5 bold internal moves the Blue Jays could make to jumpstart the offense

Let’s see what Nathan Lukes has got

Sometimes, despite working hard and doing your best to show that you could be a potential difference maker, there’s a chance you could still be overlooked, as has been the case for promising outfielder Nathan Lukes. Ever since joining the Jays’ organization on a minor league contract back in November of 2021, Lukes has practically done everything he could to impress the Jays’ brass.

Not only has he performed exceptionally well in each of the subsequent spring trainings, he has gone on to lead the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons in hitting for both last season and this season as well (among players with minimum 30 games played). Currently, Lukes has been torching minor league pitching by registering a stellar .350 average with a .948 OPS, along with 21 runs scored, 7 doubles, 5 home runs, 24 RBI and 4 stolen bases in just 31 games played. Just to put an exclamation mark on his elite accomplishments to date, he recently put together an eye-popping six-hit performance against Rochester last Wednesday, just missing a triple for the cycle.

On top of that, Lukes has been as steady on defense as one could be, committing just a total of two errors in 330 total chances for a fielding percentage of .994, along with tallying 11 outfield assists in three seasons with Buffalo. So there shouldn’t be a worry in a drop-off in defense when adding his reliable and consistent bat to the lineup. In 2023, Lukes did manage to get into some big league games with the Jays and compiled a .192 average with 5 hits and 2 RBI in 29 games mainly as a reserve. However, the amount of playing time and at-bats that he received in the end was so sporadic that it would be difficult for anyone to maintain any type of momentum or groove at the plate to perform well. As a result, with the current Jays’ outfielder trio all struggling to hit even over .230, it may finally be time to give Lukes another chance, one that he truly deserves.

Time to see what the kids can do

While the bats at the major league level have been largely struggling, some of the kids on the farm have actually had their bats booming all year. For one, Jays Journal No. 4 prospect Addison Barger has been solidly producing all year, posting a solid .282 average with a .955 OPS, along with 26 runs scored, 13 doubles, 5 home runs, 24 RBI and almost a 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 31 games played with Buffalo. He did have a minor stint with the Jays earlier last month though, but perhaps the jitters got to him in making his MLB debut as he only managed a single hit with 6 strikeouts in 18 at-bats.

At the same time, our No. 17 prospect Spencer Horwitz has been mashing the ball just like he did in his team MVP season last year. Horwitz has compiled a .321 average, .910 OPS, with 33 runs scored, 15 doubles, one triple, 2 home runs and 27 RBI in 43 games to date with the Bisons. He also managed to hold his own in his brief stint with the big league club last year. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. having a firm hold of first base at the MLB level, Horwitz has recently received some reps at second base, expanding his versatility to perhaps pave another plausible way to the big leagues with Cavan Biggio currently struggling.

Finally, for one of their most potent bats in the Jays’ minor league system, our No. 3 prospect Orelvis Martinez has been putting his power on full display once again in 2024. So far this season, he is tied for seventh in the International League in home runs with 10, tied for eighth in runs scored with 32, and tied for ninth in RBI with 31. For a Jays’ team that has had a severe power outage this year when it comes to the long ball, Martinez would surely make a huge difference in that department.

As a result, now is the perfect time to promote one of these promising prospects to give the Jays a new look. In terms of who is the best offensive fit, if the Jays are looking for more consistent contact hitting, then Horwitz is the frontrunner. But if power and production is the name of the game, look no further than Mr. Martinez. If they want the one with the most positional flexibility, then Barger, who can play both in the infield and outfield, is the one to go with.

If the lineup ain’t working, mix it up

More often than not, people expect some changes in personnel, whether it be at the players or management level, to kickstart a team. But sometimes, just some as simple as just tinkering with the lineup is sufficient enough to get things going again. Just like in hockey where the coach would juggle the lines to find the ideal line combinations, in the case of the Jays, the area they can seriously consider tinkering in hopes for success is with their batting order.

To start things off, Guerrero is by far the hottest hitter on the team at this moment, with hits in 9 of his past 11 games, and 17 of his past 20 overall. Therefore, the Jays should maximize the most of his offensive potential by putting him in the best possible spot in the batting order, which is the cleanup spot. That way, it gives him ample opportunities to drive in runs and do the most damage on the scorebaord. Similarly, with Danny Jansen being almost as hot as Guerrero, he should hit higher in the lineup than his usual spot in the bottom half of the order. As seen on Monday, moving him to the second spot resulted in a big 3-hit, 5-RBI day for Jansen, as the Jays would welcome more of that any day. The club tried this out for a second time in Tuesday evening's matchup as well.

As for some of the struggling hitters currently in the lineup, Bo Bichette could be tried in the leadoff spot. That way, he can get back to his aggressive, free-swinging approach that has made him the effective hitter he is today. In doing so, he can keep things simple by just focusing on getting on base, rather than thinking too much in more run-producing situations. As for Justin Turner, who has cooled off considerably since his hot start to the season, the Jays should move him to his most productive spot, which is in the three-hole. With a career .293 average and .857 OPS with 107 home runs and 371 RBI in 647 games in that slot, along with putting Guerrero behind him for protection, Turner should flourish under such circumstances.

For George Springer and Daulton Varsho, keeping them in the lower parts of the batting order can keep them out of the spotlight and enable them to focus on getting their game back on track without too much fanfare. Finally, the remaining spots in the lineup can then be filled out based on matchups. All in all, when the right combination is deployed, we should get to see more of what we witnessed this past Monday going forward.

Time to deal with the potential problem at the source 

If all of the player movements don’t turn out, perhaps the Jays should take a look at another potential source of the problem, which could be found at the coaching level. Hitting coach Guillermo Martínez has been part of the Jays’ organization since he was hired as a minor league hitting and infield coach back in 2012. Finally in 2018, Martínez was promoted to the big league club and has been their primary hitting coach ever since.

Martínez brought some success in the earlier parts of his tenure with the Jays, as the team finished in the top 10 in league for home runs and RBI between 2020-22, and in the top 3 for batting average and OPS for both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. However, those numbers have been on a rapid decline since then, in particular this year with the team ranking near the bottom in most of the major offensive categories. Have opposing teams adjusted accordingly to counter Martínez’s implemented plate approach for the Jays, or has he lost the room in terms of getting his players to buy into his hitting strategies?

Whatever may be the case, perhaps a change at the helm could prove to be the jolt needed to kickstart the offense. If that is indeed the case, the Jays should promote someone internally in the name of assistant hitting coach Matt Hague. Hague has done wonders with many of the organization’s prospects over the past few seasons in the minor leagues. The progressive evolution of solid hitters such as Davis Schneider, Orelvis Martinez, Horwitz and Barger in recent years have all come at the hands of Hague and he is a figure in the clubhouse in which players love and actively respond to. Perhaps by giving Hague more power and authority than he currently has as just an assistant, it will enable him to get the most out of the Jays’ current hitters, especially helping those in a huge funk. At this point, anything is worth a try if it gives the offensively-challenged team a better chance of success going forward.