Undoubtedly, the Blue Jays front office is mentally haunted right now as the team struggles to perform offensively. The lack of offseason success and the delusional merry-go-round idea of the best player in baseball coming to Toronto are dawning harshly on the team&#8217;s lineup.

Toronto awaits a “sleeping giant” offence to wake up, smell the dip, and hopefully spark some life into the bats. On the mound side of things, the Jays arguably have the most competitive pitching rotation in the league, however, the offense takes away from great pitching performances. With all the attention drawn to the core of this team, two players are shining in their own respective ways.
<h2 class="p1">Isiah Kiner-Falefa</h2>
Starting with IKF, the Blue Jays made a somewhat unusual acquisition here. Clouds of rumours flew potently around the league about some big bats possibly coming north of the border.
Bats of interest were denominated to Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, which did not happen. In search of a supplement to those options, the Blue Jays sought out the next best opinion… in their opinion, of course. IKF emerged as their guy to serve third base.
This signing was quite questionable as his performance with the Yankees was not at all extravagant and wasn’t the name to quench the offensive thirst. His .242 batting average as a starter in 2023 did not excite Toronto fans one bit.
Since becoming a Blue Jay, IKF hasn’t been a newsmaker. However, he does his job and comes up in situations when needed. He’s had only 112 at-bats, and his strikeout-walk ratio isn’t the most attractive, but he has a .322 on-base percentage. So far, he has 12 RBIs on 31 hits and 42 total bases.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Isiah Kiner-Falefa &#8211; Toronto Blue Jays (2) <a href="https://t.co/zJBCZvUarl">pic.twitter.com/zJBCZvUarl</a>
&mdash; MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBHRVideos/status/1789082579980722377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
His offensive numbers may not seem glamorous now, but his day-to-day at-bats are quality, and he’s a player who has a contact approach through all his battles. He has 89.7% zone contact this season and 75% chase contact. In most cases, IKF will look bat to ball, especially with runners on base. His approach is ultimately the reason for any of his quality at-bats, whether it’s driving a guy in or moving a runner an extra 90-plus feet.
Defensively he has 20 games played at second base and 19 played at third base. In 121 defensive chances this year, he’s totalled 39 put-outs with 81 assists, turning 13 double-plays and only one error on the season.
His true value will show once IKF gets his legs going on the base pads. The more at-bats he gets into, the better the outcome for base hits and runner movement.
<h2 class="p1">Yusei Kikuchi</h2>
Toronto’s core pitching rotation is heavily relied upon and consists of Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassit. Often, the fourth and fifth starter spots are overlooked, and Yusei Kikuchi’s name is sometimes left out of the conversation when it comes to the team&#8217;s top-notch rotation.
Since Kikuchi has joined Toronto, he’s been finding his way. It didn’t take long for the lefty to turn it around 180 degrees and revamp his elite level beneath him. As weeks go by, start by start, Kikuchi unlocks a new level in his own game.
Shallow-minded analysts overlook his .400 win-loss percentage with a 2-3 record and undermine his abilities. His ERA of 2.64 should speak for itself, and if that doesn’t, the fact that he’s walked below 10 batters of the 189 batters faced should tell it all.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Yusei Kikuchi has thrown at least 6 innings in 6 consecutive starts &#8211; matching his career-high. 
まだまだ絶好調の菊池雄星！ <a href="https://t.co/Vaj2yhIkPM">pic.twitter.com/Vaj2yhIkPM</a>
&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1789267138760327427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kikuchi is showing massive reliability, developmental progress, and effectiveness. Various areas, such as first-pitch strike percentage, first-pitch swing percentage, and in-zone percentage, have all gone up so far in 2024.
The success of Kikuchi and the noticeable shift in his numbers is quite simple. He’s refined all of his pitch selection and is comfortable throwing any of those pitches in any given scenario. The ability to throw strikes is key for his momentum in the count, and he usually works from being up instead of being behind.
His knowledge of hitters, pre-game, and on-spot is a huge workaround in his approach. He’s able to make changes mid-game and understands how to pitch to certain hitters. His slider has been his put-away option, and he’s aware of that. The slider is used in certain scenarios and hidden until needed.
We’ve seen a solid increase in energy as the game moves along for Kikuchi. He’s been up in his overall velocity this season, seeing the fastball as hot as 98 mph in his outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kikuchi could be considered a big-game pitcher for his effectiveness and quality innings alone.

