<p>Now that we&#8217;re at the halfway point in the 2024 season, it&#8217;s time to do some reflecting and assign some letter grades to each player on the Toronto Blue Jays. As a team, they finished the first half at 44-52, 14 games back in the American League East and 9.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot.</p>
<p>On a whim, you&#8217;d anticipate a lot of really poor letter grades for this team. However, upon writing this article, the infielders feature a couple of guys who have been key contributors to the small amount of success Toronto has had this season. Let&#8217;s take a look at the report cards for the infielders.</p>
<p></p>
<p><em>*Will not include players who have been released or have played fewer than 10 games. Stats are as of 10:00 PM ET on July 14th.</em></p>
<h2>Vladimir Guerrero Jr.</h2>
<p><strong>Grade: B+</strong></p>
<p>We&#8217;re leading off with probably the toughest grade amongst this group, in my opinion. Guerrero Jr. has had a progressive season, if you will, starting the season poorly with a .678 OPS in March/April. He transitioned to a singles specialist in May as only 7 of his 35 hits in that month were for extra bases, but then found his stride in the power department in June with an OPS of .962. He earned himself American League Player of the Week honours for the week of June 24th when he slashed a ridiculous .500/.519/1.154 with a 1.672 OPS, four homers, 17 RBIs, and five doubles. On top of those stats, he was hitting the ball in the air, and it was simply awesome to see.</p>
<p>Defensively, Guerrero Jr. leads all first basemen with 9 errors, and he also ranks 38th among MLB first basemen in Outs Above Average with -7. To his credit, he has had to play three games at third base, and he&#8217;s been errorless in those 27 innings.</p>
<p>If you asked me by the end of June, I would&#8217;ve said Guerrero Jr. had made his way into A- territory, and you could probably still convince me that he should have that grade for the first half. Some of his numbers are a lot closer to 2021 and 2022 than they were last year, but he still possesses a 51% ground ball percentage that leaves a lot to be desired. Furthermore, these grades are on the <em>totality </em>of the first half, and his March/April carried some bad weight, and prior to his home run on Sunday, his July hadn&#8217;t been much to write home about.</p>
<p>The grade is certainly not a slight to Vladdy, but we&#8217;ve seen his ceiling, and it&#8217;s higher than this. We know he can be even better, and I&#8217;m sure he does too. Show me some more of those June numbers and not only will he find himself with an A on his test sooner rather than later, but he may also earn himself that much-discussed long-term contract with the Blue Jays.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (459 feet)</p>
<p>4th longest Home Run of his career<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TOTHECURE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TOTHECURE</a> <a href="https://t.co/yAtCtJnVGF">pic.twitter.com/yAtCtJnVGF</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNstats/status/1778164347543404797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h2>Justin Turner</h2>
<p><strong>Grade: C</strong></p>
<p>Turner was Toronto&#8217;s sole acquisition in the power department this offseason, but he&#8217;s been out-homered by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, so take that for what you will. At age 39, Turner had a career season in &#8217;23 with the Red Sox, slugging a career-high 96 RBIs and owning a .900 OPS against lefties. Although not the complete solution to Toronto&#8217;s problems, the Blue Jays were hoping Turner still had that level of production in him, as well as be a positive influence on the rest of the lineup.</p>
<p>Thus far, it&#8217;s been a pretty mediocre 2024 for Turner, and his month-by-month production has been a seesaw. His March/April and June featured OPSs of .887 and .914, respectively, as well as a combined 13 doubles and 21 RBIs. Those months have been evened out by an extremely underwhelming May and July in which Turner has registered OPSs south of .350, ten hits, and eight RBIs between those two months, albeit a smaller sample size in July.</p>
<p>Add all of it together, and Turner has accumulated a .231/.335/.345 slash line with a .680 OPS, 5 homers, 29 RBIs, and 15 doubles. Given his contract status and the trajectory of Toronto&#8217;s season, it looks like Turner may be sold at the trade deadline to a contender needing a bat that could, at the very least, provide some postseason experience and hit lefties well. Turner can still give you that, but he hasn&#8217;t done enough to change the complexity of Toronto&#8217;s offence this season.</p>
<h2>Bo Bichette</h2>
<p><strong>Grade: D</strong></p>
<p>Oof. Who saw this one coming?</p>
<p>After a great 2023, Bichette has taken a massive step back this season, slashing a measly .222/.275/.321 with a .596 OPS, four homers, 30 RBIs, and 16 doubles. At that pace, each of those numbers would be far and away the lowest figures of his career, and it&#8217;s not coming at a good time given he <em>may </em>be sold at the trade deadline, as well as his approaching free agency after the &#8217;25 season. The team has tried him in six different batting order positions with his best numbers coming in the 4th, 5th, and 6th spots.</p>
<p>In Bo&#8217;s defence, though, some of his underlying numbers are still commendable. For instance, with runners in scoring position, he&#8217;s hitting .328/.392/.422 with an .814 OPS &#8211; that&#8217;ll work. Funny enough, almost a third of Bichette&#8217;s hits are with RISP. He hits better when the pressure rises.</p>
<p>This season would figure to be an outlier for Bichette, but the Blue Jays are hoping that he can hit himself out of this slump much like he did in September of 2022 when he had one of the greatest months at the plate in franchise history. Even then, Bo entered that month with a .260 batting average and a .725 OPS, nowhere near where he&#8217;s at right now.</p>
<p>He&#8217;s been fighting a calf injury through a small portion of this first half, spending 10 days on the IL in late June as well as missing the last several games of the first half for the same reason. Here&#8217;s to hoping Bichette can turn it around and rewrite the script for his season.</p>
