After Forgettable Dodgers Stint, Curtis Granderson in a Groove With Blue Jays

If you didn’t know that Curtis Granderson was part of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ postseason run last year, I don’t blame you. The three-time All-Star could’ve just stayed home and produced similar results. In 15 postseason at-bats last year, the Grandy Man struck out eight times and managed just one, count ’em, one base hit. He was struggling so bad that the Dodgers left him off their World Series roster.

While, as a fan of Granderson, it was hard to see him relegated to cheerleading duties in the Fall Classic, he deserved his spot entirely. Even the 36 games he played for the Dodgers during the regular season were ugly: 18 for 112 with 33 strikeouts and a .654 OPS. It seemed like it was over for Granderson, his final season playing out eerily similar to that of Deron Williams — a former star added to a championship contender only to be exposed on the national stage. Surely, no one would sign him, and like Williams, he’d be sitting at home for the first time.

That scenario, however, did not happen. Granderson accepted a surprise one-year, $5 million deal from the Toronto Blue Jays and the rest is history.

Acquired as the lefty bat in Toronto’s righty/lefty outfield platoon with Steve Pearce, Grandy has been stroking with Toronto. Spring Training resulted in an MVP-level performance through 17 games. He went 12 for 43 with 10 extra-base hits and a 1.104 OPS that would have led the MLB last season. And now that regular-season games have started, he’s continued to rake. He’s hit .350 so far (7 for 20) and has appeared in all seven games as Toronto’s left fielder.

Plus, he’s just flat-out hitting the ball more squarely. In 2017, he had an average exit velocity of 87.5 but has improved to 90.5 in 2018. (The MLB average this year is 88.9 MPH.)

I’m not saying Grandy will keep this up but he deserves to go out on at least a semi-good note. The good news is that he’s obviously confident right now and building off the work he did in Spring Training. If he can finish 2018 with a batting average of .250-plus, then this season will be a legit success.