Can The Blue Jays Compete In 2025? - Blue Jays Talk #30

welcome everybody wherever you are listening or watching to the blue J Center podcast brought to you by the Sick podcast Network I'm James price along with my my guy on this side no that side Rob Von appreciate you buddy uh good to see you and uh look we talked last week about positive news and it was weird talking positive about the Toronto Blue Jays well if you like positivity we got all that for you we'll get right into it now turn up your volume your volume because you're about to listen to the sick podcast Blue Jay's Center Bautista drives it deep left field gone the sickest Toronto Blue Jays podcast it's gonna be sick all right well you know what we talked about positivity and it's not just because the Blue Jays had won six in a row before yesterday's kind of garbage looking game but technically it's five though pricey technically it's five no Rob we're not going to do this okay you listen to as many podcasts as I actually more than me I'm not doing this they won six in a freaking row Wes needed back to June bite me no they they won six straight Rob four against a team who God they feel like the white socks in the Los Angeles Angels yes white sock West yeah and both games double header against the Red Sox lost yesterday but it was great man I mean first off how you doing buddy how's how's the week been I know you're obviously moved into school and whatnot so uh how's the move been yeah no absolutely the move has been has been cool my last couple days here in Aurora before I'm going out to Windsor for law school so I'm just chilling you know not a whole lot of responsibilities just indulging in this uh fun part of the J season I don't know whether it's because they're winning games which they've done they've won quite a bit of games here in the month of August whether they're hitting home runs their home run streak extended now I think to believe is it 15 or 16 technically because that that one game that was back in June I don't know I'm all confused over over the phas priceing but that was quite fun to watch uh I don't know we'll we'll talk about why this team is so fun maybe it's because we're just so starred for positivity that all of a sudden we have a glimmer of it and we're just you know really milking all of it and maybe who knows I want to ask you are we a little delusional to think that maybe just maybe can this team actually be decent in 2025 we'll talk all about that uh but overall how you been I I've been good man like I hate that my emotional ride is usually based off of how my sports teams are doing I hate that with a passion um so winning six in a row man we're vibing oh we were feeling good this past week I'll tell you that but let's get right into this pal nothing new the highlight of the week there's really been nothing new with me uh B and Francis buddy yes I mean holy crap like we I think we talked about it after like his the first two starts he had that was really good and we're like okay is this something sustainable and we're like oh yeah couple Stars whatever now it's like the entire month of August and it's not just that he's been good in the month of August nobody except for Taylor Ward and his mouth uh have been able to to hit B Francis it has been absolutely incredible I'm gonna rip through the the stats right through August his game logs because it's just it's mindboggling right we watched Bowen is kind of like ah yeah you know you got a long relief guy maybe a guy if you want to stretch him out and have depth in the minor leagues that's your guy well in August if you take out that Yankees kind of outing where he went a third of an inning I believe that was in extras where they got walked off so whatever right his last four so was four starts in August five innings of two-run ball against the Orioles where he only allowed three hits and struck out seven walked one guy then you go to his next start against the Angels it's the Angels who the hell cares but he went seven Innings one hit one run and uh eight punch outs didn't walk anybody the next start against the Cubs at Wrigley you know he was outstanding there seven Innings three hits no runs again no walks and seven punch outs all of these starts have massive strikeout numbers and of course the last one where man he flirted with that no no got to the ninth inning everyone's kind of bricks at this point because we're like no one no one wants to say it if anybody's saying I'm probably getting a punch in the face it was my fault I'll talk about it later I'll talk about it later I think I may have I may have C oh okay I want to hear this uh and then obviously Taylor Ward went deep uh to start the ninth inning gets the standing ovation he was awesome eight Innings of one hit ball one run allow the solo shot walked three and struck out 12 I'll let you take it away after all that what what are we seeing here like it's ridiculous and look honestly I have to eat crow I you you've probably seen on this podcast I've been trying to fade bow and Francis for a couple starts now I've been trying to say look it's great but overall I mean you need to see Jake Bloss pitch you know bow and Francis it's nice what he's done but this is not not a guy that's going to be a staple of this you know this pitching rotation for the foreseeable future or so I thought you know and I thought you know look you know these Angel starts are cute the Cub start was cute all that stuff but I mean it's not quite all like that he's like you mentioned I mean you didn't mention specifically but throughout the month of August he had a couple orial starts in there both of them went very well the Blue Jays won both of those games that was right around the time of the trade deadline and just overall I did a little bit of a deeper dive into Bowen francis's season checking the under the hood numbers and I was honestly not I was pretty surprised how how good it's been I mean you look at the baseball Savant page as you'd expect nothing really stands out over the top great in terms of his stuff and all that which we kind of expected but there's no legitimate concerns when you look at the baseball saon page you know you kind of wish that there was a little bit more swing and miss and you know the hard hit percentage is all right but I mean the the walk percentage is Great you know he's striking out decent guy like a decent amount of guys almost a caper you know uh the barrel percentage is a little high but pretty that's just about it you know the hard hit the EXO it's not overly