3 Blue Jays who are proving their Spring Training stats were flukes, 3 who were legit

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Very often, as MLB players warm up to get themselves into shape during Spring Training, they may attempt to try different things in their preseason games to see what may work for them, or they may treat it like it’s already in-season and become focussed and game ready right from the start. As a result, sometimes their preseason performances may or may not be a good reflection of what their potential outcome would be like for the rest of the regular season, depending on what buildup approach the player may use their Spring Training for.

Here, we take a look back at three Toronto Blue Jays players who had impressive Spring Training stats, but have failed to reproduce their success so far during the regular season. In addition, we will also look at three Jays players whose performance during the spring did indeed foreshadow what was to come for the 2023 year.

Three Blue Jays whose Spring Training stats were a fluke

Santiago Espinal

For Santiago Espinal, he was just coming off his All-Star season in 2022 in which he hit .267 with 51 runs scored, 25 doubles, seven home runs, 51 RBI and six stolen bases. However, the bulk of his solid numbers were accumulated during the first half of the 2022 season, thus leading to his All-Star nod at the Midsummer Classic. Espinal actually struggled with run production down the stretch, as in his last 40 games of the season, he only produced 12 runs scored, four doubles, one home run, and 11 RBI, and was relegated more to part-time duties near the end of the season, after being the everyday starter for most of the season.

As a result, Espinal was out to prove himself again this year that the slump near the end of the 2022 season was just a fluke and that the All-Star version of him is what he truly is. He sure made his statement during Spring Training this year by posting a strong .294 average with a .776 OPS, along with five runs scored, two doubles, a triple, one home run, six RBI and three stolen bases in 51 at-bats, and appeared to be back to form. However, once the 2023 season started, it has been a year-long struggle for Espinal. Perhaps it was due to the sharing of second base duties with others, but he has been basically relegated now to bench player status on the team with the odd start here and there. For 2023, he has hit just .223, with a .603 OPS, with only 21 runs scored, seven doubles, one home run, 12 RBI, and two stolen bases in 51 games played.

His impressive spring sure did not translate to regular season success unfortunately, and as a result, his firm hold for a spot on the Jays roster could be in jeopardy as the trade deadline looms large.

Chris Bassitt

Chris Bassitt was one of the Jays big offseason free agent signings to replace the departed Ross Stripling in the starting rotation. Bassitt had been a solid, veteran MLB pitcher of nine years, in which he has amassed a career ERA of 3.52, ERA+ of 116, WHIP of 1.20, with 783 strikeouts in over 859 innings pitched. So one can say, he has been one of the more consistent and reliable starters in the majors for quite some time.

However, during Spring Training this year, it may have been because he was suiting up for the Jays’ ballclub for the first time, or perhaps he may have been trying something new, as he was hit around big time in his five appearances. Bassitt left Spring Training with an ugly 5.60 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, giving up 11 earned runs in just 17.2 innings pitched, while opponents were teeing off of him with a .300 batting average. That presented some worries in the fanbase if that was indeed the version of Bassitt the Jays got. What made it even worse was the fact that he was shelled for nine earned runs, including four home runs in his season debut against the St. Louis Cardinals, sending panic shockwaves through Jays’ nation.

Luckily, Bassitt quickly settled down from there on, reverting back to his true form for pretty much the rest of the 2023 season up until now. Since his disastrous season debut, Bassitt has accumulated a strong 10-4 record with a 3.35 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, .225 opponents batting average, with 37 walks and 112 strikeouts over 118.1 innings of work. That is pretty much more in line with his career numbers, showing that his unexpected sub-par performance during Spring Training was indeed just a fluke.

Alek Manoah

For Alek Manoah, things appeared to be on top of the world for the big man coming into the 2023 season. After all, he was coming off a career breakout year in 2022 in which he was an AL Cy Young finalist, along with being anointed the Opening Day starter for the ballclub this year, as he looked to continue that success furthermore in 2023. During Spring Training, everything appeared to be right on track for Manoah, as he posted a solid 2-2 record with a 3.10 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, giving up just seven earned runs with no home runs, eight walks and 21 strikeouts in 20.1 innings pitched. He even held his opponents to just a .216 batting average, so everything appeared to be perfectly fine heading into the regular season.

Then when the regular season rolled around, boy, was everyone surprised, including Manoah himself. Everything appeared to be falling apart for the Jays’ ace, losing his command and control, along with his confidence as the season progressed. It got so bad that eventually he was optioned to the minors in early June to rework his pitching mechanics, and to give him a chance to clear his mind to get back on track with his career. After a few weeks stint in the minors, Manoah made his way back up to the majors and has posted one good and one bad outing since his return.

