Kazuma

Okamoto

Okamoto’s home run was his 13th. He hit a two-run shot off Bryce Elder with two outs in the second inning. The Blue Jays would only score one other run and lose 4-3. Despite excellent power numbers (.216 ISO), Okamoto is hitting .221. His 31.8 percent strikeout percentage is going to keep his average down while his power continues to drive his fantasy value.

Okamoto jump-started Toronto’s eventual comeback win by taking Orioles starter Trevor Rogers deep to left field in the seventh inning. It was his 12th big fly of the season and second round-tripper in his last three games. The 29-year-old rookie has had some up-and-down stretches during his stateside debut, but he’s shown an ability to consistently hit for power as a potential middle-of-the-order run-producing threat for the Blue Jays.

Okamoto tied the game at 1-1 with a solo homer in the sixth off Andrew Nardi. The 29-year-old has homered 11 times in his first MLB season, and he’s now up to 29 runs driven in, putting him just under a 90-RBI pace over the first 55 games. Okamoto has had more downs than ups in his rookie campaign, but there have been enough ups to suggest that he has a solid future at this level.

Okamoto won’t have to face Pirates ace Paul Skenes as he gets a breather following five consecutive starts at the hot corner. It’ll be Ernie Clement taking over with Lenyn Sosa at second base. The 29-year-old could use a break since he’s been mired in a slump for a couple weeks, hitting .161 (9-for-56) with one homer and 24 strikeouts over his last 15 games.

It’s a rare day off for the 29-year-old slugger who has become a fixture in the middle of the Jays’ lineup. Okamoto is hitting .239/.326/.459 with 10 long balls and 27 RBI through his first 181 plate appearances in the big leagues. Ernie Clement will slide over and cover third base while Davis Schneider starts at second base and will bat ninth for the Jays.

Okamoto got the scoring started in the ballgame as he plated George Springer with an RBI single off of Reid Detmers in the third inning. That would be all the run support that Dylan Cease and company would require in this one. Okamoto also drew a walk in the ballgame, reaching base twice in his four plate appearances. He has been a solid addition to the middle of the Jays’ lineup, slashing .248/.335/.489 with 10 homers and 24 RBI in his first 155 plate appearances.

Okamoto launched a solo shot off Drew Rasmussen in the first inning for his 10th home run of the season. After struggling a bit to begin the year, Okamoto is now 8-for-21 in May with five home runs, seven runs scored, and eight RBI in five games. He’s been hitting well for longer than that, but we seem to be in the eye of the storm for his hot stretch right now. The rookie is now slashing a respectable .244/.327/.489 on the season, and earlier concerns about him being a bust have quieted considerably.

Okamoto had an incredible weekend in Minneapolis, crushing a pair of home runs on Friday night before leaving the yard one time each on Saturday and Sunday. The 29-year-old slugger finished the day 1-for-4 plus a walk and is now hitting .236/.319/.472 with nine homers and 22 RBI in his first season stateside.

Okamoto followed a two-homer game with another excellent day at the plate. He took Justin Topa deep for a solo homer in the sixth inning, an absolute blast at 111.7 mph going 453 feet. He then knocked a base hit in the eighth to bring home a run. The 29-year-old third baseman is up to eight homers and 20 RBI while slashing .235/.316/.454 across 133 plate appearances.

Okamoto joked that he was a pregame quesadilla shy of a three-homer performance during Friday’s win over the Twins. He’ll continue hitting cleanup for the seventh time in the last eight games on Saturday afternoon at Target Field. The 29-year-old third baseman has been scorching hot, going deep five times over his last 12 games after Friday’s two-homer explosion.