National Post (National Edition)
Consistency key for Jays slugger
But Grichuk’s 28 homers prove he has power
All evidence suggests that Randal Grichuk is a part of Toronto’s long-term future, along with fellow position players Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel, Cavan Biggio and catchers Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire, who have all shown some promise.
The Blue Jays rewarded the outfielder with a fiveyear, US$52-million extension back in April, about 15 months after he had been nabbed from St. Louis for a pair of pitchers who haven’t exactly panned out for the Cardinals (one has since been dealt away).
What do they have in Grichuk?
It’s clear he has quite a bit of pop in his bat (Grichuk leads the team with 28 homers after hitting a couple against the New York Yankees in Sunday’s win and was tied for the team high with 25 in 2018). He’s also arguably been better and
more consistent defensively than the team’s other outfielders.
Grichuk slashed .245 avg./.301 obp/.502 slg last season, but is down to .235/.284/.455 in 2019.
His low on-base numbers are particularly concerning, especially because manager Charlie Montoyo and management have talked often of wanting to emulate the Houston Astros and other clubs that place a premium on not only hitting balls out of the park, but also of reaching base at a high rate. Grichuk doesn’t fit that mould at all.
He easily leads the club in at-bats, yet has walked only 34 times, just fourth-best, and is nearing a team record with 153 strikeouts.
Still, not every player in the lineup needs to be an onbase threat. Power is more important than ever these days and Grichuk provides that, as well as the aforementioned defence and ability to play anywhere in the outfield (important since left fielder Gurriel is often injured and no successor to Kevin Pillar has distinguished himself in centre).
One of Grichuk’s biggest issues has been a lack of consistency.
As a Blue Jay there have been times where he absolutely rakes and others where he struggles immensely. Feast and famine has been a common theme. He hit .206 before the all-star break in 2018 (including a dismal 5-for-56 April), but .280 the rest of the way (including .316 with a .350 on-base percentage that September). This year Grichuk had a great April, but tailed off, only to find more power in the second half of the season (though his walks are way down).
He’s the first to admit that the season hasn’t gone the way he wanted it to, even though he’s pleased that he’s still hitting a lot of home runs.
Asked Sunday what he takes from his new career high in that category, Grichuk replied, “mostly that even in a down year (at the plate) the power is still there. So that’s a positive,” Grichuk said. “Not getting down on it or taking away power when I’m struggling. I’d like to be a little more consistent but the power is still there.”
Grichuk termed this as “definitely a down year” for him, mentioning that for whatever reason there were times where he wasn’t feeling comfortable in the batter’s box. He said he can’t really explain why the confidence in the box can come and go, saying it’s just part of the game, part of what makes baseball challenging.
Grichuk made some adjustments about a month ago and believes they have helped him.
“Wish I could be a little more consistent with it but I’ve had some good stretches and had some bad,” he said.
The Jays are likely still happy with the trade to bring him aboard and his presence in Toronto. He’s been lauded for his leadership and professionalism.
“The offence has always stood out. He’s always performed,” general manager Ross Atkins also said when Grichuk was acquired. “He’s always hit the ball hard, he’s always hit it far and it usually goes over the fence at a pretty good rate. In our view he’s been an above-average defender and those are hard things to piece together.”
Grichuk has basically been as advertised, but if he can find that elusive consistency in 2020 when his salary rises to a team-high $13 million (it declines to $10.33 million a year in the final three seasons of the deal) it would be a welcome and significant development that could speed up the rebuild process a bit.
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