Blue Jays' Brandon Belt finding groove after rough start: 'He looks like he's 26'

TORONTO – Every time Brandon Belt steps into the box, he has a checklist.

First, the Toronto Blue Jays first baseman saunters toward the dish and digs in. Then, he “squares” himself up at the plate in a spot he feels allows him to reach all pitches, inside or outside. For the last step – and this is the important one – Belt cocks back his hands and pauses them in a comfortable hitting position.

This meticulous mental procedure assures Belt is ready to compete before each at-bat.

“Now I know I'm ready,” Belt said. “As opposed to just going out there, getting ready to swing, and not having that checklist, everything kind of gets chaotic.”

The 35-year-old said a miscue on the third step (the hands) was to blame when he slashed .172/.243/.524 with 31 strikeouts through his first 19 games this year. He just wasn’t taking that extra split second of preparation, and, sure enough, he was late on a lot of pitches.

“I feel like I have [my routine down] now,” the 13-year veteran said. “And it gives me a little bit more confidence when I'm up there that I'm not missing anything.”

Now, vintage Belt is back. Since May 1, the two-time World Series champion is batting .375/.460/.594 with five extra-base hits and a much-improved chase rate. No longer are pitchers blowing centre-cut fastballs past him or getting away with hanging curves. Instead, pitchers should feel threatened as the lanky lefty strolls to the dish because, when things are going well, Belt is a tough out.

“He controls the zone very well,” said Jays manager John Schneider, noting how carefully pitchers approach Belt. “And I think when he is in there consistently and hitting the pitches he should, it's a big plus for us. But it's funny how he gets about one pitch an at-bat, it seems, and right now he's doing damage with it.”

It may look like Belt only gets one pitch to hit per at-bat, but that’s a product of a well-thought-out strategy at the plate that involves taking a strike or two.

“Obviously this doesn't happen every time, but if I can't put my A-swing on it, I usually don't swing,” Belt said, adding that it took six years of MLB at-bats to refine his approach. “I get fooled sometimes and it's not my A-swing, but, for the most part, if I feel like I can't drive the ball, then I usually take it and wait for them to give me a pitch to hit.”

Kevin Kiermaier, another veteran settling into Toronto, has been impressed with his new teammate, and he could tell a hot streak was brewing.

“I like watching my teammates when crap hits the fan, I guess you can say, and how they respond,” Kiermaier said. “For [Belt], he's a jokester; he likes making fun of himself, giving himself a hard time. Because if he can't, how can anyone else do it?”

Sure enough, things brightened up. Belt’s gusto returned, and now that he’s locked in, he can unleash a sneaky element of his game: the surprise bunt. Opposing third basemen like to play back against Belt, and when he sees that, he’ll take advantage.

Belt’s latest sly bunt single Monday– one of two on the season – and his subsequent animated hustle down the line drew quite the reaction from the Blue Jays dugout.

“He’s looking younger every day,” Schneider quipped.

Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Braves was perhaps the boldest demonstration of Belt’s blazing footspeed. In true twinkle-toes fashion, he snuck a bunt down the line in the fifth inning and later legged out an infield single in the ninth to keep the game alive for a walk-off win.

Kiermaier, who was on the bench that game and watching from a TV in the Rogers Centre batting cages, couldn’t believe his eyes.

“For a second, I said, ‘Who the heck is running?’” Kiermaier explained. “And they were like, ‘It was Belt.’ It looked like he was moving … He’s a man with many tricks, and you never know what to expect with him coming to the field, but he can beat you in more ways than one.

“And now he's dropping down some bunts, hitting homers, doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I love to see it.”

It’s now very clear this is the version of Belt the Blue Jays envisioned when they inked him to a one-year deal this winter. Perhaps the searing scuttles on the bases won’t continue – he is, after all, the second-slowest Jays baserunner ahead of Alejandro Kirk – but the other contributions are big.

Whether it’s walks, doubles, or decent defence at first, Belt is offering his share of stability. And in a deadly Jays lineup where he doesn’t have to be more than a .719 OPS guy, that’s an invaluable piece to have, especially come playoff time.

“Now he's heating up and you just sit back and watch,” Kiermaier said. “He's a good guy to have on your team, in the clubhouse, out there on the field with what he's capable of. And he's gonna contribute all year long for us.”