5 keys to Blue Jays' West Coast turnaround
The Blue Jays are back in Toronto for a nine-game home stand after winning four in a row out west against the Los Angeles Angels and Mariners, which included a sweep in Seattle for the first time since 1991. Here, we look at some of the keys to Toronto's resurgence.
The bats finally wake up
It took long enough, but the Jays finally enjoyed a long-awaited offensive explosion over the weekend.
After the bullpen fell apart in the first two outings against the Angels, the Blue Jays were in the midst of a 4-12 stretch. Then, in the third matchup of that series, Los Angeles jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first two innings. Things were looking bleak. Luckily, the bats woke up in the top of the third, scoring a pair of runs to get right back into the game. From there, the Blue Jays scored six more times and finished with 14 hits en route to an 8-5 victory to snap a four-game losing skid.
That matchup appears to have stirred something in the lineup - the Blue Jays following it up with run totals of six, six, and nine. They're averaging 7.25 runs per outing over this four-game winning streak and are generating a ton of offensive opportunities. The Blue Jays have hit .329, and are 18-for-46 (.391) with runners in scoring position over this streak.
Impressively, a variety of contributors have been getting the job done over this stretch. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. only had two hits in 12 at-bats during the series in Seattle. Anthony Santander missed the same series with a sore shoulder, and Andrés Giménez was placed on the IL with a quad injury. Despite that, players like Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes stepped up to deliver in a handful of big spots. In fact, the Blue Jays had six different players with at least six hits over the six-game road trip. That level of offensive depth will make the Blue Jays a much tougher team for opposing pitchers to navigate if it can continue.
Barger breaking out
Addison Barger's taken over the team lead in average exit velocity from Guerrero during his current hot streak. In fact, Barger's 96.1 mph average exit velocity trails only Shohei Ohtani and Oneil Cruz among all MLB hitters with at least 25 batted-ball events. Barger posted hits with exit velocities of 109.7 mph, 113.4 mph, and 116.5 mph against the Mariners. Some don't necessarily value exit velocity and how hard a player can hit a baseball, but it's a simple fact that the harder a player hits the ball, the better the results will be.
Barger's also cut down his strikeouts, going from 26.7% last year with the Blue Jays, 28.9% this year at Triple-A, and now 16.9% in his first 59 MLB plate appearances in 2025. The 25-year-old has major offensive upside if this improved plate discipline can stick.
Bullpen finds its footing
The first two contests of the Angels series were rough for what had been an excellent bullpen in the first month of the season. Jeff Hoffman got just two outs and allowed six runs and a pair of homers in consecutive deflating losses. The entire group looked completely taxed and in need of a break. But there was no such rest with a couple of close games right away in Seattle. The relief pitchers responded with authority, not allowing any runs over the past four outings with a 15.19 K/9, 1.69 BB/9, and 1.0 fWAR as a group. Yimi García wriggled out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam against the Mariners with the type of performance that defined the start of his second tour of duty in Toronto before a recent rough patch.
One of the biggest differences between the 2024 season and this year is a much improved bullpen.
Hoffman emphatically rebounded with two straight dominant outings where he struck out the side. Yariel Rodríguez also came up huge with 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief that featured an eye-popping seven strikeouts along the way. Mason Fluharty and Brendon Little continue to be consistently great, proving they are very capable left-handers. There's a lot to like about what's happening in the bullpen.
Eric Lauer's surprising emergence
The Blue Jays signed Lauer to a minor-league contract in the offseason after he spent the 2024 campaign pitching in the KBO. He's been a productive pitcher in the past, collecting an 18-12 record with a 3.47 ERA and 8.9 K/9 in 53 appearances (49 starts) across the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He struggled in 2023 and didn't do much in Korea, leading many to assume there wasn't much to get excited about if Lauer found himself pitching in games for the Blue Jays.
But he quickly quieted any skeptics.
Lauer was decent in his April 30 debut against the Red Sox, scattering three hits and two runs across four innings. The 29-year-old followed starter José Ureña as the bulk reliever out of the bullpen, allowing one hit with five strikeouts over 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He entered with the matchup tied at one in the bottom of the third and left with a 9-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh after inducing multiple whiffs with his fastball, curveball, and slider. The bats received much of the fanfare, but Lauer also deserves his flowers.
A trade paying surprising dividends
Many Blue Jays fans were apoplectic after general manager Ross Atkins acquired Myles Straw with two guaranteed years and nearly $14 million left on his contract. Most figured it would increase Toronto's chances of signing Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. When that didn't happen, the decision to acquire Straw faced heavy criticism. But he's silenced every doubter with his play thus far.
The change of scenery has clearly benefited the 30-year-old.
Straw has been excellent defensively, ranking in the 95th percentile in Baseball Savant's outs above average metric. He's also been superb on the base paths and sits in the 94th percentile in sprint speed. But Straw's performance in the batter's box has been the most surprising development. He's delivered in important spots, hitting .364 in late and close situations and .421 when the game is tied. He's been worth 0.6 fWAR in 32 outings after combining to accrue 0.2 fWAR in 154 contests in 2023 and 2024 combined.