After the impressive season put forward by the Blue Jays in 2025, Ernie Clement is without a doubt going to be one of the most valued players going into 2026.

Coming off a career year in 2025, where he slashed .277/.313.398 with a .711 OPS across 157 games last season, Clement finished the campaign fourth on the Blue Jays in hits (151). He ranked in the 97th percentile in squared up percentage (37.1) and was able to limit the whiffs and strikeouts last season. The right-handed bat is also coming off a historic World Series run, where he hit .411 in 18 postseason games, and set the record for the most hits in a single postseason with 30.

The sky looks like it could be the limit for Clement.

Going into the spring thus far, Clement looks like he isn’t slowing down as he’s hitting .800 this spring across the first three games this spring. He was a home run shy of the cycle in his most recent contest, and he has fared well at the top of the lineup this far in Dunedin.

Given that Bo Bichette, who led the team in hits in 2025, is no longer on the squad and Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer are both looking to be big names for production, Clement may feel he can up his value now playing second base full-time in 2026. Clement got his first taste of everyday action last year with the Jays and this season, he is looking to make even more of a name for himself on the diamond, which includes a spot on the Team USA World Baseball Classic roster next month.

200 hits is a very tricky feat. In Blue Jays history, it has only been accomplished by five players: Vernon Wells (215), Tony Fernandez (213), Paul Molitor (211), Shannon Stewart (202), and John Olerud (200). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was close in 2024 when he finished a hit shy of 199, showing how that feat is incredibly tricky.

Based on projections, Clement is on pace to have between 115 to 140 hits the whole season, but as we have seen time and time again with the infielder, he lives to prove the doubters wrong.

Now, I don’t know if Clement is going to necessarily win a batting title at 30 years old, but seeing that kind of bat near the bottom of the lineup and having one that’s so good at hitting left-handed pitching (.326 last season) in a division that’s filled with left-handed pitching like Garrett Crochet and Max Fried is a positive for both the player and the Jays heading into 2026.

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