The foundation of the Toronto Blue Jays is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. As they go, so do the Jays. Given that Guerrero and Bichette got off to sluggish starts this season, it should come as no surprise that the offence has struggled.

Normally, Bichette would contend for the league hit crown, but this year is different. He has a career slugging percentage of.295/.336/.476. His stats have drastically decreased this season. After 39 games, his batting line is.227/.287/.320. He isn’t hitting for power or average. He hit.306/.339/.475 with 30 doubles, three triples, and 20 home runs in the previous season. He is on track to hit eight home runs and 24 doubles this season.

A player’s problems are rarely the result of a single problem. Slumps brought on by mechanical issues can have an impact on a player’s confidence and emotional health. A hitter’s mindset can occasionally result in a slump, and then needless mechanical tweaks can exacerbate the situation. If a hitter doesn’t adjust, the league will continue to focus on their area of weakness and make adjustments to them. Occasionally, a player’s mental state may be affected by bad luck. He has the ability to knock consecutive line drives straight at defenders before suddenly losing confidence for no apparent reason.

Attempting harder is never the answer to getting out of a rut. Usually, it comes down to attempting less. Hitters must remain focused and intense without becoming tense. What then is the issue with Bo? This season, Bichette is clearly having difficulties in a few areas. He is in between deliveries, so the fastball is behind him and the breaking balls and off-speed offerings are in front of him.

In 2023, he hit.328 against fastballs; this season, he is only hitting.278 against them. While that is a considerable decline, it is not nearly as bad as his troubles with off-speed deliveries and breaking balls.

Last year, he hit .267 on breaking balls and .333 on off-speed pitches. This season, he is hitting a meager .158 on breaking balls and .143 on off-speed. It’s not hard to figure out what opponents are going to throw him. He’s going to keep getting the slow stuff until he makes an adjustment.

Last year, he hit .267 on breaking balls and .333 on off-speed pitches. This season, he is hitting a meager .158 on breaking balls and .143 on off-speed. It’s not hard to figure out what opponents are going to throw him. He’s going to keep getting the slow stuff until he makes an adjustment.

Bichette can get back to hitting the fastball, but only once he drives the breaking balls and off-speed pitches. The full adjustments will take a couple weeks as the advance scouting catches up to the adjustments he is making. Guerrero is hitting .275/.373/.388 so far this season. The batting average and on-base percentage are good, but the slugging is not. Does that sound familiar? He is in a downward slide with his slugging percentage over the past four seasons: .601, .480, .444, and .388. He’s moving further away from being that aircraft carrier in the middle of the lineup that he was in 2021 and closer to a contact hitter who just puts the ball in play.

Guerrero’s hard-hit rate is excellent as is his exit velocity and barrel rate. That all sounds great, right? So, what’s the issue? The most important aspect of Guerrero’s swing is the launch angle. The league-average launch angle is 12.4 degrees, while Guerrero’s is just 6.4 degrees. He hits the ball hard, but he hits it on the ground. There are plenty of hits on the ground but not much production. Stop me if you have heard this story before. The other struggle for the Jays first baseman is that he is not hitting breaking balls or off-speed pitches like he has in previous years. He is only slugging .388 on breaking balls this year, down from .433 last season. The off-speed pitches have been his

I think Guerrero needs to trust himself more. He doesn’t want to swing and miss, so he gets in between with his timing, and it changes his bat path to the ball. He needs to deliver his best swing on every pitch until he gets two strikes and then look for contact. This isn’t golf where you drive for show and putt for dough. In baseball, you drive for dough. Sluggers get paid the most. Guerrero can do that, if he just lets himself. He will figure it out at some point, but the question is whether he will figure out as a member of the Blue Jays or somewhere else.