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Ten MLB stars that would love to hit restart button on 2017 season

MLB stars

Jose Bautista, right fielder, Toronto Blue Jays

Jose Bautista

Bautista has long been one of the game’s most feared sluggers. In the first week of 2017, he was anything but.

The Toronto right fielder has been painfully ineffective at the plate. Bautista wrapped up the team’s first six games with only three hits in 22 at-bats. In fact, Joey Bats has more strikeouts (9) than hits and walks combined (8).

And unlike the aforementioned Rizzo, Bautista’s struggles are showing in his team’s record. Through its first games of the season, Toronto posted a 1-5 record. Good luck putting a positive spin on that.

Certainly, the numbers are concerning. For years, Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion wreaked havoc on American League pitchers, forming one of baseball’s most formidable 1-2 punches in recent memory.

Now Encarnacion is in Cleveland. Bautista is no longer benefiting from sharing a lineup with a man who hit at least 34 home runs every year between 2012 and 2016. The loss of Encarnacion only compounds another concern regarding Bautista — he’s 36 years old.

A strong start from Bautista would have been huge for the Blue Jays. It would have let the team and its fans know that while Encarnacion is gone, the team will be okay. The slow start, however, has left Toronto and its fans with a wait-and-hope approach.

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