While the starting pitching has been a pleasant surprise for the Toronto Blue Jays early this season, Troy Tulowitzki’s struggles at the plate have been a surprising disappointment.
Heading into Tuesday’s series with the Baltimore Orioles, the 31-year-old has just two home runs, six RBI, no multi-hit games and an uncharacteristic .140/.241/.260/.501 slash line.
One of Tulowitzki’s former teammates, Justin Morneau, says it’s only a matter of time before the Blue Jays shortstop snaps out of his funk and starts lighting up opposing pitchers.
“Sometimes guys are good and you don’t know why they’re good and some guys are good and it seems like they just show up and take 10 swings in the cage and then they go out and play and get three hits. Tulo’s not one of those guys,” Morneau explained on Baseball Central at Noon Tuesday on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “Tulo’s one of those guys that’s there to outwork everybody. He’s good because of how hard he works and because of how much he cares and wants to be great. So, if he’s going through something you know he’s working hard to get out of it, he’s spending his time in the cage, he’s looking at his video, he’s doing his research on pitchers, he’s doing everything possible to get himself out of it because he wants to win and he wants to do well.”
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Morneau played a season and a half with Tulowitzki on the Colorado Rockies prior to the trade that sent Tulo to Toronto last July. The Canadian, who’s currently a free agent recovering from elbow surgery, said when fans begin to see Tulowitzki “driving the ball to the big part of the field” and “taking his walks” that’s when you’ll know he’s back on him game.
“He’s also a guy that has a track record of doing well and a track record of being successful. You know at some point he’s going to come out of it and he’s going to get hot,” Morneau added. “He has that ability to get hot, especially in that lineup with the protection he has and the guys hitting around him. Once he gets hot it’s going to be fun to watch.”
