Who's To Blame for Toronto Blue Jays' Alarming Power Outage?
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What's going on with the Toronto Blue Jays' offense?
As great as their pitching's been this year, their lineup has been alarmingly punchless. In their three-game sweep by the Houston Astros at Daikin Park earlier this week, they managed just two runs and nine hits in the three games combined.
It's hard to score when you can't hit the ball over the wall, and that's a problem that's plagued the Blue Jays all season.
Toronto has only 13 home runs in 25 games this year, which ranks 29th in baseball. Only the Kansas City Royals (with 12) have fewer.
After starting the season fairly well in the power department, the Blue Jays have taken a nosedive in that regard over the last three weeks. They've managed only eight home runs over their last 18 games (including just one in their last six), slashing a meager .224/.298/.314 over that stretch while averaging just 3.1 runs per game and going 7-11.
Incredibly, Andres Gimenez still leads Toronto with three home runs even though he hasn't gone deep since March.
The Blue Jays' shocking power collapse didn't happen overnight, however. It's merely the culmination of a steady decline.
Toronto's homer total has declined every season since 2021, when it led MLB with 262. That number droppped to 200 the following year (seventh), 188 in 2023 (16th) and 156 last season (26th).
Entering play on Friday, the Blue Jays are on pace for just 84 homers -- barely more than half of last year's total.
Who's to blame for this stunning erosion? Well, just about everyone.
The Powerless Blue Jays
— VOT6 (@JaysViews) April 24, 2025
Bichette: 0 HR last 245 PA
Guerrero: 1 HR last 150 PA
Kirk: 1 HR last 177 PA
Clement: 1 HR last 157 PA
Wagner: 1 HR last 92 PA
Roden: 1 HR last 74 PA
Springer: 2 HR last 182 PA
Santander: 2 HR last 125 PA
It starts at the top, as the Blue Jays have built a roster that emphasizes contact and speed over power, hence the presence of guys like Gimenez and Myles Straw. They're focusing on putting the ball in play rather than driving it with authority, posting the fourth-lowest strikeout rate (19.3%) and fifth-lowest slugging percentage (.345).
That philosophy has seemingly affected Toronto's top power hitters as well.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a major culprit with only one home run, but he's not the only one. Bo Bichette, Ernie Clement and Will Wagner don't have any in 240 plate appearances combined. George Springer and Anthony Santander only have two apiece, and Gimenez hasn't homered since March.
There just isn't a lot of power on this roster, and the guys who are supposed to be providing it haven't so far. When a speedster like Straw has the second-highest slugging percentage in the starting lineup (.410), you know you've got a problem.
Surprisingly, age and injuries aren't to blame. Springer is the only regular older than 30, and the starting lineup has been almost entirely healthy this year with the exception of Daulton Varsho, who should be back soon.
Power numbers usually tend to be down in April with the colder weather, so they should pick up as the season progresses. Guerrero's going to get hot eventually, as will several of his teammates, but when?
Toronto desperately needs to start swinging for the fences more and add more pop at the trade deadline if it wants to have a shot at making the playoffs this year, because this mediocre lineup just isn't going to cut it.