concerning the expected e right where it's where it's at for the season so I don't know B Francis a guy with an ER around four that has value that has value the major league level I think you mentioned you heard Buck Martinez on Blair and Barker today talk about how he thinks that because of his size as a pitcher he's able to take a lot of workload and uh pitch deep into ball games and we've seen that now he's gone what four straight starts going seven innings so I don't know I mean uh it's my tune has kind of changed a bit I still think that if B Francis is anything more than your four five starter next year it's a little bit of a concern but I don't know maybe this little stretch by Bowen Francis has given me hope that he's more than just a stop cap that he might be a guy who will factor in in some shape or form redeema in 2025 now yeah ask with the no hitter want to tou before I tell you my story so as you mentioned the top of the show moving out to Wes moving out to my new place and it was on Saturday and you know we're we're waiting for the Cable Guy the internet guy trying to connect to to you know basically try to watch the game so I'm like okay you know they gave the ranges you know you're you're I'll be there from one to six like thanks buddy thanks that point exactly so what I what I do is I take out my phone I go to sports at plus I'm bored you I'm watching a bit of the game no volume because I'm trying to like you know I was my new place I'm just trying to like you know keep it mellow not not overly intensive like that and so I couldn't hear anything and after every inning I wouldn't wait to see like the line score you know after every inning they have the line score up like runs hits and everything I would turn it off right after the final out was recorded So I actually didn't know there was a no hitter going on until about the fifth or sixth inning until the internet got installed and I was watching it on my TV and I'm just hearing Dan Shulman just refusing to say the two hyphenated words it was just so fun to watch and obviously you have the other element of the pitch count you know he's got his pitch kind well over in the hundreds going through to the ninth inning like are they actually going to let him finish this one out and then uh the problem was is that the game had gone like a little longer than I expected and that night we actually have to go visit some friends who live in Detroit so obviously across the border you have to Across the international border who knows how long it's going to be my parents are just like okay when are we gonna leave like we gotta go we have plans and I'm like there's no hitter going on there's no hitter going on I had to Spill the tea I had to tell them there's a no hitter going on because you know my parents are not DieHard Baseball fans but they understand what a no hitter is the understand that it's rare and without me telling them that it would have been you know it would have gone a little bit back and forth so I had to spill beans I had to tell them the no hitter was going on and sure enough Taylor Ward hits a home run the next pattern when the ninth inning started and so I I I will take some responsibility for those who believe in those things uh but in the end still outstanding start from bout and Francis great job by John Schneider and the blue J to let him go deep into that game despite the fact that his pitch count was you know the I'm sure all the khakis and the analytics guys were just fuming on their couch is when they're seeing go 110 115 pitches deep into that thing uh but great on them for giving him a shot Indiana wasn't meant to be but nevertheless a tremendous start regardless of who it's against for B and Francis you just love to see it one of I mean arguably the best moment of the season I mean obviously had he actually done it it would have been number one undoubtedly but even so uh it was it was really fun to watch let's be honest Rob that angel series regardless of you facing that team was fun as hell right the Barger low peredo youngins backto back Jacks to walk off the walk off the game and then another one bow got a no no into the ninth like it's just it's awesome stuff what I thought's interesting and we talked about this I think the lot well maybe in the last show was that the strikeout numbers are Skyhigh since this recent stretch these four starts now it could be obviously couple starts against the Angels definitely doing that 12 punch outs in the last one seven punch outs against the Cubs eight against the Angels obviously seven against the Orioles and five innings of work 12 which is crazy it's it's great stuff too I think it's the new splitter that he's got going on he's been using that a ton he's kind of threw away the breaking ball um and that splitter is nasty like that thing that thing dies off a cliff it gives you a little Kevin Gosman type feel to it and with it being a big guy doesn't have the same grip but yeah the extension and honestly that's one that's really stood out on his baseball saon P sorry to cut you off there but his extension is just off the charts I think it's like the 90th percentile so like you mentioned that splitter that extension is what allows it to be so nasty come from that large arm angle and that's something that we heard coming into the spring was about you know the new splitter and we're like oh yeah whatever and then good spring and we're like oh yeah whatever and then gets teed off on that first start against the Yankees we're like spring training means nothing and uh now all of a sudden four starts here in August and he has been incredible but I'm I'm holding my breath until his next start obviously it's going to be the finale of this series against the Red Sox at Fenway much better offense than anything he's faced I mean the Orioles one's fine but five innings a two-run ball isn't anything to like over you know get too crazy about against the against the Orioles you're now playing a A desperate Red Sox team at a wonky ballpark in Fenway let's see how he does that's what I want to see uh and if he's goes out there and eight punch outs through six and allows one run and oh God I mean gez we might need to talk more about it next week but uh I and you mentioned great and I wanted you to bring it up was John Schneider leaving a minut I think that was a huge talking point was that the pitch count was very high he ended the game with 117 and again he went into that final inning with what like 114 I think it was something like that so it was 97 going into the