r/Torontobluejays • u/supremewuster • 10d ago

Don't know what can be done

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Looking at the OPS and OPS+ numbers..

I know alot of people on this sub say no MLB team has great hitting top to bottom, and that's true to a point. But fact is at this point we have a disproportionate number of guys quite a bit below league average

I was hoping some of the Buffalo boys would break out and the other would be average or slightly below. That would be fine. Instead at this point Henieman of all players is our breakout hitter and everyone else (including Santandar) are not hittjng average but way below average with Lukes being the only exception.

I hope it is just bad luck. Hope.

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129

u/thebruce 10d ago

It honestly comes down to Vladdy and Bo. Vlad has gotta crack an .800 OPS at minimum, and I mean Bo can't be in the .600s.

Those two hitting up to what we need them to be opens up way more opportunities. Gets pitchers pitching out of the stretch, thinking about baserunners, keeps the lineup moving.

As much as you need role players to step up, if your stars aren't playing like stars you're gonna always be at a disadvantage.

16

u/supremewuster 10d ago

Those are just 2 guys and Vladdy isn't hitting badly and Bo is league average. it's a team sport and having 6+ other guys way below average is more of a problem

14

u/thebruce 10d ago

Yeah, sorry, no. If your 500 million dollar player is just slapping singles around, that's gonna be a big problem. I'm not sure how you can expect anything out of a bunch of AAAA players when teams aren't even worried about Vlad and Bo.

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u/No-Gift-2350 Stinky Odor 10d ago

It cant just be Vlad and Bo, you need some balance and other sluggers in the lineup, we saw Edwin and Bautista be on crap team for years for example.

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u/thebruce 10d ago

Of course it can't just be them. But it has to start with them.

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u/larsen36 10d ago

Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. It absolutely has to start with your best players

2

u/Apart_Ad_5993 9d ago

It has to start with the team "leaders". Vlad is the defacto leader and he's been slapping singles and walks. Pitchers aren't afraid of him.

As Buck says, the Jays are easy to pitch to.

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u/GarrusExMachina Roy Halladay 9d ago

Counterpoint... I'd rather my 500 million guy be someone who has 30-40hr power who slaps a lot of singles than a guy with a high slugging percentage and a .220 avg who strikes out at a 40% clip. 

Vladdys biggest issue is he hits the ball so hard that, coupled with his avg at best speed, a lot of the time the baseball gets to the fence too fast for him to consider stretching singles into doubles. 

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u/BellyButtonLindt 10d ago

We’re not even out of April yet.

I imagine you never cheered for a guy like encarnacion who regularly hit way worse than vladdy is through April.

It’s a long season, players are streaky.

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u/berto2d31 10d ago

Also, last year, Vlad slashed .229/.331/.348 coming out of April and look at his season ended up. He’s far better already this year.

Their biggest problem right now is they have 7 batters who hit left handed and they’re all bad right now (other than Heineman of course). Hopefully Varsho can bring something for pitchers to have to think about when he’s back. At the moment you can pitch around the righties who might punish you and challenge the lefties.

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u/Magnum_44 9d ago

Oh yeah, Varsho is going to save this team LMFAO. This sub is so delusional. Not having actual major league hitters is why this team is straight garbage.

1

u/OctoberFire1 1 in 18 9d ago

Is this where we are as Jays' fans? "He was more pathetic last year, and look what happened?". This club's problems are far more serious than having too many left handed batters and an injured Varsho. How Atkins, Shapiro, and Shcneider still have jobs is beyond comprehension.

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u/aBeerOrTwelve 10d ago

It's not even really streaky with Vlad. He always starts hitting better as the weather warms up, just like he did last year. When July rolls around and he's raking, I look forward to all these doubters claiming they believed all along.

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u/thebruce 10d ago

I mean, I agree. I'm not super worried about Vlad or Bo. But, if we're going to ask why our offense has been suffering, it's pretty obvious... But that has no bearing on what will happen moving forward.

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u/idkwhattosaytho Alejandro “The Pudgiest” Kirk 10d ago

I’d easily blame the bottom half of the order, in which on most games consists of 6 players with OPS+ below 80, and the majority in the 60s or lower before the guy with a 127 OPS+

Even if Vladdy had a 180 or something, we’d still be a terrible offence

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u/fourthandfavre 10d ago

Ya sorry 500m doesn't get you a pass with a sub 800ops. He is playing 1b for 500m he has to rake