Bo Bichette‘s 2024 season is currently being defined by a surprisingly low batting average. The 26-year-old shortstop is now hitting a mere .195. The Toronto Blue Jays have had a difficult time holding onto leads, and with Bichette’s lack of offense, fans continue to get frustrated. He looked sharp during Spring Training, but of course, that doesn’t always carry over to the regular season. Will we see Bo return to his usual form soon?
Bo Bichette’s helmet slam was too much for this ump pic.twitter.com/imsoUa4dQw
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 4, 2024
Bo Bichette’s Shockingly Low Batting Average
Bichette Struggling Offensively
Bichette’s batting average is not typical of his career numbers. He has struggled early on this season, but all he can do is continue to battle, hoping to get out of it soon. Not having his bat in top form doesn’t do the Blue Jays any favors, as they continue to struggle to get a win streak going. His offense would have certainly been helpful Sunday, but he was hitless in an 11-8 loss to the Washington Nationals.
What started out as a promising game for Alek Manoah and the Blue Jays ended in a disappointing loss. But a good hitter is capable of getting out of hitting droughts. Bichette has had good swings but not much to show for it yet. It is a prime example of how even good hitters can get into a slump occasionally. He must not lose focus and remain patient while continuing to hustle at the plate.
George Springer went through the same thing last season. Bichette’s frustrations boiled over when he tossed his helmet at the plate during Saturday’s game against the Nationals. While it’s fair for Bichette to be frustrated, throwing your helmet is grounds for an automatic ejection. Bo should have protected the plate with two strikes and tried to get a piece of it. It appeared to be a ball, but was too close to leave in the umpire’s hands. But you can’t show up an ump slamming your helmet and not expect to get tossed.
Is it Time to Panic?
At the end of the day, Bichette will hit again. What’s separating him from being an elite hitter right now is that he swings at too many bad pitches, but he will be “good” again. While it’s still early in the season, the Blue Jays should be far from relaxed. It’s coming to a point where the panic is setting in. Their pitching continues to get roughed up by surrendering home runs. It would be encouraging to see Danny Jansen never get hit by a pitch again, Manoah return to his high-octane form, and Bichette get hot at the plate again. The latter is something we will see again, but the former two may be more far-fetched.
Considering his season debut resulted in giving up six runs and two homers, things continue to look ugly for Manoah. Some other takeaways for the Blue Jays recently are that the lower leverage bullpen arms have been less than satisfactory, Bichette needs to not hit above seventh for a week at least, and the fifth starter slot is pretty much a black hole right now. It is only fair to reward those doing well, not vice versa. Luckily, Bichette understands this and accepts that he’s underperforming. Bichette commented on his performance, saying, “I haven’t done anything, really, to produce, and we’ve struggled as a team, so I think it’s the right time to switch things up. If I have to be the one that goes down, then that’s fine with me.”
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