eighth inning and 111 going into the ninth 111 yeah so 111 going into the ninth inning the analytics guys the the khakis as Kevin Barker loves to say were crapping down their leg and I love love it I love it let we're not making the playoffs let young who's never had this stretch in his career go out there and try and finish off a no hitter you love to see it well one thing I will say is that I think what helped is that it's not really a youngan it's a guy who's 28 years old he's like at this point you know he's he he's I mean not quite a known commodity but he's not a Ricky tman he's not an Alec monoa a guy that you have to be careful with God forbid you know he gets injured and all of a sudden now his career is derailed I mean you know that people will be coming out with pitchforks if that were to happen but with Bowen Francis like a guy that like he's I think still after this after this recent stretch regardless I think even the most optimistic bout Francis guys will still suggest that you know he's still a high floor low ceiling guy he's not a guy that is going to need you know his great stuff and that he can kind of go a little bit more into a ball game you're okay to extend him rather than you know a top prospect that you project to be an ace of her rotation for the next half decade so I think that element helped as well also shout out to Trevor Richards for getting DFA by the twins holy crap that didn't right before we head out to Minnesota we we couldn't even have the you know the get together again well maybe he maybe you might back on the roster we'll see we'll see I mean the reason I brought up Trevor Richards obviously because he was uh basically the main piece in the deal with uh Milwaukee right yes the trade yes you're right when the Ry tles got traded away it was Trevor Richards coming to the Blue Jays and then a prospect well the prospect at the time was bow and Francis and so you got all that I mean to take Trevor Richards for what it is but you got Bowen Francis and Trevor Richard for R tles who's been bouncing around all was helpful he did have his moments over the years for good bluej teams sure we knew there was no future for him here though with with vat at first we knew that was the case we knew why they made that trade and it's turned out pretty damn good now the last thing I want to do on the B Francis front is Taylor W okay these are the comments post if you haven't heard the comments you're living under a rock um well I'm sure people heard now after Chris Bassin made sure everyone the next day during bout Francis loved every bid of it so this was after the obviously the the almost no hit bid from bout and Francis Taylor Ward obviously the guy who hit the home run to break up the no hit bid was asked after the game about the no the the the Home Run and the no hit bid being broken up blah blah blah this is the quote from Taylor Ward I thought everything was hit him maybe to other guys he made better pitches other guys were talking about his split his splitter and being on but I didn't think it was anything special so Taylor Ward I okay I'm trying to think from his standpoint your team is ass you got nothing you're one of the only semi relevant players in that organization it's a laughing stock it's been a laughing stuck forever there's been a couple players who haven't been laughing the organization boy it has and it could be out of it's definitely out of frustration what am I talking about but really like really you're also you know talking down to your own teammates as well so I think it's a little bit of a shot of them as well so it's it's greasy so then before I let you C get going here Chris Bassin took into his own hands the next day as obviously uh was it Dan Dan and buck on the broadcast that day I can't remember who it was I believe was it I can't remember it was Dan for sure I can't remember it was Dan in Sid or Dan in bck okay so regardless Dan on the broadcast they we're talking about in France had the headset on talking about the almost no hit pit and Chris Bass fire and seeds at at Bowen and meanwhile comes with a paper in behind them like literally just a piece of printer paper with a he wrote in pen 15 Innings two hits 20 strikeouts hitable plus not special written on it I mean you gotta love that you gota love it here's what I will say though uh and I don't want to defend Taylor word the tire take is obviously yes like what you mentioned you're diminishing your teammates you were diminishing the starting pitcher who had a great day you're diminishing yourself for hitting a home run off a guy who was quote unquote hitable you know what I mean like if you were if you hit a home run to break up a no- hitter wouldn't you wanna prop it up wouldn't you wantan to like elevate your accomplishments so from that aspect it was weird it was an odd thing to say the wire thing is we talked about Chris Basset last two episodes we had a Chris Basset sound clip yeah and I think our main theme was that well the problem is is that athletes can't be unfiltered anymore that they have to be censored and they can't say what they're feeling so at the same time I do feel like it would be a little hypocritical on our part if Taylor W you know that's honestly what he believed in that were faulting him for saying what he believed in you know whether Taylor W wanted to be an ass about it that's a different story I mean it wouldn't really make sense because like we mentioned it just does no one any good so I will say that I will offer him a bit of a bit of sympathy there that even though it was fun to see Chris basset come back and roast him the next the next day that would that one was fun to see yeah that's great for Chris Basset stand up for your teammate when that's that happens yeah you brought anyway well you brought up Chris Basset and about the conversations we had last week um with the Jays winning six in a row and yeah they lost yesterday but there's been a lot of positives with Joey L peredo will Wagner had a little bit of a stretch there we went tad bit cold but had a three hit day all extra base hit his first big league Homer yesterday y Addison barers found it recently vlad's a freak we were at the point where we didn't really know if this team was going to be competitive next year and it's something we talked about and Chris Basset said you know that that it's not fixable and and we keep hearing from Ross and Mark oh 2025 you know and we're all like we don't see the path but over this last six game stretch you've seen a lot of different things