Article: Toronto Blue Jays Hitters of the Month - May 2025

[Owen Hill]

May was an up-and-down month for Blue Jays hitters. After an ice-cold April in which the Jays were among the worst power-hitting teams in the sport, the bats turned the page, finding their home run stroke early in May. But just as it seemed the offence had settled into the season, a six-game road trip to Tampa and Texas saw the Jays score just six runs, a new low, even for this group. The Jays quickly rebounded from that unfortunate road trip, ending the month by mutilating Athletics pitching, scoring a total of 31 runs in their final three games of the month.

Nine Blue Jays had a May wRC+ over 100, meaning they provided above-league-average production at the plate, a big step up from the five such bats the Jays had in March/April. Perhaps most importantly, after all of our conversations discussing the power outage, and after the Blue Jays finished March/April second last in baseball with just 19 home runs, they bounced back this month to hit 38, the fifth-best total in MLB. 

The end of the month is the perfect time to dig into some individual performances and give credit to the most productive Blue Jays over the last 31 days.

Honourable Mentions
Bo Bichette - .281/.325.513, 7 HR, 11 BB, 23 K, 137 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR
After a March/April in which he didn’t hit any home runs, one of the easiest Blue Jays to pick on when diagnosing the reasons for the power outage was Bo Bichette. Although he plays a premium position in shortstop, his defence grades out below average in most categories, which means his value is mostly derived from what he provides offensively.

Bichette’s inability to make an impact for the 2024 club was a big reason that team found itself out of the race so early in the season and selling at the trade deadline. After going through the first month of the 2025 season with just a .693 OPS and zero homers, Bichette looked like he hadn’t been able to turn the page.

However, in May, Bichette changed the narrative. Between May 1 and 31, he rocked an .838 OPS, helped by his walk rate jumping up to 8.7 percent, which would be a career high if maintained across a full season. He also had 15 extra-base hits, including a team-high seven homers. Most importantly, he scored 15 runs while cashing 19 RBI.

With a very solid month of May, Bichette is looking a lot like the version of himself that was perennially considered for All-Star appearances, and if it weren’t for massive performances from a few of his teammates, he would easily find himself among the Blue Jays' top three hitters for May.

Nathan Lukes - .299/.390/.463, 3 HR, 9 BB, 10 K, 148 wRC+, 0.6 fWAR
It might be a little bit surprising to see Nathan Lukes’ name on this list, especially considering that a lack of production from internally developed players has been one of the biggest criticisms the Blue Jays have faced during this competitive window. But in a month in which the offence finally came alive and produced the fourth best team OPS in baseball (.785), it makes sense that they received major contributions from the bottom of the lineup.

The face of the bottom lineup in the month of May was Lukes. His contact-first, up-the-middle approach from the left side of the plate saw him dominate right-handed pitching to the tune of a .299 AVG and .897 OPS. He walked nearly as much as he struck out and somehow was only beaten out by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger for the best wRC+ on the team in May. 

Lukes is usually well protected against lefties, only registering 11 plate appearances against them this past month. That held him back from entering the top three, but in May, he did all the little things right, earning him a shout-out as an honourable mention for Jays Centre Hitter of the Month.

Ernie Clement - .306/.349/.469 3 HR, 6 BB, 14 K, 1.3 fWAR
In the first draft of this article, Ernie Clement's name did not appear. He'd had what I think most of us would consider a very solid month up until the final three games, but the lack of contribution from his bat made it hard to fully consider him for this list.

Clement's ability to play very good defence at both second and third base, while filling in at shortstop the odd time, is typically his biggest contribution to the squad, and through the first 28 days of May, despite a disappointing 83 wRC+, he was tied with Bichette for the fifth highest fWAR among Blue Jays position players at 0.6.

But in the final three days of May, facing the Athletics, a team that DFA'd him earlier in his career, Clement went crazy. He went 9-for-14 with three doubles and a pair of homers, while scoring four runs and cashing six RBI. He accumulated 0.7 fWAR in the final three days of the month alone, bringing his monthly total to 1.3 and allowing him to sneak ahead of our first honourable mention to lead the team in the statistic.

While the numbers over those flashy final three games heavily skew his monthly numbers in a big way, Clement has been a very productive Blue Jay this season, and his honourable mention is well earned.

3. Addison Barger - .292/.370/.517, 4 HR, 10 BB, 22 K, 149 wRC+, 1.2 fWAR
One of the most positive developments to come out of this month is the force with which Addison Barger has burst onto the scene. After starting the season in Triple A, it wasn’t until halfway through April that Barger earned the call to the bigs, and in 39 plate appearances across his first 14 games, he failed to produce. Despite an average exit velocity of 93 mph, Barger hit just .139 without a home run. 

Recognizing the impressive underlying numbers, and out of pure need considering the injury to Andrés Giménez, John Schneider continued to give Barger regular opportunities, and in May, it paid off in a massive way.

