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3 Blue Jays we were wrong about near the start of the 2023 season

By Edward Eng |
Toronto Blue Jays v Pittsburgh Pirates - Jose Berrios
Toronto Blue Jays v Pittsburgh Pirates - Jose Berrios / Justin K. Aller/GettyImages
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Very often, people may have the tendency to jump to conclusions on results based on small sample sizes. For instance, like our current baseball season, one could write off someone who may be struggling, or may even begin to cast doubts and frustrations on why such and such a player was signed or acquired. But more often than not, those players end up proving immensely how wrong it was to make those conclusions so fast and regret that it was done.

Here are three Toronto Blue Jays players that we are glad that we were wrong about near the start of the 2023 season, as they have now gone on to prove their worth to make a big difference for the ballclub.

Kevin Kiermaier

Back in early April when Kevin Kiermaier got off to a strong start with the Jays, he was posting numbers that were above and beyond his usual career averages. He was so impressive that even we believed that his hot start most likely won’t be sustainable, and that he would eventually regress to the mean.

However, almost another month’s time have passed since then, and boy, were we wrong. Kiermaier has managed to somehow maintain that solid production and has continued to provide lots of damage, setting the table from the bottom of the lineup. He is currently hitting .311/.376/.481, with an OPS of .857 and OPS+ of 139, which are all on pace to shatter his career highs. In addition, he has scored 18 runs to go along with two home runs, 12 RBI, four stolen bases, and a strikeout to walk ratio just around 2:1. To top it off, he remains stellar defensively with no errors over 269 innings played and a DRS of 6.

Whether it’s the motivation and happiness playing for a new team, the fact that he is now fully healthy, or that he’s playing his heart out for his next contract, it doesn’t appear Kiermaier is slowing down any time soon, and we certainly hope he can continue to prove us wrong for the rest of the year.

Brandon Belt

Brandon Belt had probably one of the worst starts, not only in his career, but in MLB this season. He had only six hits through the first 11 games of the season, managing only two runs scored and one RBI, to go along with close to a 50% strikeout rate. We began to wonder if Belt could potentially lose his spot in the lineup, and perhaps even the possibility of the Jays letting him go altogether.

But luckily Jays' management bred a lot more patience, and recently we have seen quite the turnaround for Belt. He is beginning to look more and more like the solid veteran left-handed power bat that the club signed him for in recent weeks. In particular, in his past seven games, he is hitting a torrid .455 with a 1.329 OPS, including one home run, four RBI, six runs scored, to go along with four walks and nine strikeouts. Also, his strikeout to walk ratio has dropped considerably from his 4:1 season average down to about 2:1 during his hot stretch. On the season, Belt now has an average EV of 91.7, which is the highest in his career, and is hitting the sweet spot at 52.4%, showing he is indeed seeing the ball well, according to Baseball Savant.

More importantly, he looks way more confident and competitive in his at-bats in recent weeks, compared to the overmatched, feeble looking ones at the start of the season.

That was then:

This is now:

Hopefully, this is the Belt that will stay for the rest of the season as he would definitely be a difference maker down the stretch if so, lengthening the entire Jays lineup along with the rejuvenated Whit Merrifield.

José Berríos

After a season to forget in 2022, José Berríos was looking for a fresh start to the new season to silence any of his critics and doubters. But after the first two starts to the season, he looked eerily similar to the Berríos that we saw for almost all of last season, making people think “oh no, here we go again”. Not only were we worried if he ever was going to bounce back, but also if his trade and signing would eventually go down as a huge bust for the Jays.

However, he has appeared to suddenly flip a switch and has now produced impressive starts in five of his last six outings. In doing so, he is beginning to look again like the ace from the Minnesota Twins that the Jays got back in 2021. Over that six-game stretch, he is 4-2 with a 2.97 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .239 OBA, with only eight walks and 32 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched.

With the regained confidence, he is now locating his moving pitches a lot better, coinciding with an extra boost in energy level when taking the mound as seen here.

Slowly, but surely, Berríos is clearing the question mark that he imposed earlier in the season and is beginning to pitch again like a respectable middle-of-the-rotation starter. He has helped stabilize the Jays’ rotation in recent weeks, including helping the Jays to their triumphant sweep of the first place NL team Atlanta Braves this past weekend.

Let’s hope they can all keep it up and help lead the Jays to much more in 2023!

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