Everything seems upside down when it comes to the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays. A multitude of important players have either been injured or underperformed. Given the small sample, the landscape looks weird because almost 80% of the regular season still remains.
Some statistical oddities will correct themselves, but the Blue Jays desperately need to flex their power muscles to lift themselves out of this current morass. Heading into a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, the Blue Jays employ one guy with double-digit home runs as the calendar shifts into the middle of May.
Blue Jays home run leaders six weeks into the MLB season. pic.twitter.com/B58LioH1PA
— Blue Jays Nation (@thejaysnation) May 7, 2026
Okamoto bringing the power, but the Blue Jays need more from everyone else
The immortal Kazuma Okamoto, toting ten home runs, is the only one pulling his weight in this lineup. Even Okamoto needed a well-timed recent power surge to increase his totals. The native of Japan smacked five of those bombs during the most recent road trip through Minnesota and Tampa Bay.
The rest of the leaderboard consists of Daulton Varsho and Jesus Sanchez with four, while Andrés Giménez and Brandon Valenzuela each have a trio of bombs. The Blue Jays sit in the bottom ten of MLB in terms of home runs (34). 21 of those have been solo shots, illustrating that the Blue Jays need to hit home runs with more impact.
The weirdest part? Where is the Blue Jays franchise icon Vladimir Guerrero Jr.? He's at exactly two round-trippers, having hit those away from the Rogers Centre. Guerrero Jr. is certainly capable of prodigious power production as evidenced by a 2021 season during which he finished second in the MVP voting with 48 home runs, 111 RBI and a massive 1.002 OPS.
One doesn't even need to travel five years back to understand that Guerrero Jr. can smack the cover off the ball. Who could forget his sublime performance in the 2023 Home Run Derby? Rewind to last October when Guerrero Jr. possessed an immense amount of confidence against the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners pitching staff. That production introduced the Blue Jays' star to the national stage among the top stars in baseball.
Valenzuela deserves a ton of credit for making the most of his promotion after incumbent Alejandro Kirk needed thumb surgery after taking a foul ball of his thumb in Chicago. Valenzuela could become a useful player in the future, but it probably won't happen because of his power. He hit 15 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A last season, but only reached double-digits once in his eight-year minor league career.
There is still plenty of time for the Blue Jays to correct themselves. Having said that, the positive vibes need to start flowing soon. Trying too hard is the worst outcome in baseball because hitting is extremely difficult. Reinforcements are hopefully coming with the imminent return of Addison Barger but getting more out of Varsho would also go a long way. If he can supply some power and demonstrate that his 2026 Spring Training numbers weren't a total fluke it would certainly help the pending free agent as he hits the market this offseason.
The Blue Jays as a team will start rolling when they combine their high-contact approach with some home run power.