Kazuma Okamoto showing signs of adjustment at the plate for Blue Jays

Kazuma Okamoto's recent power surge

Following a slow offensive start, the Japanese infielder showed signs of improvement, crushing a 430-foot and 425-foot home run in back-to-back games against the Cleveland Guardians on April 24-25. 

Inevitably, he's delivered much-needed power amid the Blue Jays' disordered 11-15 start. His recent success has been demonstrated by a .333 batting average (7-for-21), with three home runs in his last six games. Okamoto currently leads the team with five home runs on the season. 

He is known for his elite ability to crush fastballs and continues to work on adjusting to the significant number of breaking balls he's faced so far in MLB. This is in addition to offspeed pitches outside of the zone, which have led him to high strikeout rates. 

But Okamoto has been more locked in at the plate, finding his timing and adjusting better against breaking balls while boosting his power stroke against offspeed pitches. According to Baseball Savant, his hard-hit rate ranks in the 89th percentile at 52.5 percent, and his average exit velocity of 92.1 mph is in the 83rd percentile. 

This showcases how he's more comfortable with MLB pitching. But he's also made adjustments at third base (positioned deeper compared to Japan). This was done to make better plays when faced with harder-hit ground balls. This has helped improve his defensive game while illustrating his slow but steady development with Toronto. 

If he can provide more consistent contact by improving his high swing-and-miss rates against offspeed pitches, this will optimize the player that the Blue Jays signed him for as a Japanese slugger.