Rather than write a simple recap post, I’ve decided to do something different this week. I’ve compiled a bunch of stats that will help tell the story of the Blue Jays’ recent play.
Stripling’s Turnaround
For much of the first two months of the season, the Jays were only getting steady production from three-fifths of their rotation. That has changed over the last month or so and Ross Stripling has been a big reason why.
In his last five starts dating back to May 24th Stripling has gone 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA over 35.1 innings. He’s struck out 36 batters, walked only nine, and has an opponent’s batting average of .171. In his first six starts, Stripling was 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA and only pitched five innings twice.
#WeAreBlueJays Ross Stripling in 2021:
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 23, 2021
First 6 Starts
0-3, 7.20 ERA, 1.76 WHIP & .330 OPP AVG
Last 6 Starts
2-1, 2.29 ERA, 0.85 WHIP & .171 OPP AVG pic.twitter.com/ooQg4Txz9O
Stripling’s run of good play has represented a shift in the numbers of the starting five.
It was unusual to see Hyun-Jin Ryu with the highest ERA among those pitchers. His place was due to a June swoon which saw him record a 6.11 ERA over his first three starts of the month. He recovered from that with a seven-inning, three-hit gem on Father’s Day.
Ryu was nearly flawless through six innings on Saturday. He was touched up for four runs in the seventh but that did little to mar his afternoon in a 12-4 Jays’ romp.
Alek Manoah and Hyun-Jin Ryu. You really love to see it ?#BlueJays https://t.co/S3wbP3DvBI pic.twitter.com/1RJaXyQgty
— Jason (Hanshin) Lee (@Jasons_JaysHub) June 27, 2021
Hungry Hitters
It feels like the Jays have stranded a lot of runners this season. In fact, they have a .269 average with runners in scoring position, fourth-best in the American League.
They have a .412 avg. on the first pitch of an at-bat, which is the best in the Majors. Their .270 average at home tops the AL.
Randal Grichuk had a strikeout percentage of 19.7% through the end of May. In June that number has spiked to 29.8%. He’s hit .195 during that span to take his overall average from .289 to .261.
Randal Grichuk welcomes Konner Wade to the big leagues with a three-run ?
— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) June 26, 2021
(? @BlueJays)pic.twitter.com/vpj7kvKQhB
He broke out with a home run and 4 RBI vs. Baltimore on Saturday. In 46 career games against the Orioles, Grichuk has hit 20 homers!
50/50
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a grand slam on Thursday, his 50th career home run.
? SEE ? YOU ? LATER ?
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 24, 2021
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. clears the bases with his first career grand slam. ? #BlueJaysOnSN | @BlueJays | #PiñaPower pic.twitter.com/NkS683Xzxq
Two days later, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his league-leading 26th big fly of the season. It was also his 50th career homer. Guerrero Jr. became the third-fastest Blue Jay to reach 25 homers (74 games) in a season. Only George Bell (1987, 70 games) and Carlos Delgado (2000, 72 games) did it in fewer games.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. now has 26 HR this season, tied with Carlos Delgado (in 2000) for the 2nd-most HR through 75 games of a season in Blue Jays history.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 26, 2021
Only George Bell (27 in 1987) had more. pic.twitter.com/0rxt5eQ2uJ
Vladdy Jr. also hit his 50th career home run in the exact same amount of games that it took his father.
Like father, like son ? pic.twitter.com/AjK9xlG15w
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 27, 2021
Random Facts
Robbie Ray has given up the most home runs (18) in MLB.
The Blue Jays have gone 13-2 in interleague play.
In pitching five scoreless innings and earning his first win on Thursday, Anthony Kay lowered his ERA from 6.43 to 5.19. He also struck out the first seven batters he faced.
Anthony Kay, elevated 97mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/QnRlAySrEr
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 24, 2021
Twins
Marcus Semien has increased his hard-hit percentage from 28.6 last season to 42.3 this season. Bo Bichette has increased his hard-hit percentage from last season to 50.9 from 40.6.
Bichette, in addition to leading MLB in runs scored (64), also is tied for fourth in the AL in hits, with 87. He’s 21-63, with seven extra-base hits and 15 RBI over his last 14 games.
Bo Bichette over his 1st 150 career games:
— Scott BlueJaysAlways (@BluejaysAlways) June 26, 2021
.293 AVG
.850 OPS
183 Hits
113 Runs
43 2B
30 HR
94 RBI
20 SB #BlueJays #WeAreBlueJays #BlueGrit pic.twitter.com/Lz6bmiVPgf
Semien and Bichette have eerily similar numbers this season.
Avg. HR 2B RBI WAR SB OPS+
Semien .278 18 18 45 3.6 9 135
Bichette .282 14 17 50 2.8 12 121
Hot Bats
Since his return to the lineup on June 11th, Cavan Biggio is hitting .267 with 3 HR and an OPS of .922. He has the same amount of walks as strikeouts (9) during that stretch. He was hitting .205 with an OPS of .630 prior.
Reese McGuire has also really started to heat up. He’s had multi-hit games in three of his last six games. He’s gone 11 for 21 during that stretch and his overall average is .307 over 81 at-bats.
We need to start talking about Reese McGuire.
— Jason (Hanshin) Lee (@Jasons_JaysHub) June 25, 2021
Month of June: .333 AVG, .912 OPS, 147 wRC+
Season: .315 AVG, .811 OPS, 123 wRC+
I’ll take that from the catcher’s spot any day of the week. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/BycCNBpKpj
The Blue Jays have a legitimate chance to have five hitters with 100+ RBI this season. The only team that has accomplished this feat was the 1936 New York Yankees. Lou Gehrig (152), Joe Dimaggio (125), Tony Lazzeri (109), Bill Dickey (107), and George “Twinkletoes” Selkirk (107).
Lou Gehrig talks things over with rookie Joe DiMaggio during spring training camp for the New York Yankees on March 7, 1936 at St. Petersburg, Fla. (Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/p2jF3ocf64
— Baseball In Pics (@baseballinpix) November 6, 2018
Approaching the halfway mark of the season, the Jays are led by Guerrero Jr. (66), Grichuk (52), Bichette (50), Teoscar Hernández (47), and Marcus Semien (45).
Bullpen Breakdown
In April, the Jays’ had a bullpen ERA of 2.52 over exactly 100 innings. In May that number went up to 4.54 in 105 innings. So far in June, that number has ballooned to 4.83 over 78.1 innings. The ‘pen has also blown seven saves since May 10th, the most in baseball during that time.
Watching the Blue Jays offense, knowing the Blue Jays bullpen exists pic.twitter.com/0HRseD6nCC
— Drew F (@DrewGROF) June 26, 2021
Knocking On The Door
Gabriel Moreno’s hot start in Double-A has earned him a spot on the Top 100 prospects list. The young catcher will also make an appearance in the Futures Game during All-Star weekend. He leads all Double-A qualifiers with a 385/.450/.672 slash line and has eight home runs.
Another day, another Gabriel Moreno homer.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 20, 2021
The @BlueJays‘ No. 7 prospect and Double-A’s leading hitter smoked his second dinger in as many games for @FisherCats. pic.twitter.com/M3JQJR5udH
After losing 7-1 to the Orioles last Friday to drop to 33-35, the Jays have gone 7-1.
Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it! Check out more of my articles here and other Belly Up content here. Follow me on Twitter here.
