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.

Bo Bichette

Bo Bichette has certainly taken things to another level for 2023. Ever since the beginning of the season, Bichette had been tormenting opposing teams’ pitching, hitting pitches inside and outside of the strike zone and scorching balls to all parts of the field. In doing so, he finished off the first month of the season with a .317 batting average, .863 OPS, 18 runs scored, six home runs, 18 RBI, six walks and 19 strikeouts. Along with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Matt Chapman, the dynamic trio carried the offence for much of the month of April, leading to the Jays’ superior winning record at the time.

Little did people know, there was more in store for Bichette in the month of May, as while both Guerrero and Chapman cooled off to some degree, Bichette was able to maintain his productive consistency. He posted a .350 batting average and .928 OPS, to go along with 15 runs scored, five home runs, 20 RBI, seven walks, 18 strikeouts, and two stolen bases. Not only that, but he also currently leads the AL in both hits and batting average as a result. He is currently on pace to shatter his personal bests in multiple hitting categories, and given his consistency in hitting for the past few years with the Jays, there’s no doubt that he should be able to accomplish it.

In addition, Bichette has really stepped up his game both on the defensive side of things, as well as his leadership in the clubhouse. For the season, he has substantially reduced the number of errors committed compared to last year, along with showing some signs of strength in his throws from recent games (which had been his main weakness all along). Not only that, but he recently pulled Guerrero aside for a pep talk to help motivate his slumping teammate to get him back on track, showing his sincere leadership and care for the team. It’s things like these that make him an MVP for the team and will go a long way in helping the ballclub to long term success.

Nate Pearson

People may find it a little surprising to find his name here, but Nate Pearson has made it to this list with his strong pitching performance ever since his promotion over a month ago. Having struggled to stay healthy the past few years, Pearson finally had a clean bill of health heading into the 2023 season. However, there wasn’t a spot available for him on the Jays’ Opening Day roster, so he had to begin the season in Triple-A Buffalo while he continued to work hard and waited for his chance.

That chance came at the end of April when Jays’ reliever Adam Cimber was placed on the IL with a right rhomboid strain. Pearson was given the call to take his place and has not looked back since then. With every appearance, he has gotten stronger and stronger, looking more and more like the pitcher everyone had envisioned him to be the moment he stepped into the Jays’ organization. In twelve appearances thus far, he has only given up three earned runs along with 11 hits, one home run, five walks and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings for a 1.69 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 249.

More importantly, manager John Schneider has started using Pearson in more high leverage situations as he got more confident and comfortable along the way. In response, he has continued to show dominance in those situations as well. With his convincing performance, he has certainly made sure that there was no way he was going to lose his spot in the big leagues anymore, as he remained on the roster even when Cimber was back from the IL.

Although Pearson may no longer be the front-end-of-the-rotation starter that he was pegged to be initially for his major league career, he appears to have finally found his home in a comfortable spot with the Jays bullpen. With that role, it enables him to deliver his nasty pitches with great efficiency and become the much-needed flamethrower in the backend of the bullpen for the Jays this year and hopefully many years to come.

Yusei Kikuchi

When Yusei Kikuchi came out of Spring Training this year, there were high hopes that he had finally turned his game around as he led MLB among qualified pitchers with a 0.87 ERA and 31 strikeouts. At the time, Kikuchi attributed some of his success to the implementation of the pitch clock as it reduced his time to think about the mechanics and just focused on delivering the ball across the plate.

Well, that success carried over into the first month of the 2023 season, as he was one of the Jays’ pitching MVPs that month along with Kevin Gausman. Kikuchi mustered a strong stat line of 4-0 W-L record, 27 innings pitched, 24 hits, nine earned runs, six walks, 28 strikeouts, 3.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. So it made people wonder, has he officially regained his All-Star form from his time with the Seattle Mariners in 2021?

Unfortunately, an unforgettable month of May for Kikuchi certainly put that to rest. Despite his strong record from the month of April, some warning signs became evident during that stretch as he was still susceptible to the home run, giving up six in just 27 innings pitched. That has certainly become his undoing in May as in six starts, he was hit hard, surrendering another nine home runs in just over 29.1 innings, leading to a 2-2 record, with a 5.83 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 19 earned runs, 13 walks and 24 strikeouts.

This resembled more along with lines with his production with the Jays last season, as it appears that the clock has struck twelve and his Cinderella time has officially ran out. Hate to say it, but this may be the Kikuchi the Jays will be getting for the rest of the year if he doesn’t find a way quickly to right the ship in his next few starts.