Bo Bichette is in his seventh season with the Blue Jays. He had been very consistent until last year. This year, his offensive numbers are up from last year, but well short of what he put up in the past. But, with half a season left, he could get them up to his usual level.
| Age | WAR | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | GIDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1.2 | 80 | 365 | 342 | 38 | 93 | 19 | 1 | 11 | 48 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 59 | .272 | .312 | .430 | .742 | 106 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Baseball Reference lists him at 1.2 WAR, while FanGraphs lists him at 1.4.
Bo is up high on the Hard-Hit% at the 87th percentile, but his bat speed is at the lower end, at the 14th percentile. His Squared Up% is high, 82nd percentile, but his Whiff% and Strikeout% are at the 81st percentile. His Chase% is in the bottom 12% of the league, and his walk rate is in the bottom 16%.
However, we already know all that from watching.
Bo hits the ball hard, but he misses the ball often.
Bo is striking out less frequently than in the past, with a rate of 16.2% compared to 19.0% last year.
I always worried that he wouldn’t age well. Players who age well tend to control the strike zone. But Bo is 27, which should be in the middle of his prime.
Defensively, he hasn’t been great. FanGraphs has him at a -3 Outs Above Average. Baseball Savant has him at the 11th percentile for his range. His arm strength isn’t great either, ranking in the 34th percentile. Defensively, the team would be better with Clement or Giménez.
His Sprint Speed is lower than I thought, 34th percentile.
Last year, he couldn’t hit lefties at all, .380 OPS. This year he’s hitting lefties about the same as right-handers, .704 OPS. But, his home/road splits are rather extreme, .330/.362/.570 at home, .209/.260/.276 on the road (last year he was better on the road). We are deep enough into the season that it isn’t just a small sample issue. There must be something he likes about Rogers Centre.
Bo hasn’t been a good baserunner for the last few years. This year he’s at a -1.5 baserunning runs.
I think he is miscast as a leadoff hitter. He doesn’t get on base well, he’s not a good base runner and is 4 for 7 as a basestealer. But it isn’t Bo’s fault that he is hitting at the top of the order.
Bichette has been exceptional with RISP, .397/.430/.628, which is another strike against him hitting leadoff. And he’s been excellent in high-leverage spots, with a .348/.392/.530 line.
I don’t know how to rate Bo, so I’ll leave it to you: