Myles Straw Is Hitting for Damage in a Way He Never Has Before

The Blue Jays' lack of power has been a serious issue this year. Pick your favourite stat: home runs, ISO, average exit velocity, or hard-hit rate. The Blue Jays rank in the bottom third in the league in all of them, and that's part of the reason why they find themselves below .500 early in the season.

Take a quick look at the wRC+ leaderboard for the team, and here’s what you’ll see:

1. Myles Straw - 137
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 132
3. Kazuma Okamoto - 130
4. Daulton Varsho - 98
5. Ernie Clement - 93

What's more surprising: that the Blue Jays have only three hitters with a wRC+ over 100? Or that Myles Straw is one of them?

While the answer to that is likely the former, it’s absolutely a surprise that Straw has been hitting the ball so well. His reputation is that of an elite defensive outfielder, a threat on the bases, and a good quality guy in the clubhouse.

The bat, however, has always been an issue. Since 2020, he’s never had a wRC+ above 100, and he’s never hit more than four home runs in a season. It got to the point that the Cleveland Guardians had him play in the minors for most of 2024. Even with that elite speed and defence.

Fast forward to 2026, and Straw has looked like a completely different hitter. The results speak for themselves, but the real story is how he's achieving them. Straw is swinging harder and, more importantly, pulling the ball in the air at a rate like never before. That's how you hit rockets into the upper deck.

While Straw may never be a true impact power hitter, he’s been able to get the most out of his swings so far:

via Baseball Savant

The first change is how hard he’s been swinging.

His average bat speed still isn’t elite, but he’s taking more aggressive swings when he gets pitches he can drive. His fast swing rate now sits at 14.5%, a significant jump from previous seasons. In general, swings over 75 mph produce a .389 wOBA compared to just .266 on slower swings. Straw may not consistently generate elite bat speed, but he’s been more willing to let it rip in key situations this season.

Swinging harder alone doesn’t explain the turnaround. Straw also recognized that too many of his balls in play were drifting harmlessly to the opposite field. On a recent episode of Sportsnet's At The Letters, Arden Zwelling mentioned (minute 37) he spoke to Straw after Saturday’s game against the Twins, and Straw mentioned, “For like six years there, I just kept flying to right, and I decided I didn't want to do that anymore.”

So far in 2026, the adjustment is showing up. Straw’s pull rate is the highest of his career, and with it has come a significant jump in production:

As the pull rate has climbed, so has the production. Straw’s wOBA is now at its highest mark since his brief nine-at-bat debut in 2018.

Damage typically doesn’t come from hard groundballs; it comes from balls hit in the air to the pull side. 32.1% of Straw's batted balls have been this batted ball type in 2026, a mark that not only leads the Blue Jays but also puts him in the top 15 in all of baseball (min. 50 PA). For reference, from 2022-2024, 66% of home runs across baseball were the result of pulled air balls, and pulled air balls result in a .733 wOBA, compared to a .353 on air balls that are not hit to the pull side.

Typically, hitters who sell out for more power do so at the expense of contact, trading more aggressive swings for higher swing-and-miss totals. What makes Straw's changes even more impressive is that he hasn’t sacrificed contact to make them. His overall contact rate (90.4%) and zone contact rate (94.1%) are both career highs.

*Straw only had 4 MLB ABs in the 2024 season

As these changes have taken effect, pitchers have responded by throwing Straw fewer strikes, a sign that the opposing teams are adjusting to the new version of him. In response, Straw has become more selective rather than expanding the zone. It’s no coincidence he's walked as often as he's struck out this season.

More damage on contact, without giving up the ability to put the ball in play, is exactly what the Blue Jays want to see from their hitters. 

There’s also evidence these changes didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere this season. Straw’s increased pull tendency actually began late in 2025, marking the first sustained stretch of his career in which he consistently looked to do damage to the pull side.

The same is true of his swing aggression. Through the end of July last season, Straw’s fast swing rate sat below 1%. Over the second half and into the playoffs, the number climbed to 7.2%, suggesting the change had already begun before 2026.

The obvious question is whether or not this level of production is sustainable. Some regression is likely, particularly for a hitter without a long track record of power production. Pitchers will continue adjusting, and Straw will have to prove he can counter those adjustments over a large sample.

Still, the underlying changes appear meaningful. He’s swinging harder in key situations, pulling the ball in the air more consistently, and doing it all without sacrificing elite contact ability. The Blue Jays don’t need Straw to be a middle-of-the-order bat, but if the adjustments allow him to remain even a league-average hitter while providing elite outfield defence and speed, that would represent a massive development for Toronto’s lineup, at a time it’s desperately needed.