"On Tuesday (May 19), Lukes was set to begin his rehab assignment by getting into a couple of games with the Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto's Single-A affiliate. Lukes has been on the Injured List since the end of April as he suffered a hamstring injury. While there's never a "good time" to get injured, Lukes went down at the worst possible time as he was in the midst of breaking out of a season long slump and had become one of the Blue Jays hottest hitters in the seven games before he got hurt."
"Lukes had just two hits in his first 27 plate appearances, and was striking out at a 22.2% clip, while producing a -51 wRC+. Then it was discovered that he had been dealing with vertigo. Lukes saw a specialist, got help for his symptoms, and started spanking the ball. Over the following seven games, Lukes hit .458/.480/.625 with 11 hits in 25 at-bats, and pulled his strikeout rate down to 4%."
"It's felt like the Blue Jays have been missing his presence ever since and that's what will make the upcoming decision a difficult, but necessary one, considering where the Blue Jays currently are in the standings. Heading into Tuesday evening, the Blue Jays were sitting at 21-26, and desperate from some more production out of their outfield group as a whole. Blue Jays outfield group leaves a lot to be desired"
"Daulton Varsho has been the most productive with a 3.1 offensive fWAR, while hitting .261 with a 112 wRC+. Rookie Yohendrick Piñango has been worth 1.9 offensive fWAR with a .327 average and a 131 wRC+. Myles Straw follows, with a 0.2 offensive fWAR, .270 average and 110 wRC+. The issue is that both Straw and Piñango have been used mostly in platoon situations."
Nathan Lukes is scheduled to start a rehab assignment with the Dunedin Blue Jays after being on the injured list since late April with a hamstring injury. Lukes had been struggling early, then was in the middle of a breakout when the injury occurred. After vertigo symptoms were discovered, he saw a specialist and received treatment. Following that, he hit well and his performance improved sharply. Over seven games, he posted a .458/.480/.625 line with 11 hits in 25 at-bats and reduced his strikeout rate to 4%. The Blue Jays enter the rehab period at 21-26 and need more outfield production. Daulton Varsho leads the group, while other outfielders have limited impact and are often used in platoon roles.
Read at Jays Journal
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]