Ian Hunter
@bluejayhunter
Writing, talking, living and breathing the Toronto Blue Jays since 2007. Contributor at Blue Jays Nation.
At 45-51, the Blue Jays are now dead last in the AL East, but still somehow 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. Make it make sense, American League.
Jeff Hoffman no longer leads MLB in reliever BABIP. Time to pop some bubbly? He was on pace for a historically high batting average on balls in play, but it's down to .396. 📸 Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images 📊 Via @stathead.com | @baseball-reference.com
Louis Varland just wrapped up one of the most dominant first halves by a Blue Jays reliever ever. Varland's 0.96 ERA is second-lowest in franchise history, second to B.J. Ryan's 0.84 ERA in 2006. 📊 Via @stathead.com @baseball-reference.com 📸 Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has posted two of the worst months of his career in consecutive months. With a .498 OPS, June 2026 is tracking to be his lowest single-month OPS in a non pandemic-shortened season. (Via @stathead.com and @baseball-reference.com) 📸 Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
When somebody sees Woody or Buzz Lightyear walking and talking for the first time. 📸 Sportsnet
Watched this play unfold at the ballpark last night, and upon closer inspection, it's worse than I thought. Urias was tracking this ball the whole way, but thought Smith missed the catch. These kinds of plays cannot happen. 🎥 Sportsnet
Baseball: one of the few lines of work where there's a dedicated person to slap you on the back. 📸 Sportsnet
6-out saves are a rarity these days, but Louis Varland already has 2 of them this year. He's one of only 5 Blue Jays this century to have multiple 6-out saves in a single season. (Via @stathead.com and @baseball-reference.com) 📸 Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Last night, Lenyn Sosa ended his Major League-leading 52-game streak without a walk. His teammates were pretty pumped. (Via @stathead.com and @baseball-reference.com) 📸 Sportsnet
The Blue Jays are 2 games under .500, but are 7-3 in their last 10 games, now tied for the final Wild Card spot entering today.
Hat tip to @ErikSonOfLars for finding this! The photographer for this iconic Edwin/Jose Blue Jays photo is Mark Blinch. Here are some links to more of his amazing work on Instagram/X. 📸 instagram.com/mblinch/ 📸 x.com/mblinch
Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion in town last night reminded me of one of the best baseball photos I've ever seen. This one is SUPER low resolution, but if anyone knows who the photographer is (and/or has a higher resolution version), please let me know!
With another quality start yesterday — his 75th as a Blue Jay — Kevin Gausman ranks 5th all-time for Blue Jays starting pitchers in quality start percentage (minimum 130 starts). Via @stathead.com @baseball-reference.com 📸 Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Is Dylan Cease evolving his game, turning into Mr. Quality Start? Last night was only the third start of his career with 7 innings, 10 strikeouts and no walks. (Via @stathead.com and @baseball-reference.com) 📸 Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Lenyn Sosa somehow made contact on this pitch. Even Vladimir Guerrero Sr. was like: "Dude, even I wouldn't swing at that."
A look at the Jays from April of last year to April of this year. As meek as they've been to start the season, the 2025 Blue Jays were just a tad bit worse.
Not sure how that ball stayed fair, but the Blue Jays are thankful it did. 📸 Sportsnet
With Max Scherzer's ERA ballooning to 9.64, and Eric Lauer with a 6.75 ERA, reinforcements for the Blue Jays' starting rotation can't come soon enough.
With 44 Ks, Dylan Cease now has more strikeouts than any Blue Jay in franchise history through their first 5 games with the franchise. (Via @stathead.com and @baseball-reference.com)
Via the Blue Jays' promotional schedule, here's an updated look at the Dylan Cease bobblehead being given away on June 10th. By then, it might need a much larger moustache.
An interesting tale of the tape between the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks and where they rank in the extra-base hit department. Dbacks: 1st overall in XBH% (9.1%) and 1st in X/H% (42%) Blue Jays: 17th overall in XBH% (6.7%) and 22nd in X/H% (31%) (Via @stathead.com and @baseball-reference.com)
The 6 on Patrick Corbin's uniform earlier today looked like it had a few too many Milwaukee brews last night. (Attn @minorleaguer.ca)
Vladdy going through the gamut of emotions on the base paths. 📸 Sportsnet
This was before my time, but one of my in-laws was at The Ex for Blue Jays Opening Day in '77. They gifted me this gorgeous Opening Game ticket, which is a work of art. Really makes you long for the days of physical tickets, doesn't it?
With 2 relief appearances already this season, Tyler Heineman is the Blue Jays franchise leader for overall position player pitching appearances. In 6 appearances and 7.1 IP dating back to 2024, he has an ERA of 20.86. (Via @stathead.com and @baseball-reference.com) 📸 Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
An incredibly important mascot development - Diamond, Domer and BJ Birdy are back! 📸 Via Sportsnet