<h2>Isiah Kiner-Falefa</h2>
<p><strong>Grade: A</strong></p>
<p>One of the most scrutinized signings of the offseason &#8211; by Blue Jays fans and throughout the league &#8211; has made everyone walk those words back. You pick the stat and Kiner-Falefa probably has a career-best number for that category, and that has also put him in a position to lead the team in some categories as well. In his seventh big league season, IKF is slashing .292/.338/.420 with a .758 OPS, 7 home runs, 33 RBIs, and 8 doubles. He also led the team in bWAR at 3.1 literally up until Sunday before Daulton Varsho took that crown from him, and he&#8217;s second on the team in OPS+ at 115.</p>
<p>The most impressive part of Kiner-Falefa&#8217;s season has been his power numbers. I had mentioned how many of his stats are both career-bests, but his slugging percentage for this year blows every other year away. In fact, he currently sits at fifth on the team in home runs ahead of Turner, Bichette, and Danny Jansen. It also certainly doesn&#8217;t hurt that Kiner-Falefa has played anywhere he is needed; he&#8217;s played at third, shortstop, second, centre field, and he&#8217;s even pitched a few innings.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Kiner-Falefa suffered a left knee sprain while stretching prior to Toronto&#8217;s Canada Day matchup against Houston. He had initially overstated the injury, but he will still need far more time than the 10 days that the Injured List designation suggests. Not only is this unfortunate for IKF and the overall success of the team, but he was also working his way into potential trade chip conversations. Nonetheless, Kiner-Falefa has surpassed anyone&#8217;s expectations with the Blue Jays, and his grade is well-deserved.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had his 1st career 5-RBI performance today, carried a 76 wRC+ on May 21.</p>
<p>It&#39;s now up to 106 following the OAK series. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://t.co/2kW1jHZHu3">pic.twitter.com/2kW1jHZHu3</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hall_Thomas_/status/1799934714855473340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h2>Spencer Horwitz</h2>
<p><strong>Grade: A</strong></p>
<p>Speaking of well-deserved grades, Horwitz is right there as well. After possessing an OPS of .970 through 57 games in Buffalo this season, Horwitz earned his way back to the major league roster. The transaction caused a lot of clamor as it came at the expense of DFA&#8217;ing Cavan Biggio, but this move has clearly paid off for the Blue Jays.</p>
<p>Through 32 games in Toronto, Horwitz is slashing .324/.421/.490 with a .911 OPS, four home runs, eleven RBIs, and five doubles. He&#8217;s earned a lot of praise for his plate discipline; his strikeout percentage of 14.1% is almost half of where that number was last year during his stint in the majors, and he&#8217;s also increased his walk percentage some since last year as well. Horwitz has earned every day playing time, but the Jays have been careful when it comes to facing left-handed pitching. The more opportunities he gets, however, the more he&#8217;s giving the Blue Jays some reassurance, going 4-for-13 with only one strikeout and three RBIs in those opportunities.</p>
<p>Another tip of the cap for Horwitz goes to his defensive flexibility. First base had been occupied by Guerrero Jr., Turner, and Daniel Vogelbach, so Horwitz started getting reps at second base during his final days in Buffalo. There have been some learning curves for him as some plays have been more challenging than others, but to this point, Horwitz has not committed errors while at second.</p>
<h2>Ernie Clement</h2>
<p><strong>Grade: B+</strong></p>
<p>Toronto had a surplus of utilitymen/infielders entering Spring Training, and although it didn&#8217;t make too many headlines, there were some jobs that needed to be won throughout the month of March. Well, Clement won his spot with a dominant spring, posting a 1.026 OPS with three homers and eight RBIs in 17 games. Some could argue that Santiago Espinal&#8217;s trade to Cincinnati was the high sign to Clement that he had made the team, and it&#8217;s been a worthwhile venture for the Blue Jays, even if he&#8217;s not someone Toronto expected to be heavily counting on.</p>
<p>Especially once Kiner-Falefa got hurt, Clement was thrust into near-everyday playing time, and he ended the first half being the everyday third baseman. Through 74 games, Clement is slashing .268/.284/.437 with a .721 OPS, six home runs, 23 RBIs, and 12 doubles. 74 games already marks the most that Clement has played in one season in the majors, and that is also reflected in several of his stats being career-bests. His seven errors on the season are tied for second on the team, but his plate discipline (7.5% strikeout rate) coupled with his ability to jump on a fastball (.319 BA, .553 SLG) make him a worthy bat to put in the lineup.</p>
<h2>Addison Barger</h2>
<p><strong>Grade: C</strong></p>
<p>Consider this a default and &#8220;in the middle&#8221; grade given that Barger has only played in 20 games this season in two different stints. While I&#8217;ll still provide feedback, I don&#8217;t think I have enough to give him a reasonable letter grade just yet.</p>
<p>Barger had stints of five and fifteen games with the Blue Jays in the first half. After getting only one hit in those first five games, Barger impressed to begin his second campaign with Toronto. In his first six games after his second promotion, Barger hit .350/.381/.400 with a .781 OPS, a double, a walk, and three RBIs. He would only accumulate one more hit between then and his eventual demotion on July 6th, bringing his first-half slash line to .150/.177/.183.</p>
<p>Defensively, Barger played at third base, left field, and right field, committing a total of four errors between those positions. However, his arm strength ranked in the 99th percentile per <em>Baseball Savant</em>, turning a few heads in the process. Again, it&#8217;s a small sample size, and I&#8217;d anticipate we&#8217;ll get a better look at Barger during the second half of the season.</p>

