Lourdes' law: 'When he's hot, he's hot'

SEATTLE -- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was always going to be the wild card of the Blue Jays' lineup. His tantalizing offensive abilities come and go, but he’s quietly finding his stride in the second half.

Coming off home runs in back-to-back games in Anaheim, Gurriel is showing more of what he did in 2019 and ’20. A gifted athlete with a swing built for line drives and power, Gurriel hit .289 with an .874 OPS across those two seasons, which wouldn’t look too shabby in the lineup below George Springer and four All-Stars.

“He’s a streaky hitter. When he’s cool, he’s cool; but when he’s hot, he’s hot,” said manager Charlie Montoyo. “He’s hot right now. He’s been one of our best hitters this last month. He’s having good at-bats and he’s in hitter's counts now, that’s why he’s doing so well. But I’m not surprised -- this guy hits.”

Take whichever sample size you like. Entering June, Gurriel was dragging, hitting .249 with a .632 OPS and a strikeout-to-walk ratio that just didn’t work. In 53 games since June 1, he’s hitting .284 with an .845 OPS. In August, he’s started 10-for-29 (.345) with a 1.146 OPS. Gurriel’s turnaround has been slow and steady, but you’re finally starting to notice it because of this recent burst.

“I’m feeling much better right now,” Gurriel said Friday through a translator. “I make a lot of adjustments in my swing regardless of the outcome of the games, but it’s been working for me and it’s showing right now. I feel a lot better.”

Frankly, on a team with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. taking a run at an MVP Award and Springer winning back-to-back AL Player of the Week Awards, it’s hard to get noticed. Gurriel isn’t the star of the show, but contributions like this -- something in the .850 OPS range -- are critical from the bottom half of the lineup. There are 30 homers in Gurriel’s bat if he keeps things rolling for a full season, and while his defense can be an adventure at times when he’s forced to retreat towards the wall, he’s been seeing more time at first base to spell Guerrero.

“The most challenging thing is that they expect me to play like Vladdy,” Gurriel said with a laugh, “but I’ll do my best. I’ve been trying to do that.”

Friday in Seattle will be Gurriel’s sixth start of the season at first, and with Rowdy Tellez gone and Cavan Biggio still on the IL, he’s next in line for the foreseeable future. The Blue Jays' recent run hasn’t leapfrogged them up the standings as much as they’d like, but Gurriel, who’s always at the center of any dugout shenanigans, has full confidence in the roster around him.

“Here in the clubhouse, we have one goal: win,” Gurriel said. “We try to go out and win every game. We’re not looking or paying attention to what other teams do or what their record is. We just don’t pay attention. Right now, we’re here, we feel good and the clubhouse is good right now. We’re going to go out and try to win every game possible.”

Kirk’s defensive strides the key

Alejandro Kirk’s offensive upside is substantial. With him in the bottom third of the order, the Blue Jays have a rare luxury in one of the game’s best contact bats, who is capable of hitting for average, working counts and moving runners over. It’s always been about defense for Kirk, who’s still just 22.

“The more he catches, the better he gets,” Montoyo said. “We cannot forget that this kid played in [Class] A two years ago before he came up last year. He’s getting better the more he catches. The funny thing about him -- because he doesn’t have much experience -- he follows the game plan to a tee.”

Reese McGuire has been seeing plenty of well-earned playing time, and Danny Jansen is working his way back from the IL, but Kirk’s upside is too tempting to pass up for the Blue Jays, even in a postseason run. This conversation gets much more interesting when No. 3 prospect Gabriel Moreno makes his push next season, but if Kirk can continue to develop defensively, he’ll be given the opportunity to run with the starting gig.

Palacios back in Triple-A after hand injury

Outfielder Josh Palacios was a standout in Spring Training and catapulted himself into consideration for MLB reps, but he broke a bone in his hand back in May, which put a pause on his season. After a few rehab games in Rookie-level ball and Low-A, the 26-year-old was back in the lineup for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Friday at DH.

The addition of Corey Dickerson gives the Blue Jays five outfielders at the MLB level right now, but with the loss of Jonathan Davis, who was the up-and-down outfielder all season long, Palacios could be next in line again if a need arises down the stretch.