Is Blue Jays Unheralded Utility Man Deserving of AL All-Star Team Consideration?
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The Toronto Blue Jays are currently one of the hottest teams in baseball, winning seven out of their last eight games to push their record to 33-29 on the year.
Their offense has started to perk up recently, scoring at least eight runs in five of those games. That kind of production is exactly what the team has been waiting for, especially with their pitching staff performing admirably throughout the year.
The Blue Jays are receiving solid production from the usual suspects, such as first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette, who has rediscovered his power stroke.
Outfielder George Springer has a team-high 132 OPS+ amongst the starters and catcher Alejandro Kirk is having a great season at the plate.
But there are some unheralded players who are chipping in, helping get Toronto on track and challenging for a playoff spot.
One of them is utility infielder Ernie Clement, who deserves some All-Star consideration in the opinion of Chad Jennings of The Athletic (subscription required).
Ernie Clement Deserves Consideration As Blue Jays All-Star Representative
“But the Blue Jays’ leader in both bWAR and fWAR is, oddly enough, utility man Clement, who’s been a slightly above-average hitter while playing all four infield positions. Will he be the team’s All-Star representative? Surely not. But this has been one of the harder-to-predict teams in baseball, so maybe,” Jennings wrote.
Clement was failing to make an impact in March/April, producing a .239/.276/.282 slash line with zero home runs and three doubles in 77 plate appearances.
He and Addison Barger were providing the team with no positive production at third base, one of several holes in their lineup.
However, once May rolled around, something clicked for both Barger and Clement, who turned into a reliable source of production with the bat.
He produced a .306/.349/.469 slash line with three home runs, seven doubles and 12 RBI in 108 plate appearances. His performance has not slowed in June with a .333/.385/.500 slash line in his first 13 plate appearances of the month.
The turnaround could not have come at a better time for Toronto, which remains right in the thick of the playoff race in the American League.
Clement keeping up above-average production would be huge for the Blue Jays, giving them one less hole that needs to be filled ahead of the trade deadline.
The Toronto Blue Jays are currently one of the hottest teams in baseball, winning seven out of their last eight games to push their record to 33-29 on the year.
Their offense has started to perk up recently, scoring at least eight runs in five of those games. That kind of production is exactly what the team has been waiting for, especially with their pitching staff performing admirably throughout the year.
The Blue Jays are receiving solid production from the usual suspects, such as first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette, who has rediscovered his power stroke.
Outfielder George Springer has a team-high 132 OPS+ amongst the starters and catcher Alejandro Kirk is having a great season at the plate.
But there are some unheralded players who are chipping in, helping get Toronto on track and challenging for a playoff spot.
One of them is utility infielder Ernie Clement, who deserves some All-Star consideration in the opinion of Chad Jennings of The Athletic (subscription required).
Ernie Clement Deserves Consideration As Blue Jays All-Star Representative
“But the Blue Jays’ leader in both bWAR and fWAR is, oddly enough, utility man Clement, who’s been a slightly above-average hitter while playing all four infield positions. Will he be the team’s All-Star representative? Surely not. But this has been one of the harder-to-predict teams in baseball, so maybe,” Jennings wrote.
Clement was failing to make an impact in March/April, producing a .239/.276/.282 slash line with zero home runs and three doubles in 77 plate appearances.
He and Addison Barger were providing the team with no positive production at third base, one of several holes in their lineup.
However, once May rolled around, something clicked for both Barger and Clement, who turned into a reliable source of production with the bat.
He produced a .306/.349/.469 slash line with three home runs, seven doubles and 12 RBI in 108 plate appearances. His performance has not slowed in June with a .333/.385/.500 slash line in his first 13 plate appearances of the month.
The turnaround could not have come at a better time for Toronto, which remains right in the thick of the playoff race in the American League.
Clement keeping up above-average production would be huge for the Blue Jays, giving them one less hole that needs to be filled ahead of the trade deadline.