Now that we're at the halfway point in the 2024 season, it's time to do some reflecting and assign some letter grades to each player on the Toronto Blue Jays. As a team, they finished the first half at 44-52, 14 games back in the American League East and 9.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot.

On a whim, you'd anticipate a lot of really poor letter grades for this team. However, upon writing this article, the infielders feature a couple of guys who have been key contributors to the small amount of success Toronto has had this season. Let's take a look at the report cards for the infielders.



<em>*Will not include players who have been released or have played fewer than 10 games. Stats are as of 10:00 PM ET on July 14th.</em>
<h2>Vladimir Guerrero Jr.</h2>
<strong>Grade: B+</strong>

We're leading off with probably the toughest grade amongst this group, in my opinion. Guerrero Jr. has had a progressive season, if you will, starting the season poorly with a .678 OPS in March/April. He transitioned to a singles specialist in May as only 7 of his 35 hits in that month were for extra bases, but then found his stride in the power department in June with an OPS of .962. He earned himself American League Player of the Week honours for the week of June 24th when he slashed a ridiculous .500/.519/1.154 with a 1.672 OPS, four homers, 17 RBIs, and five doubles. On top of those stats, he was hitting the ball in the air, and it was simply awesome to see.

Defensively, Guerrero Jr. leads all first basemen with 9 errors, and he also ranks 38th among MLB first basemen in Outs Above Average with -7. To his credit, he has had to play three games at third base, and he's been errorless in those 27 innings.