Undoubtedly, the Blue Jays front office is mentally haunted right now as the team struggles to perform offensively. The lack of offseason success and the delusional merry-go-round idea of the best player in baseball coming to Toronto are dawning harshly on the team's lineup.

Toronto awaits a “sleeping giant” offence to wake up, smell the dip, and hopefully spark some life into the bats. On the mound side of things, the Jays arguably have the most competitive pitching rotation in the league, however, the offense takes away from great pitching performances. With all the attention drawn to the core of this team, two players are shining in their own respective ways.

<h2 class="p1">Isiah Kiner-Falefa</h2>
Starting with IKF, the Blue Jays made a somewhat unusual acquisition here. Clouds of rumours flew potently around the league about some big bats possibly coming north of the border.
Bats of interest were denominated to Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, which did not happen. In search of a supplement to those options, the Blue Jays sought out the next best opinion… in their opinion, of course. IKF emerged as their guy to serve third base.
This signing was quite questionable as his performance with the Yankees was not at all extravagant and wasn’t the name to quench the offensive thirst. His .242 batting average as a starter in 2023 did not excite Toronto fans one bit.
Since becoming a Blue Jay, IKF hasn’t been a newsmaker. However, he does his job and comes up in situations when needed. He’s had only 112 at-bats, and his strikeout-walk ratio isn’t the most attractive, but he has a .322 on-base percentage. So far, he has 12 RBIs on 31 hits and 42 total bases.
https://twitter.com/MLBHRVideos/status/1789082579980722377
His offensive numbers may not seem glamorous now, but his day-to-day at-bats are quality, and he’s a player who has a contact approach through all his battles. He has 89.7% zone contact this season and 75% chase contact. In most cases, IKF will look bat to ball, especially with runners on base. His approach is ultimately the reason for any of his quality at-bats, whether it’s driving a guy in or moving a runner an extra 90-plus feet.
Defensively he has 20 games played at second base and 19 played at third base. In 121 defensive chances this year, he’s totalled 39 put-outs with 81 assists, turning 13 double-plays and only one error on the season.
His true value will show once IKF gets his legs going on the base pads. The more at-bats he gets into, the better the outcome for base hits and runner movement.

<h2 class="p1">Yusei Kikuchi</h2>
Toronto’s core pitching rotation is heavily relied upon and consists of Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassit. Often, the fourth and fifth starter spots are overlooked, and Yusei Kikuchi’s name is sometimes left out of the conversation when it comes to the team's top-notch rotation.
Since Kikuchi has joined Toronto, he’s been finding his way. It didn’t take long for the lefty to turn it around 180 degrees and revamp his elite level beneath him. As weeks go by, start by start, Kikuchi unlocks a new level in his own game.
Shallow-minded analysts overlook his .400 win-loss percentage with a 2-3 record and undermine his abilities. His ERA of 2.64 should speak for itself, and if that doesn’t, the fact that he’s walked below 10 batters of the 189 batters faced should tell it all.
https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1789267138760327427
Kikuchi is showing massive reliability, developmental progress, and effectiveness. Various areas, such as first-pitch strike percentage, first-pitch swing percentage, and in-zone percentage, have all gone up so far in 2024.
The success of Kikuchi and the noticeable shift in his numbers is quite simple. He’s refined all of his pitch selection and is comfortable throwing any of those pitches in any given scenario. The ability to throw strikes is key for his momentum in the count, and he usually works from being up instead of being behind.
His knowledge of hitters, pre-game, and on-spot is a huge workaround in his approach. He’s able to make changes mid-game and understands how to pitch to certain hitters. His slider has been his put-away option, and he’s aware of that. The slider is used in certain scenarios and hidden until needed.
We’ve seen a solid increase in energy as the game moves along for Kikuchi. He’s been up in his overall velocity this season, seeing the fastball as hot as 98 mph in his outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kikuchi could be considered a big-game pitcher for his effectiveness and quality innings alone.

Two Blue Jays quietly performing above expectations in 2024

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