Blue Jays: Matt Chapman named American League Player of the Week, April 10

Matt Chapman has been the hottest hitter in baseball to start the season, which is a welcomed sign for both player and team. He has put the Toronto Blue Jays offense on his back and has earned himself the AL Player of the Week Award. Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds took home the honors in the National League.

Over the past week, "Bat" Chapman (awesome nickname, by the way) has gone off at the plate, hitting two home runs with five doubles and 12 RBI and a slash line of .464/.516/.857.

As of right now, he is first in the American League in WAR amongst position players, he has the league's highest batting average (.475), second-highest on-base percentage (.523), second-highest slugging percentage (.800) and the second-highest on-base plus slugging (1.323).

Beyond these statistics, Chapman also leads the league in hits (19), doubles (7) and RBI (14), while sitting second in total bases (32) and extra base hits (9).

To say that he's been tearing the cover off the ball is an understatement. This hot production comes at a great time for him, as he is currently playing out his contract with the Blue Jays and is set to hit free agency at the conclusion of the 2023 season. If he is able to keep this production up, Chapman is well on his way to a Manny Machado-esque payday.

Long known as one of the best defensive players in the league, it's been Chapman's bat that's carried him so far through the first few weeks of the regular season. He, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and even Kevin Kiermaier have all gotten off to solid starts, which has helped the Blue Jays go 6-4 through their first 10 games.

Unfortunately, these red-hot bats haven't quite been on the same level as the Tampa Bay Rays, who are off to a historic start, going 9-0 to start the year. The Blue Jays feel like the better team in the long run, but it's nice to have some great competition at the onset of the 2023 season.