If you asked me by the end of June, I would've said Guerrero Jr. had made his way into A- territory, and you could probably still convince me that he should have that grade for the first half. Some of his numbers are a lot closer to 2021 and 2022 than they were last year, but he still possesses a 51% ground ball percentage that leaves a lot to be desired. Furthermore, these grades are on the <em>totality </em>of the first half, and his March/April carried some bad weight, and prior to his home run on Sunday, his July hadn't been much to write home about.

The grade is certainly not a slight to Vladdy, but we've seen his ceiling, and it's higher than this. We know he can be even better, and I'm sure he does too. Show me some more of those June numbers and not only will he find himself with an A on his test sooner rather than later, but he may also earn himself that much-discussed long-term contract with the Blue Jays.

https://twitter.com/SNstats/status/1778164347543404797
<h2>Justin Turner</h2>
<strong>Grade: C</strong>

Turner was Toronto's sole acquisition in the power department this offseason, but he's been out-homered by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, so take that for what you will. At age 39, Turner had a career season in '23 with the Red Sox, slugging a career-high 96 RBIs and owning a .900 OPS against lefties. Although not the complete solution to Toronto's problems, the Blue Jays were hoping Turner still had that level of production in him, as well as be a positive influence on the rest of the lineup.

Thus far, it's been a pretty mediocre 2024 for Turner, and his month-by-month production has been a seesaw. His March/April and June featured OPSs of .887 and .914, respectively, as well as a combined 13 doubles and 21 RBIs. Those months have been evened out by an extremely underwhelming May and July in which Turner has registered OPSs south of .350, ten hits, and eight RBIs between those two months, albeit a smaller sample size in July.

Add all of it together, and Turner has accumulated a .231/.335/.345 slash line with a .680 OPS, 5 homers, 29 RBIs, and 15 doubles. Given his contract status and the trajectory of Toronto's season, it looks like Turner may be sold at the trade deadline to a contender needing a bat that could, at the very least, provide some postseason experience and hit lefties well. Turner can still give you that, but he hasn't done enough to change the complexity of Toronto's offence this season.
<h2>Bo Bichette</h2>
<strong>Grade: D</strong>

Oof. Who saw this one coming?

After a great 2023, Bichette has taken a massive step back this season, slashing a measly .222/.275/.321 with a .596 OPS, four homers, 30 RBIs, and 16 doubles. At that pace, each of those numbers would be far and away the lowest figures of his career, and it's not coming at a good time given he <em>may </em>be sold at the trade deadline, as well as his approaching free agency after the '25 season. The team has tried him in six different batting order positions with his best numbers coming in the 4th, 5th, and 6th spots.

In Bo's defence, though, some of his underlying numbers are still commendable. For instance, with runners in scoring position, he's hitting .328/.392/.422 with an .814 OPS - that'll work. Funny enough, almost a third of Bichette's hits are with RISP. He hits better when the pressure rises.

This season would figure to be an outlier for Bichette, but the Blue Jays are hoping that he can hit himself out of this slump much like he did in September of 2022 when he had one of the greatest months at the plate in franchise history. Even then, Bo entered that month with a .260 batting average and a .725 OPS, nowhere near where he's at right now.

He's been fighting a calf injury through a small portion of this first half, spending 10 days on the IL in late June as well as missing the last several games of the first half for the same reason. Here's to hoping Bichette can turn it around and rewrite the script for his season.
<h2>Isiah Kiner-Falefa</h2>
<strong>Grade: A</strong>

One of the most scrutinized signings of the offseason - by Blue Jays fans and throughout the league - has made everyone walk those words back. You pick the stat and Kiner-Falefa probably has a career-best number for that category, and that has also put him in a position to lead the team in some categories as well. In his seventh big league season, IKF is slashing .292/.338/.420 with a .758 OPS, 7 home runs, 33 RBIs, and 8 doubles. He also led the team in bWAR at 3.1 literally up until Sunday before Daulton Varsho took that crown from him, and he's second on the team in OPS+ at 115.

