Since the month of April, the Blue Jays have been rolling, maintaining a spot within reach of a wild-card position thanks to big performances from unexpected sources.
Of course, there was Kevin Pillar’s absolute tear earlier in the season and Jose Bautista who woke up after many wrote him off, but now it’s all about Justin Smoak. The now All-Star hopeful first basemen capped off an impressive run yesterday with a two home-run day, which carried the team to an extra-innings victory.
Even with how impressive he’s been in recent weeks, you may be surprised about how his performance ranks against his peers. Here are six stats that put his performance into perspective:
First Basemen Rankings
Smoaking the Parrot
2016 vs. 2017
Career High (Now only three short)
Not a Lucky Streak (Now up 74 points)
Only 6 of 17 Home Runs have been pulled
Smoak has been hitting for power, hitting for average, he’s cut down on his strikeouts and he’s hitting the ball to all fields. These are all qualities you hope for when looking for a star hitter in the game and Smoak has displayed them this season.
His contact rates are significantly higher this year despite not swinging any less at pitches outside the zone, so that’s something to keep an eye on, but it appears Smoak is just seeing the ball better in 2017.
