3 Blue Jays players whose great starts are for real and 2 who’ll return to their former selves

When the Toronto Blue Jays started off their 2023 season with one of their best first months of the season in decades, many players had gotten off to hot starts to help fuel the surge. However, when the Jays stumbled their way through the miserable month of May, some of those same players still managed to maintain their great production, whereas others fell back down to earth.

Here, we take a look at three players that have been consistently solid since their strong start to the season, and will likely maintain their production for the rest of the season. In addition, we will identify two players whose hot starts might have been just an anomaly, and that have unfortunately fallen back to playing more like their former selves for the foreseeable future.

3 players who will maintain their production from their great starts

Kevin Kiermaier

When Kevin Kiermaier left the only organization he had played for in his entire career in the Tampa Bay Rays to join the Jays, many believed he wanted to take this opportunity to prove that he has overcome all of his injury issues in the past and that the Rays were wrong in letting him go.

During his first month with his new ballclub, he certainly made a bold statement that he was officially back and healthy by posting a solid .274 average and .732 OPS, to go along with eight runs scored, two triples, one home run, eight RBI and a stolen base. As a career .250 hitter and averaging only a little over 30 RBI per season, any offensive output by Kiermaier was a warm welcome for the Jays, as they signed him primarily for his defensive prowess in the outfield.

Surprisingly, Kiermaier actually had an even stronger month of May, showing that it wasn’t just a one-month fluke, hitting .366 with an OPS of 1.044, along with 15 runs scored, six doubles, two triples, three home runs, eight RBI, six walks, 10 strikeouts and four stolen bases. He is currently on pace to set career highs in runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, RBI, batting average and OPS, with nothing potentially getting in the way to slow him down. Except maybe a recent injury scare this past week when he left the game against the Minnesota Twins with lower-back discomfort after making a couple outfield throws.

So as long as Kiermaier can keep his health in check, he looks to be well on his way to a highly productive year out of the number nine slot in the Jays lineup, with hopes to solidifying a decent payday when his current contract expires at the end of the year.