The most impressive part of Kiner-Falefa's season has been his power numbers. I had mentioned how many of his stats are both career-bests, but his slugging percentage for this year blows every other year away. In fact, he currently sits at fifth on the team in home runs ahead of Turner, Bichette, and Danny Jansen. It also certainly doesn't hurt that Kiner-Falefa has played anywhere he is needed; he's played at third, shortstop, second, centre field, and he's even pitched a few innings.

Unfortunately, Kiner-Falefa suffered a left knee sprain while stretching prior to Toronto's Canada Day matchup against Houston. He had initially overstated the injury, but he will still need far more time than the 10 days that the Injured List designation suggests. Not only is this unfortunate for IKF and the overall success of the team, but he was also working his way into potential trade chip conversations. Nonetheless, Kiner-Falefa has surpassed anyone's expectations with the Blue Jays, and his grade is well-deserved.

https://twitter.com/Hall_Thomas_/status/1799934714855473340
<h2>Spencer Horwitz</h2>
<strong>Grade: A</strong>

Speaking of well-deserved grades, Horwitz is right there as well. After possessing an OPS of .970 through 57 games in Buffalo this season, Horwitz earned his way back to the major league roster. The transaction caused a lot of clamor as it came at the expense of DFA'ing Cavan Biggio, but this move has clearly paid off for the Blue Jays.

Through 32 games in Toronto, Horwitz is slashing .324/.421/.490 with a .911 OPS, four home runs, eleven RBIs, and five doubles. He's earned a lot of praise for his plate discipline; his strikeout percentage of 14.1% is almost half of where that number was last year during his stint in the majors, and he's also increased his walk percentage some since last year as well. Horwitz has earned every day playing time, but the Jays have been careful when it comes to facing left-handed pitching. The more opportunities he gets, however, the more he's giving the Blue Jays some reassurance, going 4-for-13 with only one strikeout and three RBIs in those opportunities.

Another tip of the cap for Horwitz goes to his defensive flexibility. First base had been occupied by Guerrero Jr., Turner, and Daniel Vogelbach, so Horwitz started getting reps at second base during his final days in Buffalo. There have been some learning curves for him as some plays have been more challenging than others, but to this point, Horwitz has not committed errors while at second.
<h2>Ernie Clement</h2>
<strong>Grade: B+</strong>

Toronto had a surplus of utilitymen/infielders entering Spring Training, and although it didn't make too many headlines, there were some jobs that needed to be won throughout the month of March. Well, Clement won his spot with a dominant spring, posting a 1.026 OPS with three homers and eight RBIs in 17 games. Some could argue that Santiago Espinal's trade to Cincinnati was the high sign to Clement that he had made the team, and it's been a worthwhile venture for the Blue Jays, even if he's not someone Toronto expected to be heavily counting on.

Especially once Kiner-Falefa got hurt, Clement was thrust into near-everyday playing time, and he ended the first half being the everyday third baseman. Through 74 games, Clement is slashing .268/.284/.437 with a .721 OPS, six home runs, 23 RBIs, and 12 doubles. 74 games already marks the most that Clement has played in one season in the majors, and that is also reflected in several of his stats being career-bests. His seven errors on the season are tied for second on the team, but his plate discipline (7.5% strikeout rate) coupled with his ability to jump on a fastball (.319 BA, .553 SLG) make him a worthy bat to put in the lineup.
<h2>Addison Barger</h2>
<strong>Grade: C</strong>

Consider this a default and "in the middle" grade given that Barger has only played in 20 games this season in two different stints. While I'll still provide feedback, I don't think I have enough to give him a reasonable letter grade just yet.

Barger had stints of five and fifteen games with the Blue Jays in the first half. After getting only one hit in those first five games, Barger impressed to begin his second campaign with Toronto. In his first six games after his second promotion, Barger hit .350/.381/.400 with a .781 OPS, a double, a walk, and three RBIs. He would only accumulate one more hit between then and his eventual demotion on July 6th, bringing his first-half slash line to .150/.177/.183.

Defensively, Barger played at third base, left field, and right field, committing a total of four errors between those positions. However, his arm strength ranked in the 99th percentile per <em>Baseball Savant</em>, turning a few heads in the process. Again, it's a small sample size, and I'd anticipate we'll get a better look at Barger during the second half of the season.

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