happen is it possible like do you see a way of this team being competitive and God I hate I hate using this because we used it for so many years being competitive in September in meaningful games in September in 202 in 2025 okay yes it's here's the thing and we have been contrary to this I feel like we have just not been for this this this notion that they can be competitive in 2025 for the last month really we talked about since the trade deadline that this is it seems to be a little bit of Fool's goal that this team can be competitive in 2025 there's just so many so many loose pieces on the roster that need to be filled in and and it just I don't know what it is maybe it's maybe I'm blind maybe I'm being delusional by this recent stretch of this team just being really fun to watch and yet I'm trying to figure out why they're so fun to watch and obviously they're winning a lot of games or hitting a lot of home runs which is obviously you know the obvious answers but in terms of stuff that's redeemable I think it's that this Vlad thing is legitimate that when you have a legitimate top five hitter in baseball vlad's fifth in baseball in Ops plus I mean Aaron judge is the best hitter on the planet Vlad said he's he's the best but Aaron judge is the best hitter on the planet but after that I mean there are guys who you can say are having better Seasons than Vlad obviously sh hotani uh Juan SoDo Bobby Wht who obviously has been having a phenomenal season he's going to be second in MVP behind judge in the American League outside of that it's a fair game I mean even for some of those guys it's a fair game when it comes to Vlad and having a legitimate top five Cornerstone having the season that he's having it's not as if like you mentioned obviously will Wagner congrats to him Joey L perito was on a heater recently Addison Barger had a walk-off home run last time we talked he's looking good Spencer Horrors is decent it's not as if the young guys are anyone's having this remarkable Babe Ruth like David Schneider season from last year that were just saying okay yeah we can pencil all these guys into the lineup next year but it's more so that I know maybe it's because we were just watching so so bad such bad baseball before all these moves that we're kind of being blinded by it but I think that having Vlad be the elite hitter that he is and having a feasible way to build around you look at the roster now Alejandro Kirk is swinging the bat a lot better Dalton vario he's back to being a brown of League average hitter and obviously we know how great he is with his glove Spencer hor is decent some of these young guys and you're looking at the free agency class the biggest impediment to last offseason was that regardless of who the Blue Jays were who we wanted the Blue Jays to Target they were all flawed options you know whether it was Cody Bellinger or J solero regardless that's not going to be the case this off season you have legitimate guys obviously Anthony sand there is a name you hear a lot Willie adamus is a is a free AG I got the scene when I went to Milwaukee he's a guy that I think could slot in and maybe perhaps after you know a bow trade he could be your next short stop that's a guy that's interesting Tyler O'Neal obviously on the Red Sox I believe he's a free agent as well uh he's a guy that would obviously help this team so they have a legitimate path to going out there and spending money this offseason there with a lot of expiring contracts coming off the books they'll have budget room even if they don't increase the payroll which I don't expect them to really do I I think that there is a path where they can go out there and get a couple legitimate impact bats this offseason to augment Vlad and the rest of these guys that have been hitting well recently and you look at the starting pitching rotation and I think this is the big part of it is that Jos BOS is on a nice little heater now for the last month or so he's been really good he's an RA under three since the All-Star break this the case r have risen up a little bit although still not quite where you would hope it it's it's at you know Kevin gosby looked fantastic in his last start and I think those two guys specifically you know Chris Basset we know what he is he's high like a low ceiling High floor guy he's going to be a guy who's gonna eat a lot of innings and give you you know a lot of quantity with also a decent amount of quality as well which obviously is very valuable down Francis is pitching better you just see a pathway where the pitching and the offense there there could be a way where they're both good in 2025 and again a big part of it as well the hidden element the Rob Manford of it all that now all of a sudden you don't need to be a 90 plus win team to make the postseason like the Blue Jays when they missed the playoffs in 21 when they won 91 or yeah 91 games high 80s win team will get you in you know even last season wi them winning 89 games it probably won't even take that many moving forward so a big reason why we were optimistic this season coming in is that you know you need to win that many games 88 probably gets you wi I think that there was a path where this team can compete for and you know be an 88 win team now obviously will they you know having the this roster is that enough to be a World Series team that's long we're a long ways from the you know from from deciding that from evaluating that but I I do think that lately I may have been swayed a bit I may have been swayed I I see a bit of a path I see a little bit of a light at the end of the tunel where this team can be fun and competitive in 2025 that's how you know you're a baseball fan rob you can flip like that on a dime and I'm with you because I'm the freaking same way I hate it I hate it so much but here I am and yeah there the the one thing I think that's jumped out to me the most um since the trade deadline since a lot of these call-ups they're not old they're not slow they're not unathletic we don't have 39-year-old Justin Turner clogging up the lineup who was fine for us but a like a little infield dribbler and rown out regardless or a single turn into a double never gonna happen you know but you bring in a athletes Addison Barger Joey L peredo who I I'm really enjoying watching right now um will Wagner he may not have the big time power but man watching him hit an extra base hit and basically I don't know about you but when I watch him run gives me D Bar show Vibes the way his little legs just going he starts flying around out