April In Review: A look at the first month of the season for the Blue Jays

Underperformers

Cavan Biggio:  .111 AVG, .428 OPS, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 19 K

Biggio has endured his worst start to the season in his career, with numbers way below his career averages across the board. He will need to pick it up or else risk losing even more playing time or even his roster spot entirely in the near future.

Santiago Espinal:  .186 AVG, .511 OPS, 1 HR, 7 RBI

The main reason why Biggio still has such a long leash is because Espinal has also been struggling at the plate. He is performing slightly better than Biggio and his defence still remains elite, thus being the main selling points to keep him in the lineup.

Brandon Belt:  .169 AVG, .534 OPS, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 27 K

Belt was acquired in the offseason to help bring leadership and experience to the clubhouse. Unfortunately, the only thing he is leading the team currently is the strikeout rate (27 strikeouts in 59 at-bats). He will need to show that he can provide more value to the team to stay in the lineup.

Daulton Varsho:  .194 AVG, .588 OPS, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 SB, 28 K

Varsho was expected to provide some solid offensive production to go along with his defensive prowess. However, he has been disappointing thus far, in particular going stone cold in the latter half of the month, hitting close to .100 with only one home run. It’s only April, but he needs to show soon that the trade with Arizona was worth it.

Alek Manoah:  6 GS, 1-1 W-L, 4.88 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 20 BB, 28 K

After coming off a Cy Young-calibre season in 2022, many were expecting more of the same in 2023. However, Manoah has been off to a rough start, struggling with command and walking an abnormal amount of batters. Can he regain his 2022 form sooner than later?

Anthony Bass:  10 GP, 7.00 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 9 IP, 4 BB, 7 K

Bass was expected to provide effective relief innings after his career year in 2022 with the Miami Marlins and Jays. However, he appears totally lost out there this year and time may be running out if he doesn’t resolve his issues soon.