5 Blue Jays players that have been major disappointments this season

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Some may find it surprising to find one of our supposedly franchise players on this list, but somehow, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been quite the disappointment so far this year for the Blue Jays. If we actually take a careful look at the stats, Guerrero has still produced respectable numbers for the season. In 127 games, he has batted .267 with a .778 OPS, 61 runs scored, 26 doubles, 20 home runs, 79 RBI, four stolen bases, 50 walks and 82 strikeouts. Based on that, one would agree that those production numbers aren’t amazing, but overall still appear quite decent.

However, the main reason why Guerrero has been a huge disappointment in the eyes of the Jays’ faithful is because of what he accomplished back in 2021. That season, Guerrero had a huge breakout season, showing the world he had finally arrived by hitting .311 with a stellar 1.002 OPS, scoring 123 runs to lead the league, along with 29 doubles, 48 home runs (also tops in the league), 111 RBI, 86 walks and 110 strikeouts in 161 games played. He would end up finishing second to Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani for the AL MVP award, and probably would have won it if it was any other season.

As a result, that season has thus become the standard for Guerrero for probably the rest of his career. That is because for superstars like Ohtani, Mike Trout and Aaron Judge to name a few, it is expected they would be able to provide similar levels of output year in and year out in leading their respective teams’ offensive charge. In doing so, Guerrero was now leaned upon as the leader for the Jays and was expected to post big numbers each year to take them to the next level.

But because he has failed to come through in the clutch with the big hit at critical points in certain games, along with not being able to maintain consistency in his hitting and run production ever since the 2021 season, he has become a major disappointment in the eyes of many. Perhaps if less demand and pressure is put on his shoulders due to his anointed superstar status, he may be able to discover his offensive mojo once again to lead the Jays to more success in the future. That way, as Guerrero eventually matures in both his mindset and attitude towards the game, he will ultimately be able to deliver at the biggest moments for everyone to appreciate with gratitude from there onwards.