This former Blue Jays' numbers this year are nightmare fuel for Toronto fans

For parts of six seasons, Teoscar Hernández was the heartbeat of the Blue Jays lineup. He arrived while the team was in a rebuild and held down the fort until Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette arrived, had an All-Star season in 2021 and helped lead the Blue Jays on a postseason push in 2022.

And while he's become a cult legend in Toronto because of that strong performance, his stats with the Dodgers this year will be nightmare fuel for every Blue Jays fan.

Teoscar Hernández is on pace for a career year with the Dodgers

Hernández hit at least 20 home runs in four of his five full seasons with the Blue Jays (he arrived in a mid-season trade with the Astros in 2017), and was a weapon of mass production in the middle of the order.

He earned that All-Star nod in 2021 on the back of a season where hit 32 home runs with 117 RBI, and he added 25 home run and 77 RBI in 2022 before mashing his first career postseason home run that October.

Hernández tenure in Toronto ended after the 202 season when he was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Erik Swanson and Adam Macko He then ended up with the Dodgers last year, where he helped the team win the World Series.

He re-upped with the Dodgers on a three-year, $66 million contract in the offseason, and he's on pace for a career year.

Hernández entered Monday's action slashing .305/.323/.586 with nine home runs, nine doubles and 33 RBI. His 33 RBI leads the National League, and is tied with Aaron Judge for the MLB lead.

The Dodgers are also 23-11 and look poised to repeat as World Series champions. On the other hand, the Blue Jays are 16-18 and in fourth place in the American League East.

Hernández's nine homers would far and away lead the Blue Jays. Anthony Santander and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are tied for the Blue Jays lead with four, so Santander's has more home runs than the two of them combined.

HIs 33 RBI would also lead the Blue Jays, as Guerrero leads the Blue Jays with 18 RBI.

The only everyday player on the Blue Jays with a higher batter average than Hernández's .305 is George Springer, who currently boasts an average of .309.

While it's worth noting that Hernández gets to play in the Dodgers' stacked lineup — and gets to hit in front of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — there's no denying that he's become one of baseball's best run producers.

Hernández would be extremely valuable today in a Blue Jays' lineup that's slugged an MLB-worst 23 home runs. He's also been worth 0.9 fWAR himself, while Blue Jays right fielders have combined for 0.8 fWAR as a unit.

The Blue Jays had an up-and-down first week of May after struggling in April, and they'll need their bats to come alive if they want to have any chance to make it to the postseason this year.

And even if their slumping superstars turn around, every Hernández home run will likely still feel like a blow to the chest for Blue Jays' fans.