Toronto Blue Jays: Jose Bautista Is Finally Heating Up

Jose Bautista is back, and American League pitchers should all take notice.

After an April that saw him hit just .181 with three home runs and 10 RBI, Bautista is hitting .280 with nine home runs and 19 RBI in May—entering play on Thursday.

Bautista attributes his May success to a patient approach at the plate, saying that he's been "just remaining selective, trying to hit my pitch and to my strength, which is hitting it hard." (via Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com).

Even though the patience at the plate has resulted in better power numbers, his walk totals have taken a hit this month. He's walked just nine times and struck out 18 times, whereas he walked 14 times and struck out 12 times in April.

At 24-21, the Blue Jays are currently third in the AL East.

The offense has been a big part of their success, albeit without the dominating presence of Bautista.

Edwin Encarnacion has instead carried the load, blasting 14 home runs and driving in 37 runs.

There's a good chance that Encarnacion becomes the next Bautista—meaning that they were both late-bloomers—so opposing pitchers definitely have much to worry about when working through the Blue Jays' lineup.

Bautista has hit 109 home runs since the start of 2010, and there's plenty reason to believe that he's on his way to another 40-plus homer season now that he's starting to heat up.