Blue Jays: Jesús Sánchez has been good, but inconsistent
Photo credit: © Mady Mertens-Imagn Images
Jun 5, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 5, 2026, 16:55 EDT
The halfway mark of the 2026 season is rapidly approaching.
Heading into a weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Toronto Blue Jays have a 30-33 record, third best in the American League East and just a half game back of the final wild card spot. Even the division lead is in range, as they sit just eight games back thanks to the Tampa Bay Rays’ recent play.
With the team beginning to get healthy and the farm system seeing several breakouts, they’re far from out of it, even if they have a sub-.500 record. One of their biggest issues this season has been their offence.
The team has seen heavy regression from George Springer, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hasn’t hit for much power. Heading into Friday’s series opener against the Orioles, the Blue Jays’ 95 wRC+ ranks eight-worst in Major League Baseball. Consistency has been the biggest problem.
Jesús Sánchez has been one of the biggest culprits for the lack of consistency. At his best, he’s shown to be one of the Blue Jays’ best hitters, but also one of their worst hitters when he’s cold.
Acquired shortly before the start of Spring Training, Sánchez is slashing .279/.316/.448 with six home runs in his 187 plate appearances. Not only are his six home runs tied for sixth-most on the team, but his 109 wRC+is tied for fifth-best among players on the team with at least 50 plate appearances.
His season can be split into thirds. From the beginning of the season until April 14th, Sánchez slashed .292/.352/.479 with two home runs and three doubles in 54 plate appearances, good for a 128 wRC+. That ranked fourth among Blue Jays in that span.
Then he began to struggle, slashing just .217/.234/.333 with two home runs in 64 plate appearances from April 15th until May 4th. His wRC+ of 53 was the third worst on the team among players with 30 or more plate appearances, and it was by far the worst wRC+ among everyday players.
But adjustments were made, and over the last month, Sánchez has been the team’s best hitter. Over his last 69 plate appearances, he’s slashing .328/.362/.531 with two home runs, good for a 148 wRC+. The player with the next best wRC+ over the month on the Jays is Ernie Clement, who has a 139 wRC+.
It is worth noting that although he’s appeared in 25 games during this stretch, Sánchez’s 69 plate appearances are the eighth fewest of any player who has had a plate appearance since May 5th.
This is mainly due to the fact that the left-handed batting outfielder is borderline unplayable against left-handed pitching, batting just .143/.182/.190 against south paws in 25 plate appearances this season. His career splits tell a similar story.
Sánchez’s underlying metrics are encouraging as well, as he’s smacking the ball with good bat speed. His biggest issue this season has been his chase rate of 39.2 percentage, which sits in the sixth percentile, but he doesn’t whiff nor strikeout more than the average batter.
The 28-year-old outfielder has always been a tantalizing player. Not only for his metrics, but for his ability to hit right-handed pitching. If he and the Blue Jays can find a way for him to be a consistent producer, watch out.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.