7 years agoToronto Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak got off to a hot start in 2018, but he has cooled off considerably. Smoak picked up seven hits and two home runs in a three-game stretch to start the year, but hasn’t done a whole lot since. Over his last five games, Smoak has picked up only one hit and one RBI over his last 18 at-bats, watching his slash line plummet to a still solid .250/.370/.417. After a breakout 2017 at age 31, many wondered whether Smoak would be able to keep it going in 2018. His peripheral statistics indicated last season was for real, but it’s worth noting that despite the struggles his BABIP is still a very high .368 (.268 career BABIP). The issue here seems to be the lack of fly balls (37.5 percent versus 44.5 percent in 2017), but in time, that will likely come. There’s no reason to worry here yet.--John Smith
Source: ESPN