Toronto Blue Jays Take Dip in Latest Power Rankings After 3-3 Week
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The Toronto Blue Jays are have fallen below .500 after dropping their weekend series to the Cleveland Guardians. At 16-18, the Blue Jays sit in fourth place in the very hard American League East division.
The week started on a high note as Toronto took two of three games from the Boston Red Sox, and things seemed to be looking up. However, after losing on Saturday and Sunday to Cleveland, the Blue Jays have now lost six of their last 10 games.
With their struggles recently, Toronto has taken a dip in the latest MLB.com power rankings. They have fallen to No. 20 after being ranked No. 18 last week.
The Blue Jays do have plenty of bright spots on their team, despite the subpar record.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been heating up as he is currently on a seven-game hit streak. The right-handed slugger is slashing .286/.323/.500 with two home runs, six RBI and five runs scored during his hitting streak.
Toronto is in a good position if he continues to swing the bat the way he has lately.
Along with Vlad Jr, both George Springer and Bo Bichette are hitting the ball well this season. Bichette has 42 total hits on the season, which ranks eighth in the MLB. On the other hand, Springer is slashing .309/.416/.511.
These three have been great for the Blue Jays, but that is about it when it comes to offensive production.
As a team, the Blue Jays are slashing .238/.310/.351 with the fewest home runs and fifth-fewest runs scored. Additionally, they are a free-swinging team that has a tendency to chase out of the zone. They get themselves out and it hurts them in a big way.
On the mound, Toronto is No. 19 in the MLB in ERA and they have blown the fifth-most saves.
Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios have all been solid in the rotation. However, Bowden Francis and Easton Lucas have not been great. Toronto signed Spencer Turnbull and Jose Urena to Major League contracts to help out, but it might not be enough.
There is a lot of season left and plenty of time for Toronto to start playing better. In fact, they are just three games out of first place, even though they sit two games under .500.
The main reason for their struggles has been the offensive output. If they can start hitting the ball better, the Blue Jays will begin to climb the power rankings again.
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Cameron Zunkel is a sports writer from the western suburbs of Chicago. He played Division-II baseball at the University of Illinois at Springfield where he earned a masters degree in Communication. Cameron also played independent league baseball for the Joliet Slammers and Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League. He has been in journalism since 2022 and has a passion for baseball specifically, but he enjoys all sports. His other work includes writing sports betting articles for ClutchPoints. In his free time, you can catch Cam at the gym, on the golf course, or coaching the youth in the beautiful sport of baseball.