Blue Jays – Danny Jansen continues hot stretch at the plate since his return from injury

Behind the plate, he ranks in the 97th percentile in blocks above average (five) and has thrown out 11% of base stealers, catching two runners so far this season while posting a 1.96-second pop time behind the plate. He has seen an increased workload since his return after Kirk carried most of the duties while Jansen was on the IL but he has also posted better offensive stats to continue being pencilled into the lineup with regularity, catching most of the Blue Jays pitching staff.

Historically, Jansen has been a plus hitter in terms of power when healthy, with the catcher posting double-digit home run totals in four of the past five seasons, with the lone outlier being the condensed 2020 campaign. While his average has flirted towards the Mendoza line for most of his career, Jansen’s ability to be able to put the ball into the gaps or over the outfield wall on any given night has been a benefit in the batting order.

His top season came back in 2022 when he authored a .260/.339/.516 slash line with a .855 OPS and 15 home runs through just 215 at-bats. Multiple injuries limited him to just 72 games that season but he still posted a 2.7 fWAR on the year. Since 2020 (minimum 500 plate appearances), Jansen ranks 11th in fWAR (7.3) just behind Kirk (7.9) while having significantly fewer plate appearances than those in front of him, ranging from 300-1000 PAs across the 1-10 rankings.

For a Jays squad that has struggled to find consistency at the plate in terms of run production and ranking towards the bottom half of the league in most offensive statistical categories, Jansen’s hot start to the year has been a bonus, especially since fellow catcher Alejandro Kirk has been unable to replicate his 2022 success and multiple Jays bats are batting below expectations to start the campaign.

In a contract year, the 2024 season will be important for Jansen as he looks to stay healthy and continue to put the ball in play before he potentially tests free agency later this year barring a contract extension with the Blue Jays.

If Jansen can continue to stay on the field and put up solid numbers at the plate, rivalling his 2022 season, he is in line for a sizeable raise this upcoming offseason whether it is with the Blue Jays or elsewhere in the league amidst a few other catchers slated to hit the open market in James McCann, Yan Gomes, Omar Narvaez, and Travis d’Arnaud (club option) amongst others.

For now, the Jays will benefit from Jansen continuing to swing a hot bat as the Jays look to dig themselves back to .500 baseball.