Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: On base three times in win
Rotowire
Merrifield went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Thursday's win over the Brewers.
After batting .372 (16-for-43) over the final 12 games in May, Merrifield had no problem carrying his momentum over into June. The 34-year-old's hot streak has pushed his slash line on the season to .295/.345/.388, and with 15 steals in 50 games he's on pace to reach the 40 SB plateau for the third time in his career.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Taking seat Thursday
Rotowire
Merrifield is not in the lineup Thursday in Tampa Bay, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
It's a rare day off for Merrifield, who had started 17 of the previous 18 contests. Cavan Biggio will cover second base.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Stays hot Tuesday
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Merrifield went 3-for-6 with a double, three runs scored and a steal in Tuesday's win over the Rays.
Merrifield extended his hitting streak to five games, having gone 10-for-19 with a home run and two steals in that span. The 34-year-old second baseman has looked like his old self after a down 2022 season. Merrifield is now slashing .295/.345/.397 with two homers, 19 RBI, 24 runs scored and 14 steals (in 15 attempts) through 171 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Tallies four hits
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Merrifield went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer in Monday's loss to Tampa Bay.
Merrifield was perfect at the plate Monday, highlighted by his two-run shot to put Toronto on the board in the fourth inning. He was stuck in a 9-for-43 (.209) slump since his last multi-hit game May 7. Merrifield is now slashing .287/.339/.387 with 11 extra-base hits and 19 RBI through 41 games.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: On bench Saturday
Rotowire
Merrifield is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Orioles.
Merrifield will get a day off after he went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in the Blue Jays' loss Friday. Merrifield has operated as regular in the lineup this season, and although he's batting just .200 since the beginning of May, he doesn't appear to be in danger of losing his starting role. Santiago Espinal will take over at second base and bat eighth against Baltimore.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Runs wild in Saturday's win
Rotowire
Merrifield went 0-for-2 with two walks, an RBI, a run scored and three stolen bases in Saturday's 5-2 win over Atlanta.
The 34-year-old got off to a slow start on the basepaths this season, but Merrifield seems to have figured out that stealing is easier than ever in 2023. He's now 11-for-12 on stolen base attempts through 32 games, including seven pilfers in the last seven contests thanks to a pair of three-steal performances. His .284 batting average and .341 OBP would also be his best marks since 2019, but he isn't yet showing much power, swatting just one homer with a .388 SLG.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Collects eighth steal
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Merrifield went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 3-0 win over Atlanta.
He scored Toronto's first run in the fifth inning on a George Springer single, giving Chris Bassitt all the support he would need as the veteran righty tossed a shutout. Merrifield has shrugged off a slow start to the season, and over his last 20 games he's batting .311 (23-for-74) with one homer, eight RBI, nine runs and six of his eight stolen bases on the year.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Homers, drives in four
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Merrifield went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI in Sunday's 10-1 victory over the Pirates.
Merrifield opened the scoring Sunday with an RBI single in the first inning before extending Toronto's lead to 4-0 with a three-run homer off Roansy Contreras in the third. It's the first homer of the season for the 34-year-old Merrifield after he hit 11 in 504 at-bats last season. He's gotten off to a nice start with Toronto, slashing .291/.342/.408 with 12 runs scored, 14 RBI and seven steals through 114 plate appearances. While he's not likely to be a 40-steal threat anymore, Merrifield remains a solid multi-category fantasy option in the middle of a powerful Blue Jays' lineup.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Runs wild in Friday's win
Rotowire
Merrifield went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three stolen bases in Friday's 4-0 win over the Pirates.
The 34-year-old made life miserable for Pittsburgh catcher Austin Hedges every time he reached base, swiping third after a fourth-inning double then taking second and third after a sixth-inning single. Merrifield is still looking for his first homer of the year, but that's about the only blemish on his line to begin his first full season as a Blue Jays -- he's slashing .301/.356/.398 with 10 RBI, 11 runs and seven steals in eight attempts through 26 games.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Not in Thursday's lineup
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Merrifield is not in the Blue Jays' lineup for Thursday's game in Boston.