there and that makes it more fun to watch as we are seeing right now with SP six in a row and and all that um but yes there there is a path to competing and obviously you need to revamp the entire Bullpen other than maybe like Jordan Romano assuming he comes back and he's all hunky dory like by way I mean a Chad green Jordan Romano 89 you sign another big impact Jimmy Garcia like and all of a sudden I think you have the foundation of like the starting point of a good Bullpen yes you absolutely do and you have emergences of guys like enesis Cabrera from the left side brenon little who's fine as a second Lefty you know there're are guys there um the Ryan burs of it all and stuff like that not so here's the thing I will admit I will admit we know the Blue Jays regardless of whether people believe it or not they're going to try to compete in 2025 that much is clear ever since the trade deadline we know that that's going to be the passle perhaps maybe it's because maybe it's the notion of me just accepting reality accepting that they're going to compete 20 25 and try and find the most optimistic I would look you know I'll admit perhaps maybe a little bit of that's going on but I mean I would be remissed if I didn't say that there are some interesting pieces that they on this team and I think that unlike last year there is a path to a good offseason there is a path to an offseason that can change the direction of this team I want to introduce this little this little this little topic to you not really a topic more of a comparison go for it the beginning of this season felt so much like 2017 if you recall that season coming off the the two playoff runs and we're like we so wanted this to this score to extend one more year just one more year and yet obviously 2017 as we know they were just you know not at all fit to compete in the American League for a playoff spot much like this season where it was pretty obvious even when they were winning it was like okay well we know this team's not all that great now we have to rub the bandaid off it feels as though with this recent stretch in August that this team skipped 2018 and 2019 those awful uncompetitive seasons and gone right into 2020 where it's that team that's unperfect they're not a perfect team we know there's a lot of holes the team is probably closer to average than great but you can see you can see the the seeds being planted you can see that you know they are fun to watch that even though they aren't the best team you know the roster that there are this is a watchable team that's enjoyable to watch and yet there is a path where in 2021 you go out and you have the Marcus simy and George Springer offseason and not I'm not saying that that's going to happen this year but that there is a path where with a good offseason this team can be competitive the next year maybe not a world ser team maybe have to create a whole new window and that's going to start with building around Vlad but it feels as though maybe we've accelerated through the dark times of the of a contention window a bit Yeah you say Ryan Burr and uh and Tommy Nance are equivalent to that rafhael the lease in 20120 type feel right we're kind of right there God rapael doiss maybe go to sleep watching that guy pitch but I think the key and this I don't know this this just could be me I think the key to the having a good off season is starting with a Vladimir Guerrero Jr extension you start with that it gives people more of an option to to come and play right you want to let's say let's say they want to go out there and go big they don't care about position they wantan to B and they go after a guy like Pete Alonzo or hell they want to make a legit push for Juan stto well the first question I would ask if I was Juan stto because they're great buddies well okay that's great if you want to give me like a billion dollars it's nice but what are you doing with life is he going to be gone at the end of my first year or not and I think that's going to be a big question and if if they say well we're not sure that that will sway players the other way because they're like well how do I know we're even going to compete after a year one and so that's going to be a big thing I think you ha if you it's getting more and more likely that you got to resign vad regardless of the the the price yeah well I I think that's at this point no-brainer at this point they should do it that's an no-brainer whether they will do it that's the that's where the questions come in yeah it absolutely is and uh I'm excited man this offseason is G be it's GNA be wild with with the obviously you know needing to resign Vlad the crazy actually quite deep bats in free agency and Bo bashet what the hell happens obviously you were you know returned to the team yesterday did some work on the field stuff like that he's going to try and get into a couple last couple weeks of the season to three weeks of the Season which is fine I don't know what happens I like value right now is probably as low it's definitely the lowest of his career you know with the c couple calf injuries he's had he had with without one last season against the Orioles and then he's had two this season soft tissue stuff is a scary thing and if I was a team you know if you're going to resign B then like if as another team if you going to resign Bo then it makes it more enticing but on a rental deal got a lot of inj calf issues recently it's a scary thing to do so do you hang on to him at that point and if you get regular Bo bashet regular Bo and let's say 2022 Vlad because God you can't expect this Vlad in 2021 to continue or can you I don't know oh God I don't have those conversation I know I'm not doing that again I'm not doing 2023 or 2022 convers or 2023 conversations where all we need is I there's a lot of version Vlad but right now I'm enjoying this one where he's has 169 plus of his career you give me regular B bashet and this Vladimir Guerrero Jr and then lock up Vlad it makes things very intriguing this offseason is going to be wild and I have a gut feeling that Ross Atkins will be the one doing the moves so hey here's the thing here's the thing you know I feel like you know in a sense they they may have buil up a little bit of Goodwill ever since that trade deadline which we all acknowledge was a good trade deadline and I will say if Ross Atkins is going to be making the calls in 2025 there is no excuse why they can't go out there and have a m like a massive offseason because eventually has to give right eventually something has to