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Nathan Lukes has been a force in the Blue Jays’ lineup for much of 2026
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Photo credit: © Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Michael Coyle
Jun 12, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 12, 2026, 08:41 EDT
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While Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider has been trying many different combinations to get his offence going, one player he hasn’t had to worry about since mid-April has been Nathan Lukes. 
After getting off to an ice-cold start over his first 13 games of the season, a stretch that saw Lukes go 2-for-31 with only two RBIs while also dealing with what became a known case of vertigo, Lukes started to turn it on during the Blue Jays’ road trip when the club stopped in Arizona for a series spanning April 17-19. 
Lukes saw a specialist while in Arizona, and the results that soon followed resembled more of the player Blue Jays fans got used to seeing during the club’s magical 2025 season, where Lukes batted .255 with 12 home runs and 65 RBIs. 
In the seven games that followed, Lukes went 11-for-21 with six RBIs to help raise his average from an ugly .064 to a respectable .250. Unfortunately for Lukes, during an April 24 contest against the Cleveland Guardians, he was injured while running towards second base after hitting a double off Guardians’ right-hander Gavin Williams. 
Lukes was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 25 after being diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. The strain cost Lukes a month on the IL, as he required four rehab games in Single-A with Dunedin, where he went 3-for-7, before officially being activated on May 25, before the Blue Jays opened a series against the Miami Marlins. 
In Lukes first game back off the IL, he picked up right where he left off before going down with the injury, going 3-for-4 with three singles, and giving a spark at the top of the Blue Jays’ lineup. During his first game back against the Marlins, Lukes was dealt with another injury scare after being hit in the head on a 94.1 MPH sinker by Marlins left-hander Andrew Nardi. 
After being examined by head athletic trainer Jose Ministral and Schneider, Lukes remained in the game, and while speaking post-game, Schneider spoke about what having Lukes return to the lineup meant to the club.
“You know what you’re going to get,” Schneider said of Lukes offensive profile. “It’s very consistent, and we need to kind of stack those at-bats up and down the lineup. Great to have him back and have that presence in the lineup.” 
Consistent has been a great way to describe the 31-year-old since he’s returned from the IL. Lukes opened by rattling off a nine-game hit streak in which he batted .455 with one home run and three RBIs. After having his hit-streak snapped on June 5 against the Baltimore Orioles, Lukes responded by getting a hit in each of the Blue Jays’ past five games. The five hits over his past five games raises Lukes’ average to .370 with one home run and four RBIs since being activated from the IL.
For the season, Lukes is batting .311 with one home run and 12 RBIs to go along with a .362 on-base percentage. While Lukes got off to one of the worst starts on the Blue Jays’ roster, he has become one of the few to consistently produce as the offence has faltered through the club’s opening 69 games. 

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