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TORONTO — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has shown he’s capable of putting together epic hot streaks and at times carrying the Toronto Blue Jays offence all by himself.
He’s also shown over the course of his parts of five seasons in the majors that April and May are definitely not his months.
The definition of a slow starter, the 28-year-old Cuban’s monthly career splits are extreme, and that has not changed in 2022.
April: .243/.286/.358 with 5 home runs May: .241/.276/.402 with 7 home runs June: .325/.359/.634 with 16 home runs July: .302/.348/.490 with 11 home runs August: .247/.313/.397 with 7 home runs September: .307/.346/.572 with 19 home runs
Searching for the why involved in all of this is mostly futile.
If Gurriel knew what he was doing in September that he doesn’t seem to be able to do in April, he’d change it in an instant.
Is it just reps and at-bats?
Is it the weather?
As he heads into the month of June with a .240/.304/.351 slash output that’s right in line with his career early-season production, Gurriel just grins when the subject comes up because he’s aware of the splits.
“I don’t focus myself on slow starts,” Gurriel said after club translator Tito Lebron relayed the question. “I guess it is what it is, but I guess when it gets warm, I get better. But I’m not thinking if it’s cold that I’m going to have a slow start, that’s not in my mind. I just keep doing the same plan and the same routine.
“It’s getting warmer though.”
Comfort is everything for baseball players, who are creatures of habit and routine, but it’s clear when Gurriel is going well that he’s much more selective at the plate and chasing fewer breaking balls out of the zone.
Since debuting in 2018, Gurriel has been tweaking his
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