give you can't just have no one fired you can't just have everyone back and nothing change and so if Ross Atkins is g to be the guy in 2025 and you know ownership is going to say look we we we trust in you Mark we trust your guy here we go go out there build a contender for us then at this point they actually have to go out there and give them flexibility to do and not that ownership hasn't done that which they have we talked about many times on this show that they have but they have to go out there and make some moves they have to go out there and get some impact bats they're gonna need more than one impact bat that's for sure oh absolutely absolutely we'll see how it goes you know obviously the bobash conversation that's one that I think we need to allocate maybe almost a whole episode too maybe we'll do that later in the dog days of you know after the season ends perhaps because I'm sure that that'll be pertinent but right now pricey I want to talk about a proposition for September and it's gonna be related to well actually related to two guys who I think we'll Factor it in 2025 two pitchers yariel Rodriguez State and Jake Bloss here's our stat genius segment of the week let's [Music] go all right so first off we're gonna talk about yariel Rodriguez and as we know he's struggled he's these last couple starts they've been a little wonky the vos's down the home runs are up the hardend contact is up I did a little bit of a deep dive uh so now between Toronto and Buffalo so obviously between Triple A and the major leagues yiel Rodriguez has pitched over he's over 85 Innings now he's cleared 85 Innings at both levels so far in 20124 obviously as we all know didn't pitch professionally last year pitched briefly at the World Baseball Classic for team Cuba and in 2022 in Japan pitched 54 innings in the and I can't what the league was called is it the NBO regardless uh he's cleared 30 innings in the last two years so basically 85 Innings versus 54 I think it's gotten to the point where he's little bit running out of gas if I were if I were to say if I were to say because obviously we've seen good from y Ariel Rodriguez we've seen enough really good starts if you might recall it when we went to Seattle the candid they start against Houston he's looked like a different guy the last couple starts so that begs me to bring up the question we know John Schneider he's been on Sports Set Radio the past week and he said a number of interesting things I believe it was on Blair and Barker he said that he does not foresee the Blue Jays going to a six-man rotation and subsequently did say that he wants Jake Bloss to make a few starts in September so you kind of think how is it going to work someone's got to be the odd man out they're not going to go to the six-man right and yariel Rodriguez we know like if we're gonna lessen his workload and Jake Vos is gonna start today for the buffalo bison his fourth start and a big issue why he has isn't up here yet is that his pitch count is not built up so here's my proposition how to introduce Jake Bloss to the roster and how to lessen yariel Rodriguez's workload September 1st the Blue Jays play in Minnesota yel Rodriguez is scheduled to start that game what I'm suggesting is that you throw out Ryan yarro in a bullpen game that day September 2nd is Labor day Monday you have an off day that day September 3rd it will be five days rest for Jake Bloss on his regular turn in Buffalo you do a half start you do a half Jake Bloss half yiel Rodriguez however you want to structure it maybe give each of them two three Innings and you run that rotation for the rest of the season you run your regular Four Guys obviously Brios Gman Chris Basset B and Francis and then that fifth start will be a combination of them both you get to see Jake BL you don't he doesn't have to go out there and throw 90 pitches because that's the the fear right now he's not stretched out and you also don't have to have yl Rodriguez just waste bullets when he's kind of running out of gas so I want what do you think of this proposition pricey I mean anything to get Jake Bloss on the roster I mean give me another reason to watch this team I've already found quite a few with all these younger players and all the excitement and the energy in the team right now I'm I'm down for it because you mentioned how yariel looks he looks gassed and let's be honest he just looks out of gas the misses are pretty bad you know even the first batt of the ball game yesterday right Jaren Duran Kirk setting up up and in a decent amount ends up right down the middle at 92 and it's like that's a pretty painful Miss and for a guy like Jake Bloss honestly I just think they want him to start um so if anything because this is the remember people got to remember this is the last and the only year that you can option yiel Rodriguez to Triple A Buffalo every year afterwards you can't do that so I'm not saying option I'm saying that you you have the piggyback yeah I'm saying maybe I don't not saying you maybe you option him that's what I'm saying the Jays option him down to Buffalo fliping for Jake Bloss get him up here when the pitch counts at a decent number and just kind of see what you got because this is the only the year that you can do that with yiel Rodriguez get him in some low leverage stuff right in the minor leagues where he's clearly dominated the minimal time he's been down there um that's my thought I I mean look would it be interesting to see yariel and jige Bloss piggyback each other sure but if I'm the Blue Jays and I'm a fan of the Blue Jays I want Jake Bloss to start for me next year so if that's the case I don't want him piggybacking nobody I want him out there and I want him starting a game period um but we'll see what Happ maybe maybe maybe yiel is a piggyback that's maybe that's it could be yeah you know again I don't know how they're going to work it he's up to what 65 70 pitches in that range uh in his last Ting so I'm curious kind of what they're going to do today like you mentioned his fourth start with the Bison today I'm curious how he does I'm curious what the pitch count is going to be I really care less about the results because we've noticed that he he's good so the results don't matter to me it's how many pitches he's going to throw because that'll show us where he's at in in his kind of I don't want to say growth or development but more or less building up I guess is the right phrase and and here's the here's the thing to that because like the the like supposedly my the plan that I'm