For the season, Manoah has struggled to an eye-popping 2-8 record with a 6.18 ERA, an astronomical 1.84 WHIP, giving up 46 earned runs including 12 home runs, 47 walks and 56 strikeouts in just 67 innings of work. So what he showed in Spring Training was certainly a fluke, given that no one expected to see this version of Manoah during the regular season at all anytime, anywhere, and certainly there was no indication during his work in Spring Training that would have predicted this kind of outcome. Hopefully, Manoah can reverse back to his “fluke” numbers soon and revert to his once dominant form in due time.

Three Blue Jays whose Spring Training stats were legit

Bo Bichette

Not all Blue Jays had a fluke Spring Training, as you could always count on Bo Bichette to be the big game player, no matter what time of the year it is. Giving it his all no matter if it was just practice, preseason, regular season or the playoffs, Bichette had an explosive Spring Training for the Blue Jays, as he powered his way to an impressive .315 batting average, .936 OPS, with 11 runs scored, four home runs, nine RBI and three stolen bases in just 54 at-bats, leading all Jays players.

Of course, nothing was going to stop Bo at anything, as once the regular season started, he just casually continued where he had left off. Demolishing opponent pitching left and right and being selected to the 2023 All-Star game as a result, Bichette has been everything the Jays could expect him to be, posting a .315 batting average, .835 OPS, with 47 runs scored, 22 doubles, 16 home runs, and 53 RBI in 97 games played. Not only that, he has come through in key moments for the ballclub and has also cleaned up a lot of his defensive lapses from last year as well, making him now a valuable player in all facets of the game.

Bichette is shaping up to be one of those well-rounded, franchise players that one would build around, and no doubt the Jays will be looking to extend their perennial superstar so that he can help the Jays to much more success in at least the coming decade.

Whit Merrifield

Last year, when the Jays acquired veteran Whit Merrifield from the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline, many had doubts with the move, because Merrifield was in the midst of his worst season statistically in 2022 with the Royals and appeared to be on the decline for his career as well. After joining the Jays, he continued his struggles and appeared down and out, until his sudden outburst near the end of the season that suddenly gave both himself and the Jays some life and hope. So which version of Merrifield would the Jays be getting in 2023, the struggling, regressed version or the two-week wonder version?

When Spring Training rolled around this year, Merrifield was keen on getting on the right foot from the start by putting up some solid numbers. He indeed came through with a .306 average, .894 OPS, with five doubles, one home run, eight RBI and two stolen bases in 36 at-bats. Now, can he maintain it during the regular season? Apparently, he sure can, as he has returned to his All-Star form this year, coincidentally making this year’s All-Star Game as a result. In 89 games, Merrifield is hitting .291 with an OPS of .742, with 41 runs scored, 17 doubles, six home runs, 42 RBI, and 20 stolen bases to boot.

More importantly, he has been living up to his nickname “Two-hit” Whit recently, along with coming through with key hits to help the Jays win ballgames. He has definitely been an underrated X-factor for the Blue Jays this year and will no doubt be a key player down the stretch in their playoff chase.

Daulton Varsho

Finally, we have Daulton Varsho, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno to help bolster the Jays’ outfield defence, while providing supplementary offence as well. It was believed that Varsho had some untapped offensive potential, so bringing him in to the hitter-friendly combines of the Rogers Centre should be able to unleash his power and production.

In Spring Training, Varsho came as advertised, displaying his defensive prowess day in and day out. However, he had struggled with his offence, tallying just a .196 batting average, .636 OPS, with only four runs scored, one home run, eight RBI and two stolen bases in 51 at-bats. The Jays’ faithful were beginning to worry about whether or not the trade will come back to haunt them if Varsho continued with that kind of production in the regular season.

Fast forward to the regular season and more than halfway through the 2023 season now, Varsho has proven what we witness in Spring Training is legitimate, as it is indeed the same Varsho for the regular season as well. Despite showing some infrequent power production, his offensive output has been a disappointment so far this season. In 96 games, Varsho has put up a feeble .214 batting average, .636 OPS, with 39 runs scored, 12 home runs, 31 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. He was expected to help replace some of the lost run production due to the departures of Gurriel and Teoscar Hernández, but unfortunately it hasn’t been quite up to the level needed.

Hopefully, fluke or legitimate, any struggling Jays players will find a way to turn it around in the second half and end up making valuable contributions to the ballclub in their race to the postseason.

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