Why Toronto Blue Jays’ Controversial Hitting Philosophy Isn't Working
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The Toronto Blue Jays' pitching has been excellent to start the year, helping the team go 12-11. Unfortunately, their bats haven't followed suit.
The Blue Jays got shut out by the Houston Astros on Monday, dropping their third straight game. It was Toronto's fourth consecutive game without a home run, which is quickly becoming a concerning trend for them.
The Blue Jays' lack of power this season has been alarming. They rank 29th in MLB in home runs with 12 -- just one more than the Kansas City Royals.
Toronto is averaging just 0.52 homers per game this season. That's way down from their 0.96 mark last year, which was already considerably below the MLB average of 1.12.
The Blue Jays have been outhomered 31 to 12 this season, which is a big reason for their minus-10 run differential. If they keep that up, it's going to be incredibly hard to sustain a winning record.
Only three Toronto players have multiple homers so far, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn't one of them. Andres Gimenez still leads the Blue Jays in long balls with three, even though he hasn't left the yard in April.
Blue Jays need to scrap this contact over power philosophy it’s clearly not working. They’ve become the Miami Marlins. https://t.co/f2nTRhZtJf
— W҉E҉S҉T҉ (@StlllWest) April 20, 2025
Toronto's team-wide power outage is getting embarrassing, and it can largely be explained by the club's new hitting philosophy. To combat the league-wide increase in strikeouts, the Blue Jays are focusing more on making contact and putting the ball in play, sacrificing bat speed and power in the process.
In one sense, the strategy is working. Toronto entered play on Monday with the fourth-highest batting average (.259) and second-lowest strikeout rate (18.2 K%) in baseball -- considerably better than last year's .241 (19th) and 20.3% (sixth) marks.
The issue, however, is that the Blue Jays aren't hitting the ball with authority. They rank 23rd in hard-hit rate (29.2%) and 26th in pull rate (37.6%).
Despite having legitimate power hitters like Guerrero, George Springer, Bo Bichette and Anthony Santander in their lineup, they're not driving the ball out of the park. That's because they're not hitting the ball in the air, ranking 26th in fly-ball rate (34.5%).
Maybe that will change as the weather warms up, but the early returns haven't been good. Too much pop has been lost, and trading homers for a few more singles and doubles isn't worth it.
Toronto's averaging just 3.74 runs per game this season, down from 4.14 last year and 4.60 the year before that. That isn't going to cut it, especially in the AL East with power-laden rivals like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
The Blue Jays' flawed approach isn't working. The sooner they recognize that and shift course, the better off they'll be this year.