outlining right now uh it would be on September 2nd when you'd have to actually make a decision on Jake Bloss and by then the roster will expand by one spot so you could theoretically bring him up without actually like having to set anyone down I mean worst case scenario you know Tommy n you know great knowing you buddy but thanks for the short short memories I mean War Cas scenario can just do that if you want to bring up another bat subsequently after bringing up Jake Bloss but I I think that that it just feels like a soft landing spot and obviously not a soft landing spot because the opponent because they're gonna be playing Philly that first day so that's be a tough start so maybe that's at the track or two you don't want him to start against you know a a good a really good Phillies lineup but at the same time no easy way to do it because after that they're going to Atlanta then the Mets come to town you know those are two playoff teams right around battling for a wild card spot so there really is no soft landing spot you know it would have been nice to have him up maybe a little earlier for these angels games or the Cubs games because that's like in theory a bit of an easier matchup quote unquote easier matchup but regardless you have to see Jake Bloss pitch and I think that you know whether it's the Phillies or not throw him in the fire and see how he does because he's a guy who's not you know at the same time too he's not some he's a young guy he's younger than me which is insane to say but he's not a spring chicken exactly in terms of a prospect you know he's 23 years old he's already made his big league they be with the Astros so it's not as if it's you know some 19-year old kid who's making his MLB debut you he's a guy who does have a little bit of experience under his belt albeit Limited at the big league level and just in professional baseball period so if that was me that's how I would structure it we'll see how the Blue Jays do it I do think that we will see Jake Bloss pitch for the Blue Jays in September at some point I think you have to like he's he's forcing your hand and also RL hasn't been any good and looks exhausted so I mean it's like what are we doing here run into the ground doesn't make doesn't make any sense so hey you know what speaking of Jake Bloss in the minor leagues there's a lot more positivity in the minor leagues and it's it's fun to talk about let's get right to it on the [Music] farm let's talk about the K let's talk about the gift that just continues to give for for blue J arent okay Charles madoo Charles madoo well unfortunately not because he's been in an O for recently but I he's like for last 12 or something but uh regardless regardless arjent Nala I mean hit his 15th home run of the Season yesterday um as a on the season now because he had that rough start we talked about it earlier on the year he's got an Ops of 799 now uh on the year and in his last 10 games hitting 309 with a 413 on base and a 603 slug I four bombs walked 11 times the only really downfall about Nala right now is the strikeouts right 103 strikeouts in 72 games so it's a very very large number um but I don't give a crap I mean I don't know how many times I've said it whether it's my videos or on here or anything like that you give me the raw tools you give me the stuff that you can't teach and then the rest can be be be figured out right why the blue J fans love tasar redz he mashes baseball Addison barge is another good example exactly there's some swinging Miss there who cares Aaron judge strikes out a lot you think people care I no no one cares and for AR 100 Ops in August no I'm sure I'm sure people don't care exactly a little bit of maybe a little different thing there but regardless of that he's got an 800 Ops at aball at 18 years old with the average age is 21 and he has been ridiculous over the last it's got to be month or two now he has been outstanding um and people want him called up to Vancouver I think it's just a safe landing spot for an 18-year- Olds to continue there let him rip up the end of the season and start in Vancouver next year if he rips it up to start the year up to New Hampshire you go right so that's kind of what I see happening but hey some positive news with a bat in the Jay's organization so that's good news now along to two pitchers because Adam Maco we talked about it when Ricky T went down with TJ right with Tommy John surgery we're like oh Adam Mao's gone too great this is all he actually pitched in aall three days ago when two innings who cares about the stats he's more or less just to kind of build him back up but he actually pitched in two innings at a ball so he's back in Action which is very nice to see close out the year hopefully with a good last month and a bit uh for Adam MOS wanted to bring that up so that's a positive sign and kendri Rojas Rob I mean I don't know what the future holds for this kid but he is our 12th rank Prospect which is a which is a farce to begin with he has been literally unhitable in his last three starts but regardless of that the these are season numbers how about this 45 Innings pitched 52 strikeouts 11 walks 11 walks to 52 punch outs and an RA in 45 Innings as a starter of a buck 79 he has dominated as a lefty and he's only 21 at Advanced a when I said a ball itself one level lower the average AE was 21 he is 21 a level higher and full-on dominating and I and I had to talk about his last three outings which he was in trouble constantly in his last start but just dog found a way to get out of it 20 Innings pitched one run allowed in his last three starts eight hits four walks 22 strike HS kid's insane now it's high a ball but again it's a little bit of a sample size now he has been Elite I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a little call to double a to uh yeah that's where I was gonna go to yeah maybe a little call to double a give him get his feet wet a bit kind of like Jake Bloss at the major league level want to get his feet wet a bit so that way if he does well you can start next season in dou a and then if you're in double A you get up to a good started there next year you're in shouting distance of the major leagues so we'll see yeah he was absolutely great and that's one thing I want to bring up also not gonna bring up a stats in particular but guy we saw in Vancouver Jace borin uh was actually named named Northwest player of the week last week and he was a monster oh just an Ops of, 1300 for the week uh three bombs what is it eight RB I mean God the double nine hits in