The Jays are 10-6 so far this month. The batters are hitting .235/.298/.335, averaging 3.7 runs per game.
Hot
Alejandro Kirk: Played in 14 games, starting 12. Hit .378/.455/.533 with 1 double, 2 home run, 10 RBI, 8 walks and 5 strikeouts.
He’s been pretty amazing. Add in that he’s 66% on challenges (catchers average 58.6%). He hasn’t been good at throwing out baserunners, 2 for 13 this month. As noted, he’s coming off a fracture and dislocation of his thumb and you know that’s not going to make hitting easy, but he seems to have come out the other side. This month he’s raised his OPS from .648 to .742. And his batting average jumped from .236 to .271. The problem is that when things have been going bad, people are very slow to notice when you turn it around.
Andrés Giménez: Played in all 16 games, starting 15. Hit .296/.361/.407 with 3 doubles, 1 home run, 8 RBI, 5 steals, caught 1, 3 walks and 15 strikeouts.
One of the few guys who are hitting during this little hot streak. I have a feeling the pitcher half of this hot/cold thing will be a much more positive experience. He’s a +17 OAA at short, putting him second to Bobby Witt, Jr. His defense has been amazing, night after night.
Charles McAdoo: Played in 7 games, starting 6. Hit .368/.435/.579 with 1 double, 1 home run, 4 RBI, 3 walks and 6 strikeouts.
Just 23 at bats, but he’s been great.
Cold
Brandon Valenzuela: Played in 9 games, starting 5. Hitting .063/.167/.125 with 2 RBI, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts.
He’s thrown out 2 of 8 base stealers. He was hitting great earlier in the season, but, for the last couple of months, he’s, well, been hitting like a backup catcher. He’s been correct on 42.9% of challenges as a catcher, which is near the bottom for catchers. The average for catchers is 58.6%. Being a backup catcher is a tough job, but you do need to hit over .063.
Vladimir Guerrero: Started 11 of 16 games. Hit .244/.277/.333 with 1 double, 1 home runs, 2 RBI, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts.
And now he’s on the concussion IL.
Ernie Clement: Played in all 16 games games, starting 14. Hitting .200/.220/.273 with 1 home run,1 double, 8 RBI, 1 steal, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.
He started a game at short and a game at third, the rest at second base. The season was going well for him until the last month or so. His defense at second hasn’t been what it used to be. FanGraphs has him at a -4 OAA. Last year he was a +5. He has 8 errors at second base, leading the league.
Kazuma Okamoto: Played in 14 games starting 13. Hit .204/.246/.241 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 3 walks and 18 strikeouts.
Started 5 games at first, 1 at DH, the rest at third. He started the month with a .754 OPS, it has dropped to .728 now. His average and OBP have stayed much the same, but the slugging average is dropping. He hasn’t hit a home run since July 28th. He’s at a -3 OAA this season. We’d like a little more hitting from our third baseman.
Nathan Lukes: Played in all 16 times, starting 11. He hit .192/.208/.250 with 1 home run, 4 RBI, 1 steal, 1 walk and 6 strikeouts.
He played only right field this month. And didn’t hit at all. He had a .726 OPS going into the month and is a .679 now. He had a rough July too. He had an OPS over .800 in early June (as well as a batting average of .329) and it has been dropping ever since. He’s hitting on .264 now. He doesn’t have enough power or ability to walk to get away with numbers like that. Lukes, like Kirk, is the sort of guy that I always figured would hit around .290 no matter how bad things got. He’s 32 now and won’t be a free agent until 2031, but he’s got some competition for outfield playing time now.
George Springer: Played in 15 games, starting 12 games. Hitting .178-.240/.244 with 1 double, 1 triple, 3 RBI, 2 steals, 4 walks and 9 strikeouts.
Started one game in LF, the rest at DH. He had a ten game hitting streak from July 25th to August 4th, but it hasn’t been good since then. You gotta think he’s heading to the end of his career. I can’t see any team wanting a full-time DH who had a season that Springer is having. He’s turning 37 in September. 2025 was amazing, a good season sandwiched between two bad years. I wouldn’t bet he has another good year in him.
Jesús Sánchez: Played in 11 games, starting 9. Hit .167/.355/.333 with 1 double, 1 home run, 3 RBI, 1 caught stealing, 6 walks and 8 strikeouts.
Between not hitting, and playing incredibly poor defense it hasn’t been good. He has a -6 OAA in the outfield this year. On FanGraphs, they have his ZiPS Projection for this year (and the next two), and, as it turns out, it was optimistic, with a .246/.313/.427, 18 home run, with a 1.8 fWAR. Well, it wasn’t far off on the batting line .261/.318/.423, but with a 0.1 WAR. I don’t know what kind of deal he’s likely to get next year.
Josh Smith: Played in 12 games, starting 6. Hit .191/.261/.333 with 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 steal, 2 walks and 10 strikeouts.
He’s only had 24 PA, and I would never read anything into that few PA.
Inbetween
Myles Straw: Played in 16 games, starting 12. Hit .234/.265/.404 with 6 double, 1 triple, 4 RBI, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts and 1 steal.
Comparatively, he hasn’t been all that bad. I hate seeing a guy as fast as he is getting on base just 26% of the time. But he’s had some extra base hits. Fangraphs has him at a +4 OAA in the outfield this year. He was a +9 last year. The team has options on him for the next two years, at $8 million and $8.5 million. I can’t see the team taking the options.
Brett Bateman: Started 9 games: Hit .275/.326/.325 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, 3 walks and 9 strikeouts.
Pretty good. He’s given the team some life. His defense looks good too. In the minors he had 20 steals, caught 3 times, but he hasn’t stolen in the majors yet.
Also Played:
Davis Schneider: Played in 6 games, starting 3. Hit ..000/.500/.000 with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts.
And back in Buffalo.
Luis Urías: Played in 4 games, starting 3. Hit .333/.364/.556 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs, 2 RBI, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.
And he’s on the IL with a quad sprain. He won’t be back until September at best. He’s hit great for us in 59 PA.
Daz Cameron: Played in one game. Went 1 for 4 with a double, RBI, strikeout.
I hope they give him some at bats.
IL
Anthony Santander: I doubt he’ll be back this year.
Addison Barger: Had surgery to repair his elbow. They figure he’ll be ready spring training next year.