Former Blue Jay Josh Donaldson praises young star Bo Bichette: 'He has the gift'
Bo Bichette continues to turn heads in the early stages of his big league career.
Tuesday’s contest against the Atlanta Braves was only his 33rd since making the jump to the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays at the end of July. Yet, it seems like whenever he steps up to the plate, he’s rewriting a record book — either that of the Jays or the MLB.
His play, especially while holding a bat, has caught the attention of Atlanta’s third baseman Josh Donaldson. The former Blue Jay and 2015 American League MVP was happy to share his glowing reviews of the 21-year-old during a recent interview with Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.
“I see his swing a lot. I’ve watched it,” said Donaldson. “...He does a great job of being able to move at the plate. It really is impressive.
“...I feel like it’s almost a mixture of (Jose) Bautista and me.”
While Donaldson insists that he can’t take too much credit for what Bichette has been able to do at the dish, it would make sense that the three-time All-Star has had at least some impact on the youngster’s approach.
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Although the two were part of the Blue Jays organization at the same (albeit brief) time, the two didn’t have many opportunities to chat baseball. However, Bichette does remember a conversation that they had about mechanics at a charity event in South Florida in 2015, the year before Bichette was drafted by Toronto.
“I took one thing away from Josh when I talked to him the first time I met him and he said your hands and your lower body always have to be in synch,” Bichette recalled, according to Longley. “That’s something since that day (I’ve) tried to do.
“It’s something that made a lot of sense to me. It’s something I took to my game, something that helped me understand the swing even more.”
Well, that “something” has resulted in incredible production out of the Orlando, Florida, native. Following 7-2 loss on Tuesday, he’s hitting.326/.362/.597 with eight home runs, 14 RBIs and 47 hits.
Fans of the Blue Jays can’t get too excited just yet, though. Every single time Bichette steps up to the plate, teams around the league collect that much more video and data to break down as they attempt to figure out how to stop him offensively.
Donaldson doesn’t seem to be too worried about that, though.
“Look: I think he has a really great opportunity and a chance to be successful,” Donaldson said to Longley. “At the same time, you’ve got to see how the league’s going to adjust and see how that’s going to happen. There’s going to be adjustments.
“He has the gift. It’s going to be mental from here on out and being able to stay constantly in the right frame of mind.”
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