PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 19: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays warms up on deck during the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on April 19, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Blue Jays defeated the Diamondbacks 10-4. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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The Toronto Blue Jays won their series against the Detroit Tigers but head into one against the division rival New York Yankees with some ground to make up.
After enduring all the way to the World Series last year and then adding plenty of talent to the roster, the Blue Jays have a disappointing record and sit well behind the Tampa Bay Rays at the top of the American League East.
As the team’s pitchers fight to stay healthy, some key bats in the lineup haven’t performed as expected, particularly franchise slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“Nothing is going right for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. right now,” as Sportsnet put it on Saturday. “The Toronto Blue Jays superstar is enduring one of the worst slumps of his MLB career at the plate. Guerrero Jr. is 1-for-22 in his last six games following Saturday's 0-for-4 performance in Toronto's extra-inning win over the Detroit Tigers. And overall, he's currently 6-for-51 dating back to late April.”
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With the team’s best hitter stuck in a prolonged slump, the Blue Jays have turned to some newcomers to make up for it. Rookie infielder Kazuma Okamoto leads the team in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage. And 23-year-old outfielder Yohendrick Pinango is batting .364 in his first 44 at-bats in the big leagues.
“He wasn’t an offseason ‘prospect to watch,’ and he barely cracked the MLB Pipeline top 10 in the Blue Jays system coming into this year, but Yohendrick Pinango has been in the big leagues for three weeks now — minus a two-day trip back to Buffalo — and he’s made one heck of an impression,” Mike Wilner wrote for The Toronto Star.
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Pinango was first called up by the Blue Jays as an injury substitute for Nathan Lukes and he was demoted soon after despite a strong showing at the plate. But then the team brought him back up almost immediately after Addison Barger was sidelined. And he has rewarded that decision by keeping up his strong start.
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“He’s good,” Guerrero said, per Wilner.
Pinango also earned some praise from another veteran slugger in the order.
“His work has been great,” Springer said, according to Wilner. “I like to watch him work in the cage and stuff. I think you’re just seeing the result. He has a plan, he has an approach and he swings hard.”
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