five games I mean he was a machine and we talked about it recently how his numbers of skyrocketed over the last couple weeks or so I'm just going to try and find him quickly here his last 10 uh Hey 375 with a 468 on base I mean he has been absurd recently we saw him play in the one game we were there he went deep so that good that was that was good and fun to watch the last guy one to bring up is alen Rhoden and do I have a soft spot of course I do but again a guy who has just been crushing the baseball he has multi games every game it is absurd he's ining 368 with a 430 on base in his last 10 now on the season with the buffalo bison uh where is he here he's hitting 301 with a 391 on base an 848 Ops he's got where are we here where's only 10 doubles which is kind of shock only 52 games but 25 strikeouts to to 25 walks to 30 strikeouts we obviously know that's the Jay's they love that stuff uh and he has been incredible recently so some positive signs I'm wondering because like I do think that you know they should do the Tommy n thing where you know you bring him up for Jake Bloss you DFA him and then obviously you have that one roster spot I mean is it Rhoden or is it Jon Jonathan CL I mean you got to think that it would be nice to see one of these guys kind of makes like make their debut well their Blue Jays debut I know R would be his major league debut but I mean that's where I think I hope that's where we're headed I will say for class a um that he hasn't played in three days so I'm not quite sure what's going on there obviously they always have an off day on Monday but he didn't play yesterday and he didn't play Sunday so or was Sunday 24th I don't know days are weird um I remember there there was discourse there was debate whether he would be the 27th guy for the double head yeah exactly that being the case and he hasn't played since so that's something to keep an eye on um also he hasn't been he hasn't been very good at all for the buffalo bison Jonathan Class A in 211 with a 260 on base 612 Ops 18 strikeouts the five walks uh he hasn't been any good than the two doubles that we saw he hasn't really mounted for anything really at the U triple level to this point obviously very small sample he have a good week and oh there we go he's back to being great so that's that the org's doing pretty good and uh seeing all these hurt pitchers in our organization and going through the top 30 PRP like oh great looking oh hurt oh hurt it's like but we'll get Martinez yeah I mean listen to this I mean real quick before we wrap it up try is Savage Ricky tman obviously they just got Cal Stevenson in the draft Adam Mao just returned thank God we talked about that Fernando Perez guy poke myself in the eye there gez um yeah he was the guy that uh he was like their 23rd ranked Prospect early in the season he's jumped to 11 he was was in the the rookie showcase game that's that Lon marutas I talked about him at the beginning of the year like he was had a great start three outings and then he got hurt with the arm injury and he was gone Johnny King the high school kid they just drafted Brandon barriera you know there's a lot and Warren Watts brown right my guy who I love I'm loving the stats on this kid yeah those are all guys in your top 20 all arms most of which hurt so I don't know actually what am I saying uh yeah I'm excited man I'm excited with with what the prospects look like and uh we'll see we'll see the future is bright which I never thought I'd say for this organization right now so all right Rob hey hey when Good Vibes they move around right you have a good little stretch here at the major league level and you kind of see some good things happening we said for the first time forever we're talking about you know hey maybe 2025 competing we can talk ourselves into it a bit so hopefully after a good off season we see how how that goes and obviously you know you got to finish strong you know a big part of why we're so optimistic because the B the quality of balls been so good the last month so hopefully that continues through September until the end of the season absolutely but I don't know if the fellas want us to bring it up but I will bring it up anyways I think are you wearing your shirt I don't know mine's over homage baby you know what you talk about it for a second because I got to get my shirt grab there quick a second so for everyone we uh advertised it last week homage specializes an ultra comfy high quality looks wrapping Sports pop culture and more Legendary Moments learn more about homage with the link in the description of this video Once it gets posted or uploaded whatever you prefer uh there's pricey the MLB Jam one this is my Blue Jays backtack World Series champs from obviously 92 and 93 and obviously one funny one funny thing I actually wanted to mention uh I didn't mention on our last show but when I was in Chicago a couple weeks ago now uh at the the Cub shop or not it wasn't really a cub shop it was more of like a Wrigley Sports sof they had like bear stuff they had you know white socks Cub stuff uh they were a lot of their stuff was sponsored by amage so that was nice little good to see that as well so obviously as we mentioned last podcast too it's not just sports stuff it's also you know just other pop culture stuff as well and not just the Blue Jays you can get any sport uh whether you're you know obviously NFL season starting so you can rep your NFL team with homage and the stuff like we mentioned Ultra comfy oh they're really comfy I love this thing I wear it too often let's put just gonna put it that way all right well Rob appreciate you coming on as always pal it was a blast as always and look at that a positive pod is it isn't it fun love it positive from start to finish love to see yeah we were negative the first half of the last one so we were great this time all positivity hopefully the Jays can give us Positive Vibes to finish off this Red Sox series I don't care how bad we are beating up the Red Sox and putting them to bed oh chef's kiss that would be a perfect way to end off the next couple days for the Blue Jays they're in action tonight I'm not even gonna bother previewing it because by the time people see this or listen to it it the game's over um so Berto thank you so much for coming on for AC and Sammy behind the uh scenes as always appreciate you guys and uh we'll talk to you soon [Music] and that's a wrap hope you don't miss us too much until next time follow the sick podcast blue jay Center on YouTube Google Play and apple podcasts