It’s never been much of a secret that Barger hits the ball really hard. On the season, he’s got an average exit velocity of 95.2 mph, the fourth highest mark in baseball, behind Aaron Judge and ahead of Matt Olson. In May, Barger finally found an extended stretch of good results. He's earned the chance to play just about every day, typically finds himself in the middle of the lineup (especially against right-handed pitching), and has continued to produce results.

Amid all of the pulverized baseballs on the offensive side of the ball, it’s easy to miss that the defensive metrics (which we always take with a grain of salt) like Barger at third base. He seems to have above-average range, and his arm is so strong and accurate that as soon as he gets it in his glove, it’s safe to assume an out.

Barger’s May gave Blue Jays fans lots to dream on when it comes to the outlook of this offence moving forward. If he has truly unlocked something, the Jays may have finally found that power bat they’ve been so desperately missing.

2. Alejandro Kirk - .365/.430/.419, 1 HR, 10 BB, 4 K, 146 wRC+, 1.1 fWAR
The way he does it isn’t sexy, but Alejandro Kirk is a premier catcher.

His 1.1 fWAR was tied for fifth amongst catchers in May, and while his single home run in the month doesn’t hold a candle to Cal Raleigh, who hit 11, his .430 on base equalled Raleigh for the second best mark among catchers with at least 80 plate appearances. He also ranks among the best defensive catchers in baseball in just about every metric, from blocking, to framing, to throwing.

In 2025, Kirk is hitting line drives at a career-best 29.3% rate and, just as importantly, is hitting groundballs just 40.8% of the time, his lowest rate since his rookie campaign in 2021, where he only appeared in 60 games. 

He doesn’t get quite the same top exit velocities as Barger, or the next guy on this list, but his average exit velocity of 92.2 mph puts him in the 87th percentile across MLB, and he hits it hard nearly 54% of the time, perfectly maximizing his line drive approach. 

The final impressive statistic I want to highlight concerning Kirky is his anomalistic walk-to-strikeout ratio of 2.50 in the month of May. This means he walked 2.5 times for every strikeout he took. The only player with at least 80 plate appearances last month within a full point of that was Luis Arraez at 1.67. This speaks for itself to highlight just how consistently Kirk put together quality at-bats.

Another month similar to the one he just had, and Kirk should find himself as one of the Blue Jays’ representatives at the All-Star Game in Atlanta this July (likely backing up Raleigh of the Mariners).

1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - .291/.413/.456, 5 HR, 21 BB, 16 K, 149 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR
I’d have a hard time picking a player on the roster that’s more important to the Blue Jays' overall success than Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and in a month where the team went 16-12, no Blue Jay hitter put together a more complete month.

Hear me out a little bit here, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is what I imagine you’d get if you combined the offensive profiles of Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk. It’s common knowledge that his exit velocity numbers stack up next to anybody in baseball, but it’s the fact that he puts it together with an elite approach that sees him walk nearly as much as he strikes out, and the fact that he can get to and do damage on just about any pitch you offer him that makes him an elite offensive player instead of just a good one.

Another part of his game that sets Vladdy apart from some of the league's other great hitters is that he doesn’t need his home run stroke to produce. He hit just five in May, but he reached base in all 28 games the Jays played in the month, leading to a team-best .413 OBP.

This was not the most dominant month we’ve seen from Vladdy, but he’s the heart and soul of the team, the face of the franchise, and he played like it.

Who else but the $500 million man to top the list for Hitter of the Month in May?

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[Terminator]

You know your team is stacked when this statline is only good enough for an Honorable Mention:

Bo Bichette - .281/.325.513, 7 HR, 11 BB, 23 K, 137 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR

[Simon Li]

Just now, Terminator said:

You know your team is stacked when this statline is only good enough for an Honorable Mention:

Bo Bichette - .281/.325.513, 7 HR, 11 BB, 23 K, 137 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR

The month of May has been a great one for the Jays, if we can get Gimenez and Santander's bats going that would be even better.

[Spanky__99]

5 hours ago, Terminator said:

You know your team is stacked when this statline is only good enough for an Honorable Mention:

Bo Bichette - .281/.325.513, 7 HR, 11 BB, 23 K, 137 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR

I legit love the Terminator, lol.

[Spanky__99]

5 hours ago, Simon Li said:

The month of May has been a great one for the Jays, if we can get Gimenez and Santander's bats going that would be even better.

Legit, if we continue to get a reasonable number from the supporting cast, we have better days ahead.

[Spanky__99]

Nice one Mr. Hill... I enjoy the cut of your jib, sir.

 

[Spanky__99]

5 hours ago, Simon Li said:

The month of May has been a great one for the Jays, if we can get Gimenez and Santander's bats going that would be even better.

Simon, you're sackydude on twitter right? I mean the reasonable BJ fan's voice, lol. Well done buddy.

 

[Simon Li]

3 minutes ago, Spanky__99 said:

Simon, you're sackydude on twitter right? I mean the reasonable BJ fan's voice, lol. Well done buddy.

 

That is me!