The Blue Jays’ offence isn’t hitting on all cylinders just yet, but one man who has been hitting almost everything is Matt Chapman. He has gotten off to a scorching hot start and at times has carried the team offensively this season. Hitting .384/.465/.687 with an OPS of 1.152 has earned him the honours of American League player of the month for April and deservedly so. He’s leading the AL in essentially every offensive category and has been hitting the ball extremely hard.
As shown above, Chapman is crushing the baseball right now and there aren’t many players doing better. His average exit velocity is 96.3mph which is in the top 1% of the league and his “Hard Hit” percentage is 65.2%. This means that 65% of the balls he has hit have an exit velocity of 95mph or higher. Chapman has always hit the ball hard throughout his career, but so far this season, he’s hitting it harder and more frequently than ever before. Another impressive aspect of his offence has been how much improved he has been against the fastball and offspeed pitches.
| Batting Average | Slugging | |||
| Pitch Type | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Fastball | .238 | .365 | .451 | .769 |
| Breaking | .199 | .276 | .397 | .345 |
| Offspeed | .259 | .615 | .431 | 1.000 |
His average and slugging are way higher this season compared to where they were last year – aside from his slugging on breaking pitches. Obviously, it’s only been one month, and these number will drop as the season progresses, but it’s crazy to see the difference and just shows how incredible he has been. So, what has been the cause of his success so far? He hasn’t made any drastic changes to his swing, but he has incorporated a small toe tap which helps his timing and his load. Last season he would stand tall and then step forward as he swung which would take the weight off his back leg and caused him to lose power in his swing as a result. This year, he has been doing a small toe tap prior to unleashing his swing which helps load his weight into his backside and gives him more power and control as he swings.
Chapman’s adjustments have paid dividends so far this season and he has been a vital part of the Jays’ lineup. While he likely won’t hit .380 for the entire season, if he can hit close to .300 with 25-30 homeruns, the Jays will surely take that. Chapman is also going to be a free agent after this season, so if he is able to have an All-Star calibre season, he will be a great spot to secure himself a very large payday. For now, he is just focusing on getting better every day and doing whatever he can to help the team win, and so far, he a has done an excellent job at that.