ISO) has one of the lowest in the American League under Schneider’s tutelage, and the team regularly ranks in the middle of the pack in hard-hit percentage and launch angles.

They're slapping singles when they need to be launching missiles like in 2015 when Blue Jays led the league with a .457 slugging. Schneider's Jays? Middle of the pack. You don't scare pitchers by peppering soft liners into shallow right field.

Secondly, their conservative base running and station-to-station baseball doesn't lead to big scores. This isn’t 1992. You don’t "wait for three singles" anymore. Teams win now by turning every base hit into a double or a triple.

Under Schneider base running has gotten noticeably more conservative when the league is looking at the total opposite. Additionally, Toronto ranks near the bottom in stolen bases and extra bases taken per opportunity.

Schneider’s Blue Jays far too often demonstrate an approach that is tight, risk-averse, and deathly afraid of mistakes. In reality, modern MLB rewards chaos, athleticism, and pressure.

How to fix it (without firing John Schneider)

Listen, firing Schneider isn’t the answer. He's a players' manager and he's stabilized the clubhouse. But if he wants to keep the ship afloat, here’s what has to happen:

1. Embrace Controlled Aggression

Give green lights to aggressive baserunners and encourage risk-taking on the bases. Also, push to take extra bases every time. Teams that are top-10 in base running aggressiveness outscore bottom-tier teams by almost half a run per game.

2. Rebuild a Home Run Mindset

Stop trying to manufacture runs with weak grounders and focus on barreling the ball up and elevating it in order to prioritize exit velocity and launch angle.

Schneider is a good manager but his offense plays like it's stuck in a washing machine set to "Delicate" and baseball today demands boldness. It demands power. It demands risk.

If Schneider leans into modern aggression without abandoning the fundamentals, the Blue Jays can still unlock the beast hiding under the hood. If he doesn’t? Toronto will stay stuck in the middle lane... getting passed by teams with the guts to floor it.