Looking at the 3 needed changes for the Blue Jays to repeat their success from last season
The only consolation now is the fact the season is just over two months old, meaning there’s time left for the Blue Jays to course-correct. If they can change their fortune in these three aspects, they’ll have a chance to get back to where they were last year.
Find power in the lineup
At the 60 games mark last season, the Blue Jays had a .395 slugging percentage and 60 home runs, ranking 12th and 19th respectively. Fast forward to June 2nd, 2026, they have a .380 slugging percentage (t-21st) and 56 home runs, tied for 20th.
Another culprit for the Blue Jays’ lethargic offence is their inability to get on base. The Blue Jays currently rank 25th in OBP and OPS, indicating a deadly combination: a power outage and a dearth of runners on base. They have also only scored 244 runs, which ranks 22nd.
The Blue Jays rank ninth in hits, but those results aren’t translating on the field for a multitude of reasons. With runners in scoring position, the Blue Jays are hitting .236, but have the third-lowest wRC+ with RISP. Their quality of contact is well down as well.
Last season, the Blue Jays finished first in OBP, third in OPS and fourth in runs. If the 2026 Blue Jays hope to replicate that level of success, then they need more players to step up in the power department and make more meaningful contact to drive runners in.
Staying patient
The 2025 Blue Jays were known as the relentless bunch because their lineup remained patient at the plate. That is no longer the case for the Blue Jays, as they rank 26th in walk rate. The only teams behind them are the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants; it’s a troublesome company to be associated with.
Showing discipline in the batter’s box helps hitters to get into more favourable counts, and it increases the probability of getting on base. Being patient is also directly related to putting more players in scoring positions.
The 2026 Blue Jays aren’t striking out, but they are also walking less compared to last season. What this means is that the Blue Jays are making more contact early and aren’t necessarily waiting to see more pitches. It’s not the ideal pairing because the Blue Jays are ninth in hitting into double plays, which entirely erases their offensive momentum.
Their underlying numbers back it up as well. Last season, the Blue Jays were aggressive, chasing 29.3% of the time, but they did a good job of fouling off pitches and eventually earning walks. They’ve been even more aggressive this season (34.1 chase percentage), and they do a good job of making contact, but the foul balls of yesteryear have turned into soft contact outs so far this season.
While the 2025 Jays grounded into the most double plays, they drew more than enough walks to avoid that being an issue. That isn’t the case this season.
The Blue Jays’ true turnaround won’t start until their lineup can become more disciplined as a whole. Teams like the Phillies can get away with not walking much because they are capable of hitting more home runs. The 2026 Blue Jays don’t have that kind of luxury; they aren’t designed to become the house of home runs. Patience should become more than just a virtue for a team that needs to grind it out with tenacity.
Identify ways to get more quality starts
The Blue Jays’ pitching has been quite remarkable for all that it’s gone through with heaps of injuries. Kevin Gausman has been the bona fide ace, despite a few shaky outings, and Dylan Cease worked wonders in most of his starts with eye-popping strikeouts until he went on the 15-day injured list in late May. Even with those contributions, the team only ranks 24th in quality starts this year.
As good as their starters have been, 10th in ERA eighth in FIP, their starters have thrown just 278 innings, the fourth-fewest in the big leagues this season. A big reason for that is once again injuries. José Berríos, Shane Bieber, and Trey Yesavage began the season on the IL, and Cody Ponce joined them shortly after.