What do you expect from Jose Bautista?

[kavan]

I think he can hit close to 40hr again. What I want from him more then HR is a higher batting average. Hopfully he can become more of a hit producer and those hits result in dingers!

[Skin Blues]

It's a foregone conclusion that he won't have a good average hitting all those fly balls, but luckily it's OBA and SLG that count. Far be it from me (or anybody else) to tell a hitter in the top 5 of MLB in OPS, wOBA, BB%, and ISO to change his approach because of something as ridiculous as batting average.

[J Dilla]

Hopefully 45 homeruns, but something tells me close to 20-25.

[LittleOzzy]

Your Call: What do you expect from Jose Bautista in 2011?

Last season, Bautista came out of nowhere to lead the majors in home runs with 54 at the age of 29. As a result, the Jays rewarded him with a 5-year, $64 million contract, putting an end to his days of flying under the radar.

While few Jays fans would expect him to repeat his totals of a year ago, how much of a drop-off would be acceptable? Let's take a look at some different scenarios and see what you could live with.

Bautista put up big numbers in 2010, but the magic actually started at the tail-end of the 2009 campaign. The Dominican native finished the 2009 season with 10 homers after September 1, lending credence to the argument that last season wasn't a fluke. So there is a possibility he could approach those numbers again. And with the departure of Vernon Wells and his 31 homers, he may need to come close to last years' numbers to give the Jays a chance to compete in the American League East.

However, it would be more realistic to expect some sort of letdown after a break-out season. But if Bautista can hit 30 round-trippers or better, it's still almost double his career-high of 16 before the 2010 season. Those 30+ dingers would still make him a productive player in the middle of the lineup. But it would be 20 less than last season and can the Jays afford to lose that much offensive punch?

Then there is the scenario whereby he returns to his old ways and comes in as a 20-home run or less player. While it would be regretful for Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and company to see Bautista regress to his former self, he would remain a very useful player due to the fact that he's effective in the outfield defensively and he can play third base. While his defensive prowess wouldn't make up for his lack of offence, if his hitting falters, he still has value – unlike one-dimensional players.

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=357092

[tiger7]

30-40 range and I'll be happy as long as there is not a drop in OBP or average. He was also a stellar fielder last year so hopefully that doesn't change.

[torontoaces04]

I think any total over 35 would be considered a good season for Bautista. Anything over 27 is an average year based on expectations.