The Toronto Blue Jays’ struggles with RISP have transpired into this season as they continue to strand baserunners. This was most present in the New York Mets series, where they stranded 28 baserunners and went 2-for-21 in hitting with RISP. Their struggles with RISP have been a continuous issue that has tired fans out.
The Blue Jays only made one offseason signing to bolster their offense: Anthony Santander. Unfortunately, his offense has gotten off to a slow start, and while Andres Gimenez has been a pleasant surprise, the Blue Jays’ issues with RISP are still troublesome. Santander has only recorded one RBI and is still waiting for him to smash his first home run this season.
Blue Jays Having Trouble Driving In Runs
The Blue Jays’ RISP issues were most prominent in 2023 and echoed into the postseason and then into the 2024 season. It’s become an endless stream of frustration with stranding baserunners. The Blue Jays’ hitting performance has been a sensitive issue. Even with runners on base, they have still found it difficult to cash those runners in with a key hit. The Blue Jays need to work on improving their contact skills. Double plays have also turned a promising inning into a sour one. But the Blue Jays’ main issue continues to be stranding runners on base. According to Team Rankings, the Blue Jays rank 25th, averaging 7.78 batters left on base per game.
When it comes down to it, the Blue Jays aren’t capitalizing in big moments with runners on base. This was present when New York Mets’ David Peterson walked five batters on Sunday. While the Blue Jays got a perfect opportunity to cash in, they weren’t able to move any runners over. They were only able to score one run off a hit by pitch from Andrés Giménez with the bases loaded. This is nothing new, as the Blue Jays have struggled with this on several occasions. On March 31st of this season, the Blue Jays racked up 14 strikeouts with RISP. This indicates that they need to improve at making contact. The Blue Jays’ struggles with RISP were also present against the Baltimore Orioles when Charlie Morton was on the mound.
The Blue Jays put a runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings against him. But Morton stranded all of them and went 0-for-6 with RISP. The Blue Jays seem to lack flow from one batter to the next. On paper, the Blue Jays have a solid batting order, but getting those timely hits remains challenging. While George Springer’s offense has started to turn around along with Bo Bichette’s, we’re still waiting for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to be the hero. He’s yet to hit a bomb, and the Blue Jays could certainly use his power. Whether or not extension talks have become a distraction, as the latest rumors speculate that the Blue Jays and Guerrero could be close to a deal soon, Guerrero needs to remain focused. The Blue Jays need Bichette, Guerrero, and Santander to heat up seamlessly at the plate.
Main Photo Credits: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
The post RISP Continue to Haunt Blue Jays appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.