Blue Jays' problem is obvious, but fixing it is trickier
Toronto has some work to do.
Blue Jays' problem is obvious, but fixing it is trickier originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Toronto Blue Jays made it all the way to extra innings of Game 7 of the World Series.
The record books won't show it, but they were practically champions, only losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers after the MLB season refused to end on time. That's part of what has made Toronto's start to the 2026 season a curious one, particularly at the plate. The Blue Jays are making loads of contact, but they're hitting for very little power.
It's a different recipe than they had last season despite rostering many of the same guys. "Last year's dynamic Toronto offense was fueled by combining a high contact rate with damage on that contact," ESPN's Bradford Doolittle wrote in a new article on Wednesday. "So far, the Blue Jays are getting only half that equation right.
Toronto has by far the lowest team strikeout rate, so the contact has been there. But the Blue Jays rank just 26th in both average exit velocity and OPS on balls in play. " MORE: How Pokemon cards with Mike Trout helped Zach Neto break out of his slump The first place the mind goes is to the departure of Bo Bichette, but his replacement in the lineup is Kazuma Okamoto, who is on a power binge of late.