The Blue Jays brought in Anthony Santander to provide desperately needed power. So far, he’s got exactly zero extra-base hits in six games and a .443 OPS.
It’s hard to worry about anyone this early in a season. But Manager John Schneider and the Jays are especially unconcerned with Santander’s slow start. In fact, it was expected.
“I think he&#8217;s just kind of a click off with everything and kind of a notorious slow starter, too,” Schneider said Tuesday.
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Even after Santander posted an .813 OPS with three extra-base hits in spring, this early-season slump is par for the course. In the switch-hitter’s career, April/March is easily his worst month. He’s hit just .210 in the opening month with a .655 career OPS. In May through August, his career OPS jumps to over .770. Last season, 35 of Santander’s 44 homers came after June 1st.
Schneider’s assessment that the big basher is “a click off on pitches he’s going to hammer eventually,” checks out, when you lift up the hood. Santander’s bat speed (72.8 MPH) is nearly identical to 2024, his average exit velocity (92.0 MPH) has actually gone up, and his chase rate (29.8%) is improved.
It&#8217;s the barrel rate and hard-hit percentage where Santander&#8217;s struggles have come so far this season. He’s fouled off 23 pitches in 19 at-bats, too. All are signs that his timing is just not quite there — yet. With a toe tap, big stride, and ‘long’ swing, the pieces of the former-Oriole’s swing take longer to coalesce.
When he’s at his best, Santander is the pinnacle of power, sitting sixth in league wide home runs since the start of 2022. The 30-year-old homered in 41 games last year and the Orioles went 28-13 in those contests. But, in Tuesday’s contest against the Nationals, Santander’s powerless streak continued.
Santander’s early slump hasn’t held back the Blue Jays, as they’re 4-2 and scoring 4.7 runs per game. It certainly helps when Andrés Giménez and Tyler Heinemann are hitting homers in his stead. They Blue Jays can stomach an expected slump for now, but when the Rogers Centre dome cracks open and spring turns to summer, the Blue Jays will need Santander to heat up.
“I know that it’s going to sync up here pretty soon,” Schneider said.

The Blue Jays brought in Anthony Santander to provide desperately needed power. So far, he’s got exactly zero extra-base hits in six games and a .443 OPS.
It’s hard to worry about anyone this early in a season. But Manager John Schneider and the Jays are especially unconcerned with Santander’s slow start. In fact, it was expected.
“I think he's just kind of a click off with everything and kind of a notorious slow starter, too,” Schneider said Tuesday.

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Even after Santander posted an .813 OPS with three extra-base hits in spring, this early-season slump is par for the course. In the switch-hitter’s career, April/March is easily his worst month. He’s hit just .210 in the opening month with a .655 career OPS. In May through August, his career OPS jumps to over .770. Last season, 35 of Santander’s 44 homers came after June 1st.
Schneider’s assessment that the big basher is “a click off on pitches he’s going to hammer eventually,” checks out, when you lift up the hood. Santander’s bat speed (72.8 MPH) is nearly identical to 2024, his average exit velocity (92.0 MPH) has actually gone up, and his chase rate (29.8%) is improved.
It's the barrel rate and hard-hit percentage where Santander's struggles have come so far this season. He’s fouled off 23 pitches in 19 at-bats, too. All are signs that his timing is just not quite there — yet. With a toe tap, big stride, and ‘long’ swing, the pieces of the former-Oriole’s swing take longer to coalesce.
When he’s at his best, Santander is the pinnacle of power, sitting sixth in league wide home runs since the start of 2022. The 30-year-old homered in 41 games last year and the Orioles went 28-13 in those contests. But, in Tuesday’s contest against the Nationals, Santander’s powerless streak continued.
Santander’s early slump hasn’t held back the Blue Jays, as they’re 4-2 and scoring 4.7 runs per game. It certainly helps when Andrés Giménez and Tyler Heinemann are hitting homers in his stead. They Blue Jays can stomach an expected slump for now, but when the Rogers Centre dome cracks open and spring turns to summer, the Blue Jays will need Santander to heat up.
“I know that it’s going to sync up here pretty soon,” Schneider said.

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