The Jays are going with Cavan Biggio at second base against Red Sox righty Brayan Bello. Merrifield began the season with a 22-game on-base streak but has since failed to reach base the last two contests.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Out of lineup Saturday
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Merrifield is out of the starting lineup Saturday versus the Mariners.
Cavan Biggio will play second base and bat eighth against the Mariners and right-hander Easton McGee. Daulton Varsho is in left field and George Springer is in right.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Two hits, steal in win
Rotowire
Merrifield went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a steal in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.
Merrifield saw his 10-game hitting streak end Tuesday but got back on track Wednesday, hitting a pair of singles and swiping his fourth bag in a win over the White Sox. The 34-year-old Merrifield has gotten off to a fast start this year following a down 2022 season. He's now slashing .313/.377/.403 with 10 RBI and nine runs scored through 77 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Hit streak at 10 games
Rotowire
Merrifield went 1-for-2 with two walks, a double, a run scored and an RBI in Monday's win over the White Sox.
The former Royal extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a fourth-inning two-bagger off Lance Lynn. Merrifield is batting .389 (14-for-36) during the streak with two steals, six runs and six RBI, and while the 34-year-old continues to get frequent rest days as part of a deep Toronto roster, the surge has raised his slash line to .317/.377/.417 on the season.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Sitting Friday
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Merrifield is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Yankees.
Merrifield will take a seat after he extended his hit streak to seven games Wednesday, going 11-for-27 with three doubles, five RBI, four runs scored and two stolen bases over those contests. Cavan Biggio will draw the start at second base and bat eighth in the series opener with righty Domingo German on the mound for New York.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Takes seat Monday
Rotowire
Merrifield is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
Merrifield and Santiago Espinal have typically been the leaders of the Blue Jays' committee approach to the keystone, but both players will take a seat in the series opener while Cavan Biggio gets the nod at the keystone. Of the three players, Merrifield has been the best performer through the first two and a half weeks of the season, posting a .661 OPS to Biggio's .556 and Espinal's .186.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Not starting Friday
Rotowire
Merrifield isn't in the Blue Jays' lineup Friday against the Rays.
After going 4-for-12 at the plate with three RBI in his last three games, Merrifield will get a breather Friday. Santiago Espinal will start at second base instead and bat seventh.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Notches second steal
Rotowire
Merrifield went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in a loss to the Tigers on Thursday.
Merrifield started in left field for Toronto, marking the third position he has fielded in his past three starts (he played second base Wednesday and right field Sunday). The versatility is helping him remain in the lineup, as the veteran has started 10 of Toronto's 13 games so far this season. Merrifield is slashing a modest .250/.310/.278 with just one extra-base hit (a double) through 42 plate appearances, but he did manage his second theft Thursday. Fantasy managers who roster Merrifield likely aren't expecting much in the way of power from the 34-year-old, so he'll need to provide production in the stolen-base department to remain a viable fantasy asset.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Sitting out Tuesday
Rotowire
Merrifield is absent from the Blue Jays' lineup Tuesday against the Tigers.
He had started each of the last six contests but will sit this one out. Cavan Biggio will play second base while Daulton Varsho and George Springer handle the corner outfield spots.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: Swipes first bag
Rotowire
Merrifield went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, one RBI and one stolen base in Sunday's extra-inning win over the Angels.
The 34-year-old put together his first multi-hit game of the season while also collecting his first steal. Merrifield's had a tepid start to the season, batting .241 (7-for-29) through eight games, but he stole 40 bases as recently as 2021 and could make a big impact in that category once he starts getting on base more consistently.
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Blue Jays' Whit Merrifield: On bench Monday
Rotowire
Merrifield is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.
Merrifield will sit for the second time in the Blue Jays' first four games of the season after logging starts at second base and left field on the two occasions he was included in the lineup. The keystone looks to be Merrifield's clearest path to steady playing time, but he'll first have to outperform the likes of Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal to secure a larger share of the starts at the position.
