Blue Jay hitters in August

August was our worst offensive month of the season, which with all the injuries, shouldn't surprise us. We hit .248/.322/.367 for the month and averaged 3.79 runs a game.

Here is how our batters hit in August:

• J.P. Arencibia played in 23 of 29 games, starting 18 of them. He hit .179/.214/.358, with 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 2 walks and 20 strikeouts. Surprisingly, not his worst month of the season, he hit just .175/.230/.313 in June. I get told that we are too rough on the guy, but he really has been terrible and there is no sign he is going to improve. He has thrown out 24% of base stealers, just short of the league average 26%, which is about the end of the good news. I really can't help thinking that there is a good ballplayer somewhere in there, but I'm tired of waiting for him to show. At least he's stopped throwing from his knees.
• Josh Thole played in 13 games, starting 11. Josh isn't hitting any better than JP, .184/.244/.342 with 1 home run, 1 triple, 4 RBI, 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. I guess it is pretty telling that he had 1 more walk than JP in 28 less plate appearances. On the season, Josh has thrown out 25% of base stealers. If I was Gibby, I'd likely move to a straight platoon for JP and Josh. I wish A.J. Jimenez wasn't hurt.
• Edwin Encarnacion played and started in all 29 games this month even with the sore leg. He hit .265/.392/.471 with 5 home runs, 15 RBI, 22 walks, 9 strikeouts and 1 stolen base in 2 tries. That's his fewest home runs and RBI of any month this season, but his most walks. With the line up we are putting out there, I'm surprised anyone would pitch to him.
• Jose Reyes played in 27 games, starting 26. He hit .264/.305/.364 with 3 home runs, 11 RBI, 1 stolen base in 4 tries. He seems to be running better.
• Brett Lawrie started all 29 games. Our player of the month hit .346/.397/.495 with 2 home runs, 1 triple, 8 doubles, 7 walks, 7 strikeouts, 4 steals in 7 tries. Nice to see him hitting the ball hard. Now the question is can he keep it up? He is my favorite player to watch on defense. As good as Scott Rolen was, Lawrie's even better.
• Adam Lind played in 28 games and started 25. He hit .253/.356/.379, 3 home runs, 2 doubles, 7 RBI, 14 walks and 17 strikeouts. That's the most walks he's had any month this year. After an awful July, this was a improvement, but we really need more out of Lind.
• Rajai Davis played in 22 games, starting 18. He hit .227/.298/.307, 6 doubles, 5 RBI, 7 walks, 14 strikeouts, 9 stolen bases in 10 tries. I like him as a part time player, but I like him far less as a full time player.
• Jose Bautista started 18 games before going on the DL. He hit .288/.405/.485 with 6 home runs, 7 RBI, 11 walks, 7 strikeouts.
• Maicer Izturis played in 16 games, starting 15. He hit .193/.254/.193, his worst numbers of any month, in a pretty awful year. 10 RBI, 0 steals, 3 times caught, 11 walks and 8 strikeouts. Izturis has the worst WAR of any player in baseball this year, at -2.2. Much of that from his less than great defense. If he has a full time job next year, then we haven't learned anything.
• Mark DeRosa played in 17 games, starting 8. He hit .152/.256/.242 with 3 doubles, 4 RBI, 5 walks and 13 strikeouts. I would like DeRosa much more if Pat and Buck didn't tell us what a 'professional' he was and how he's come through in the clutch so much this year. I keep wanting to scream at the TV "have you watched any games this year". It seems like Buck and Pat started the season with a handful of talking points and haven't let any anything that has happened on the field influence what they say.
• Kevin Pillar played in 15 games, starting 13. He hit .163/.250/.256, 1 home run, 6 RBI, 3 walks, 15 strikeouts and 1 caught stealing. I'm just happy to see someone that can play defense in left. I hope they give him enough at bats so we can see if he can learn how to hit major league pitching.
• Anthony Gose played in 14 games, starting 11. He hit .220/.238/.268, 1 triple, 2 RBI, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts, 3 steals in 4 tries.
• Colby Rasmus started 10 games before going on the DL. He hit .231/.286/.359 with 1 home run, 5 RBI, 3 walks and 14 strikeouts.
• Munenori Kawasaki played in 9 games, starting 5. He hit .286/.318/.381 with 1 triple, 2 RBI, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. He's magic.
• Ryan Goins started 8 games. He hit .400/.419/.467 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. In reality, he'll struggle to hit .250, but, considering he's the first guy we've had that can play good defense at second, I'm happy using him. Play him all of September, let's see what we've got.
• Moises Sierra played in 10 games, starting 8. He hit .200/.323/.240, with 1 double, 2 RBI, 5 walks and 6 strikeouts. I really wouldn't mind having him on the bench next season. He still runs the bases like he doesn't understand the other team could tag him out.
• Emilio Bonifacio played in 9 games, starting 8 before being traded to the Royals. He hit.241/.290/.310 with 2 doubles, 4 RBI, 2 walks, 10 k, 1 steal in 2 tries. As a Royal, he is hitting .286/.363/.386 with 12 stolen bases, 0 times caught. He had 12 stolen bases with us (caught 6 times) in 94 games, he has 12 steals with the Royals, in 20 games. And that pretty much describes the season we've had.