Jose Bautista came out of nowhere to lead the Majors in home runs a year ago. He hit 54! For some perspective, the next highest total was 42 and it was the most hit in a single season since A-Rod hit 54 in 2007. Nobody really knew of the guy and few thought he had a legitimate chance at becoming a star. Then comes late 2009, Bautista changes his approach (decided to start yanking the ball out to left) and became a much more successful hitter. He hit 10 HR in September to bring his 2009 total to 13. Eventually, it seemed, pitchers would start to pitch him differently and the success would fade. That has not been the case. “I thought they would change the way they pitch to me but they haven’t yet,” Bautista said. “Eventually they’re going to have to throw the ball over the plate and I’m being patient enough because I’m seeing the ball good and giving myself a chance.”
Through 21 games with Toronto, Bautista has taken advantage of this “chance.” He leads the Majors in Home Runs (7), and walks (19). He’s second in the league with a .506 OBP, 
.750 Slugging, and 1.256 OPS. He leads the American league in average (.359) and has stolen two bases. Fangraphs says that Bautista has already earned about $8.5 million in worth to the franchise and we’re about 12% of the way through the season.
Over the winter, Jose Bautista signed a 5-year $65-million extension to stay in Toronto. The deal looked a bit large for a guy who had had one successful season. Bautista could easily slip back into the utility role that he has occupied for much of his professional career and be a major burden for a club without significant salary flexibility. But, realistically, that could be said of any player signing any contract of over 3 years. If the contract started today, Bautista would be only the 39th highest paid player in the game (Remember guys like Derek Lowe are also getting $15 mil/year). He would not have to perform at the superstar level he did in 2010 to earn his keep.
So far in 2011, he has earned his keep (see above). Bautista is killing the baseball. He reached base 11 straight times over the weekend and had David Price, the guy who finished second in Cy Young voting last year, shaking his head after he scorched two home runs off him on Saturday. Price was quoted as saying that it felt like anytime he threw a strike Bautista was hitting it hard somewhere. Price was not the only Ray who noticed: “He’s very reminiscent of Barry Bonds in 2002,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “He looks like that where every time he swings the bat, it looks like it’s going to go over the wall. Just tremendous plate disciple, very aggressive swing. It’s an understatement to say that he’s locked in right now. He’s hitting as though there’s a league above this one.” This is high praise for anyone and I think its a bit much to say any player looks like Bonds of 2002. So far though, Bautista has earned the praise.
I was skeptical that Bautista could repeat his 2010 performance. He went for only $30 in my auction fantasy draft (Albert Pujols went for $78) and that proves that nobody else in the league really thought that his 2010 production was real either. The production is real and the numbers are real. The guy is tremendously fun to watch right now and I can’t wait to see him keep yanking home runs out to left field for the next 5 years.
Stat of the Day: Mariano Rivera has blown consecutive save chances for only the ninth time in his career. Part deux of the Stat of the day: over the last 6 seasons, Rivera has posted a 1.88 cumulative ERA.
-Sean Morash
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