Three Blue Jays players who need to step up before the season spirals

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

It's not hard to imagine why the Blue Jays need Guerrero to take a step forward. It's simple math that you need your once best hitter to be your best hitter to thrive, especially in a year where offense isn't the team's strength anymore.

In seven games to begin the year, the former Silver Slugger is slashing .208/.367/.333 with an OPS+ of 108. While these numbers aren't horrible and a clear result of a small sample size, it's reflective of a more passive approach that he's taken so far in 2024.

Sure, it would be nice to see him have a year where he walks 100 times, and there's a genuine shot that happens this year and we see on-base numbers similar to what he put up in 2021, but without the power and extra-base potential, the impact is far less meaningful.

It's not that Toronto needs him to set a new career high in home runs, but the power aspect has been a decreasing factor since his breakout campaign, and for a club that was notoriously bad at cashing in with runners in scoring position the prior year, there aren't many other reliable options following an off-season that saw little change.

Guerrero should maintain a keen eye at the plate, but missing on pitches that are tailor made for him to crush make his steady approach all the less important, and he needs to get himself back to the player that wasn't late on fastballs time in and time out.