How Kazuma Okamoto’s power alters the Blue Jays’ lineup, and other notes
The Toronto Blue Jays have a various lineup. At their greatest, Ernie Clement and Nathan Lukes present relentless contact. Addison Barger and Daulton Varsho can slug homers.
But it wasn’t precisely clear which bucket Kazuma Okamoto fell into when the Jays signed him to a four-year, $60 million deal this winter.
He hit .322 in his remaining season in Japan, and Jays coaches praised the third baseman’s contact throughout spring coaching. But he additionally posted six consecutive seasons with 30-plus homers in Nippon Professional Baseball. Now, amid his hottest stretch since becoming a member of the Jays, it is clear Okamoto is usually a power supplier. His potential homer could have an effect on the remainder of Toronto’s lineup.
“If he can continue to do what he’s doing and progress a little bit,” supervisor John Schneider stated after a sport final week, “that’s kind of what we’re hoping for. He continues to make strides and kind of has a knack for driving in some runs.”
The third baseman bashed 4 homers in a four-game collection break up towards the Minnesota Twins this weekend, and has six dingers in his final 10 contests. On high of the apparent (scoring runs), Okamoto’s massive power might assist insulate the center of Toronto’s lineup.
Last yr, the Jays had Bo Bichette hitting behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for many of the season and, after he returned from harm, in Game 7 of the World Series. Bichette backstopped Guerrero with common contact and elite manufacturing with runners in scoring place, spraying balls round the outfield. The Jays have not had a constant cleanup hitter this yr, rotating by means of guys like Jesús Sánchez, Barger and Okamoto.
Without a constant risk behind the high slugger, Guerrero has seen fewer pitches in the coronary heart of the zone (21.5 %) than at any level in his big-league profession. Opposing pitchers are losing extra pitches (11.2 %) towards the first baseman. It’s actually a part of why Guerrero has introduced extra on base (.421 OBP), than power (two homers) this season.
Through 32 big-league video games, Okamoto is on tempo for practically 40 homers. Expecting him to proceed that tempo is an enormous ask. But if he does, the third baseman could discover a house behind Guerrero.
Opposing pitchers are all the time going to watch out with Toronto’s first baseman. Guerrero is the identify they circle in pre-series scouting conferences. But it will be a lot tougher for pitchers to nibble towards Guerrero if a 40-homer risk waits behind him. That’s the form of power the Jays have not had defending him since Teoscar Hernández was traded after 2022. Perhaps not coincidentally, that is the final time Guerrero hit greater than 30 homers.
Why was Tyler Heineman faraway from Sunday’s sport?
With the bases loaded in Sunday’s sixth inning, Tyler Heineman swung at the first pitch he noticed. It was arguably a pinch-hit spot for Toronto, with an opportunity to chip away at Minnesota’s lead. But Schneider trusted the 34-year-old catcher and despatched out Heineman. The backstop despatched a lazy fly ball to left subject, ending the inning and run-scoring alternative. After the first-pitch chase, Heineman was changed at catcher by rookie Brandon Valenzuela the following half-inning.
Heineman was not harm. The transfer was a “manager’s decision,” Schneider informed reporters in Minnesota after the sport. Heineman told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi it was “just situation and everything that’s been going on,” alluding to his poor play recently.
“That at-bat was pretty trash,” the catcher told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson. “I popped up on a pitch I should have driven. I’ve been pretty crappy the past 10 games or so. He probably saw something he shouldn’t have seen or that I did wrong. He made a decision.”
Heineman, who stated he supported the supervisor’s alternative, is hitting simply .176 after a breakout yr in 2025. He entered Sunday’s contest with two hits in his final eight video games. Before a sport final week, Schneider particularly recounted a dialogue with Heineman about swinging at higher pitches whereas speaking about the staff’s offensive technique.
“It’s what you are actually swinging at,” Schneider stated final week. “We know that a lot of these guys make contact. OK, so are you just making contact? Or are you making quality contact? Are you in a hurry to make contact?”
Sunday’s sixth-inning at-bat would not seem like an amazing instance of that slim method, although, according to DavidiSchneider declined to elaborate on precisely why Heineman was eliminated.
While Alejandro Kirk (thumb) might return in some unspecified time in the future in May, he is nonetheless weeks away. Toronto’s catching tandem of Heineman and Valenzuela — thrust into larger-than-expected roles — hasn’t introduced a lot manufacturing in Kirk’s absence. But with not a lot depth behind them, the pair stay the membership’s greatest choices at catcher earlier than the All-Star starter returns. When Kirk comes again, Toronto’s catching can grow to be elite once more.
George Springer dings toe once more
George Springer rolled on the floor in the early innings of Saturday’s win over the Twins. The designated hitter, who returned from the injured listing on April 29, took a pitch off the similar injured foot that despatched him to the IL weeks in the past.
More X-rays on Springer’s fractured massive toe confirmed no extra injury, Schneider told reporters, including Davidi, in Minnesota. The veteran DH was doubtless going to get Sunday’s collection finale off anyway, however he was not in the lineup and didn’t pinch hit regardless of a number of alternatives for a bench at-bat.
Springer’s toe shouldn’t be absolutely wholesome, and the Jays are OK with that. They knew the 36-year-old must play by means of ache after coming off the injured listing, as he has many instances earlier than. Saturday’s rogue pitch actually did not assist his toe. Even if Springer would not want to return on the IL, we’ll see simply how efficient he will be along with his battered foot.
When he is proper, Springer units the tone for the Jays. In 12 at-bats since his return from the IL, the 36-year-old notched 4 hits. He earned MVP votes final yr, with a resurgent season, and it is much more necessary with Barger and Kirk on the shelf, too. In video games that Springer drives in a run this yr, the Jays are 5-2.
