We are in the home stretch as there are only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season. The Jays are currently in a playoff spot, but they have to keep playing well and win games as they battle for the top wildcard spot and homefield advantage. They have been playing really good baseball against teams like the Rays and Orioles – two teams that they need to beat in order to keep their playoff dreams alive. While there have been multiple players contributing to the team’s recent success, the player that I wanted to focus on, is Bo Bichette.
If you ask Bo, I’m sure he would tell you that 2022 has not been the season he had hoped for. After coming off an excellent 2021 campaign where he led the American League in hits, launched 29 homeruns, and slashed .298/.343/.384, many expected him to have similar success in 2022, but that has not been the case. After a slow start to the season in April, he looked like he was turning things around in May as he hit .296 that month with 16 extra base hits. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to maintain consistency during the summer as he continued to struggle. He wasn’t driving the ball as much or hitting for a lot of extra-base power, and at times, he looked lost at the plate. John Schneider even moved Bo around in the lineup to not just help get him going, but also to help the team win more games. He was even dropped down to 7th in the lineup at one point because of how poorly he was playing.
However, once the calendar flipped to September, Bo seemed to find a different gear and has looked like Bo of the past. In the first 18 games of the month, he is hitting .440/.481/.867 with an OPS of 1.348, and has 7 homeruns and 23 RBI – both of which are already the most he has had in a single month this year. Bichette’s hot September has not just helped boost his numbers for the season, but has come at a time when the Jays needed it the most. As the Jays fight for a playoff spot, each game becomes more and more important, and Bichette has shown up when the lights shine brightest. His offensive outburst has been even more important when you consider guys like Springer, Teoscar, and Guerrero Jr. were struggling. Bo essential carried the Jays to a doubleheader sweep of the Orioles which included a 3-homerun game and put Baltimore further in their rear-view mirror.
The first SS in American League HISTORY with 6+ Hits and 3+ HR in a single day: Bo Bichette! #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/kJxabl9Mw9
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 6, 2022
During his struggles, fans were starting to wonder if this is more of who Bo is, and if 2021 was just an anomaly. I don’t think 2021 was any kind of fluke, and I think Bo is more so the player from last year, than the one he has been for most of this season. He is still very young, as he is only 24 years old, and he will likely get better as he gets older. Will he always be that aggressive, free-swinging hitter that doesn’t walk a ton? Probably, but that is just who he is, and it has worked for him more often than not. He will strikeout a lot, but I believe that he is someone that can hit for a high average with lots of power as well. Bo is an excellent player and could become one of the elite shortstops in the game as he gets older.
There is nothing like meaningful September baseball filled pennant races and dramatic games. It’s at this time of the year when the superstar players need to really step up and lead their teams to October, and that is what Bichette has done. He has come up with multiple clutch hits this month and has returned to being the impactful, run producing bat in the middle of the lineup. The Jays will need him to keep his momentum going the rest of the way and into October if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs. When it’s late in a game, and the pressure is on, baseball’s star players tend to shine the brightest in the big moments; Bo lives for the big moments, and right now, he is shining brighter than anyone else on the team.