Toronto Blue Jays Week in Review: Another Mixed Bag

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/28 through Sun, 5/4
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Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 16-18)
Run Differential Last Week: -6 (Overall: -33)
Standings: Fourth Place in AL East (3.0 GB), 11th in AL (2.5 GB of Third Wild Card)

Last Week’s Results
Game 29: TOR 2 - BOS 10
Francis: 3.0 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (5 HRs!)
Vladdy - 3rd HR
Varsho - Ridiculous catch

Game 30: TOR 7 - BOS 6 (10 innings)
Lauer: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (Yariel Rodríguez pitched one inning as opener)
HRs from Varsho, Kirk and Santander. Comeback from 6-0.
Hoffman - Career K #500, two perfect innings

Game 31: TOR 4 - BOS 2
Berríos: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Varsho: HR
Vladdy: 3-run HR

Game 32: TOR 5 - CLE 3
Bassitt: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Springer: HR, 2 BB
Kirk: 3-for-4, 2 RBI

Game 33: TOR 3 - CLE 5
Gausman: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Bichette - First dinger of the season

Game 34: TOR 4 - CLE 5
Francis: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Giménez: 2-for-4 with a run and 2 RBI

Highlights
Daulton Varsho came off the IL in a big way this week. He only had three hits over five games (14 ABs), but two of them left the yard. On a team struggling for power, he’s now tied for fifth in homers with about 100 fewer at-bats than the guys around him. Weeks from now, it’s not the power we’re going to remember, though. It’s not even this catch against Boston. It’s this one:

The thumbnail on the video says, “Is this the best catch ever?!” Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star called it “the greatest thing he’s ever seen on a baseball field.” Statcast rates the ball as having 95% catchability, but that doesn’t take into account the mid-stride tumble, somersault and recovery. Pure highlight.

Nathan Lukes only had eight at-bats this week, but he made the most of them. Batting ninth against Boston in the final game of that series, he had a pair of hits and, importantly, reached base in front of Bo and Vladdy, who turned the tide in that game. He also had a timely hit against the Guardians the next night and drove in the winning run against Cleveland. A 271 wRC+ on the week is nothing to complain about.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had the kind of week we’re all hoping to see more of. First, he was named Hitter of the Month. Then he came through with two home runs and six RBI (both team highs on the week) with some defensive highlights mixed in. 

Kevin Gausman pitched a gem against the Guardians on Minecraft Day at the Dome. Six innings of one-hit ball against Cleveland with nine strikeouts and a solitary walk is the kind of performance we love to see from Gausman. He was in line for the win that day, but…

Lowlights
Yimi García had a nightmare of a performance on Saturday. Fresh on the heels of finishing third in our Pitcher of the Month rankings, he dug himself into an early hole for the May rankings. He’s been fantastic this season, but when you give up your first, second, third and fourth runs on the season on a single swing of the bat, you’re going to find yourself in the lowlights section. 

Bowden Francis didn’t have his best week either. His 4.1 IP against Cleveland weren’t great, but were a marked improvement from his start in Boston at the beginning of the week. Giving up five home runs in three innings of work and forcing the ‘pen to come in early is always tough. It doesn’t seem like he was tipping pitches, and if he was, Cleveland didn’t get the memo for his next start, so hopefully this was a one-off and we don’t see Francis back here again. We can’t say Leo Morgenstern didn’t warn us, though.

News, Notes and Not Playing

• Toronto reached agreements with free agent pitchers Spencer Turnbull and José Ureña. Turnbull has been optioned to the FCL Blue Jays to start ramping up.
• Will Wagner was (surprisingly?) sent down to Buffalo.

Day-to-day: Daulton Varsho

• Varsho’s impact was felt right away, as he came off the 10-day IL and had a big week for the team, but he was a late scratch ahead of Sunday’s game. I expect he will be good to go for the upcoming series, but with a pair of lefty starters on the horizon, he may get an extra maintenance day or two.

15-day IL: Nick Sandlin

60-day IL: Max Scherzer, Erik Swanson

• Scherzer threw a “heavy bullpen” session this week, and his recovery from that will determine the next move in his return to the roster.
• Swanson met with another doctor for a second opinion on his forearm, but there are no signs of structural damage.
• Both Scherzer and Swanson were shifted to the 60-day as corresponding moves for the Turnbull and Ureña signings.

Trending Storyline
Power and Runs: This feels like it’ll be trending all season. The Texas Rangers just fired their offensive coordinator, as their club sits last in the AL in runs (113), 27th in the league in OPS (.644) and 19th in homers (31). The Jays, by comparison, are third-worst in the AL in runs (120), 24th in MLB in OPS (.661) and dead last in homers (23). The Jays hit eight home runs this week, and they all came from the names we expect to see doing damage, so maybe the calendar flipping over to May is all they need to buck the trend.

Looking Ahead
Toronto is back on the road, starting with a series in Los Angeles taking on the Angels and then heading up to Seattle to battle the Mariners. Former Jay, Yusei Kikuchi, is the expected starter on Wednesday and is still looking for his first win of the season.