The Blue Jay you didn’t expect to break out

This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

There’s nothing quiet about Danny Jansen’s hot streaks.

They’re big and loud, fueled by pull-side power and no-doubt homers. We saw none of this in the early weeks of 2023, as Jansen’s bat took a little longer to fly north, but he’s officially on a heater.

Jansen launched two home runs in Tuesday’s win over the White Sox, building on a pinch-hit home run at Yankee Stadium over the weekend. When Jansen enters these zones, each fastball he sees comes with a ticket to the left-field bleachers, but the 28-year-old had to mentally reset himself after going just 4-for-35 (.114) in the 12 games prior to his first home run.

“I think I’m just getting back to my routine. It’s about my work in the cages,” Jansen said. “Early on, it’s early to chase hits a bit with a slow start. Talking to some of the guys, and I actually talked to Brandon Belt, who said, ‘Chase good at-bats instead.’ That was more my focus.”

Jansen’s “routine” is important here. You hear that word thrown loosely by hitters and pitchers alike, but it’s a blanket term that doesn’t mean much unless you know the specifics.

For Jansen, this involves a detailed hitting schedule around his defensive commitments, which he takes as seriously as anyone. Frankly, you might never see a Blue Jays player happier than Jansen is when he’s discussing ways to win the game from behind the plate. When it comes to this routine, though, Jansen is trying to set himself to succeed with his own specific identity at the plate, not someone else’s.

Hitting the ball to all fields can work, and Jansen still wants to do that, but he knows he’s at his best when he's pulling the ball. He’s leaned into this, which is refreshing to hear from a player, and is fully embracing the fact that he’s looking for spots to yank the baseball to left field. It worked wonders in 2021-’22, when he hit a combined 26 home runs with an .817 OPS over 142 games.

“This is typical of what we saw at the end of last year,” said manager John Schneider. “He’s having some really competitive at-bats. I thought this started before we even hit the road when he had a couple of hits here, but he’s really finding the barrel now. He’s slowed down a little bit at the plate. He can do damage. It kind of comes in bunches with him.”

Now that he’s hitting, you see the complete package that Jansen brings. He’s been in this organization for a decade now, but is still young at 28 in the midst of his prime years. It’s difficult to overstate how well-respected Jansen is throughout the Blue Jays’ entire system.

The home runs get the attention, but Jansen’s ability to work with a pitching staff is what you hear praised most by teammates and coaches.

He’s a baseball nut who looks at the game from interesting angles, a good example being his last time working with José Berríos on Tuesday. Berríos threw seven shutout innings, and afterward, Jansen was asked about the role he’s played in rebuilding his pitcher’s confidence.

“I’m not going to take much of the credit. I think it’s him,” Jansen said. “He’s a star, man, and he has great stuff. I just try to lead him with presence. If it’s a fastball away, I’m getting out there to limit the misses. I’m trying to be more of a visual leader for him. I think that’s big, but he’s a dog. He’s great at what he does, so I think getting him on the right track visually helps.”

With Jansen’s production back in place, the waters have calmed and the Blue Jays are back to having one of baseball’s finest catching tandems. Alejandro Kirk isn’t tearing the cover off the ball yet, but he’s an on-base machine with one of the most unique offensive profiles in the game. Pair that with Jansen’s power, and the Blue Jays have something rare. It’s what allowed them to trade Gabriel Moreno-- one of MLB’s top prospects at the time -- to the D-backs this offseason for outfielder Daulton Varsho.

The mix between the two will remain a good problem for the Blue Jays. It’s tempting to have both in the lineup each night, but after Kirk wore down late in '22, the club is wary of pushing them too hard. They can’t go wrong now that Jansen’s bat is fully and officially back.