No coincidence that George Springer's surge coincides with Blue Jays rise

Don't look now, but the Toronto Blue Jays might be getting hot. After Saturday's (May 23) 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates they are on a season high four-game winning streak, have gone 7-3 in their last ten and have a positive run differential over that time frame, outscoring their opponents 38-25 in that stretch.

The team is also 11-10 in May, with half of those losses coming at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays. Two more were suffered against another division rival, the New York Yankees - marking 70% of their losses this month happening inside their division. That's something they'll need to correct as the season goes on. Although that makes them 8-3 against everyone else this month.

Right in the middle of it all is the 2025 Silver Slugger (at DH) George Springer who seems to be coming out of a season long funk that has the 36-year-old hitting .213/.291/.386 with five home runs and a 20.9% strikeout rate. But those numbers are actually an improvement to what Springer was doing prior to this run. Prior to May 12, Springer was slashing .198/.281/.326, but he has gone 10-for-41 with three home runs, four walks and six RBIs since that date.

Springer's turnaround can spark the Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have been waiting for this from Springer all season. Not only did he get off to a slow start, hitting .184 with an 89 wRC+ through his first 14 games, but he also fractured his big left toe on Apr. 11, causing him to miss 15 games. Then in his first full game back (after a pinch-hit appearance on Apr. 29) he fouled a ball off that same toe.

The 13-year veteran is no spring chicken and it seems like it took him a while to bounce back from the injury. Even though he was in the lineup he wasn't playing at 100%. One can argue the merits of putting an 80% healthy, but unproductive, Springer in the lineup everyday hoping that he figures it out, versus putting a 100% healthy player who may not have the same kind of career credentials as Springer, but won't be hampered by a fractured toe.

Regardless, the Blue Jays stuck with Springer through a tumultuous couple of weeks in the hopes that he would be able to find his groove and become a big presence once again at the top of their lineup. As the Blue Jays seem to be turning a corner, so to does Springer.

The most telling example of that might be his two-hit game against Pirates ace Paul Skenes. On Saturday, Springer hit a leadoff home run on the third pitch the reigning NL Cy Young award winner threw in the game.

In the bottom of the fifth, Springer sent a 97.3 mph four-seam fastball on the outside part of the plate to center field, earning himself a 104.1 mph single, which is his ninth hardest hit of the season and just the first time all year that he's recorded multiple hits of 100 mph or harder in a single game. His leadoff home run left the bat at 106.8 mph.

If this version of Springer starts to show up more often, the Blue Jays all of a sudden have a much more formidable top of the line up.

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