Royce Lewis returned from the injured list on Tuesday to start the Twins’ postseason run. He hadn’t played in a game since September 19 due to a hamstring strain, and it wasn’t completely clear if he would be activated for the series. It’s a decision not without risk. Rushing a player back from a hamstring strain can be suspect, and Lewis’ young career has been filled with health challenges. From a mechanical standpoint, hamstring strains can compromise how you interact with the ground and cause compensations up the kinetic chain.

Given how important every at-bat is in the playoffs, there’s very little room for error. But while Lewis still may not be able to get into a full sprint, that doesn’t matter so much if you’re trotting around the base paths. In his first two at-bats of his playoff career, he took Kevin Gausman yard for two no-doubt home runs, leading the Twins to a 3–1 victory over Toronto and their first postseason win since 2004. Read the rest of this entry »

The playoffs start today, and we are going to cover every single game, from the Wild Card round to the World Series. But those games are played by humans, and those humans have to find a way to avoid murdering each other over the course of a very long season. Inventing goofy celebrations is a good way to inject some fun into the proceedings. This article and its National League counterpart break down how each playoff team celebrates when a player reaches base or the team notches a victory. (I’m going to skip the home run celebrations because they’ve already been covered very thoroughly, and because they’re sure to get plenty of camera time as October unfolds.) The point of this article is to help you enjoy the smaller celebrations that might otherwise go unnoticed.

One important note: This is necessarily an incomplete list. I spent a lot of time looking, but I wasn’t able to track down the origin of every single celebration. When you search for information about a team’s celebration, you have to wade through an ocean of articles about the night they clinched a playoff berth. The declining functionality of Twitter (now known as X) also made it harder to find relevant information by searching for old tweets (now known as florps). When I couldn’t find the truth about a celebration’s backstory, I either gave it my best guess or invented the most entertaining backstory I could think of. If you happen to know the real story behind a particular celebration, or if you’d like to share your own absurd conjectures, please post them in the comments. Read the rest of this entry »

The Minnesota Twins and a short first round playoff series: Name a more iconic duo. The Twins have been quietly excellent this year, compiling the seventh-best run differential in baseball. To be sure, some of that is because they have the good fortune of facing fellow AL Central clubs, but a lot of it is because their team is full of good pitchers. They’ll meet the Toronto Blue Jays in a Wild Card clash. You’ve probably watched and heard a lot about the Blue Jays this year, and I’ll get to them, but let’s start with the thing you probably most need to hear: The Twins are good, not just the token AL Central representative, and they got a lot better when you probably weren’t paying attention.

The Minnesota rotation might be short on name recognition relative to some other playoff squads, but Pablo López and Sonny Gray are each top 10 pitchers by WAR this year. Joe Ryan, Kenta Maeda, and Bailey Ober are both above average as well – Ryan will likely draw the third start, but the other two will surely be available to relieve him if necessary. They’re one of those classic playoff tropes, the team you hate to face because so much of their value is concentrated in good pitching. López has gone six or more innings while allowing one or fewer runs 11 times this year; Gray has done it nine times himself. It’s easy to imagine the Jays coming into Minneapolis and leaving with very few runs to show for their trip. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a week at the end of every season when Triple-A welcomes some of baseball’s top prospects for a brief stint at the minor leagues’ highest level before they hang up their cleats for the year (or in many cases, head to the Arizona Fall League). Expanded rosters at the big league level leave a slew of freshly vacated Triple-A roster spots. Meanwhile, the Low-, High-, and Double-A seasons end when there’s still a week left on the Triple-A schedule, creating a sizable pool of lower-level up-and-comers. These prospects, especially the younger ones, are looking to prove themselves capable of standing up to competition beyond what their developmental schedule might otherwise deem appropriate. It’s also a big reason why so many of the following year’s prospect list write-ups include some version of the phrase “He notched a few innings at Triple-A at the end of last season.”

One such prospect this year is Ricky Tiedemann, the young lefty hurler who sits atop the Blue Jays prospect list and currently ranks 18th on our overall Top 100. If that résumé sounds oddly familiar, you may be picking up echos of recent big league debutant Kyle Harrison, who tops the Giants list and is stacked just spot above Tiedemann on our Top 100. The similarities don’t end there, though. Both Harrison and Tiedemann were drafted as teenagers, and both boast a tremendous punchout ability that belies their years, posting strikeout rates above 40% at various points in their young pro careers.

Before I continue, a caveat: Due to a combination of mid-season arm soreness and a short leash when it came to his pitch count, Tiedemann only threw 44 innings in 2023. That’s important to keep in mind, especially considering that Harrison’s lowest innings total in a pro season is more than double that. Tiedemann still has to demonstrate that he’s capable of maintaining his prowess over the type of innings load that Harrison has endured. With that established, let’s dig into how the two young southpaws resemble one another, and more importantly, what sets Tiedemann apart, at least for now. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, Michael King proved that moving him to the rotation was the best maneuver the Yankees have made in the entire second half by striking out 13 Blue Jays over seven innings. Somewhat lost in the shuffle, as has often been the case over the past few seasons, was Kevin Gausman’s dominance opposite King.

Gausman, who was perhaps better known for his firm fastball as a prospect, has really only taken off since the heater and splitter entered into a timeshare. After only using the split at a 35% clip in one year previously, he’s turned to it at least that often every year since 2021. This season, its usage is at a career-high 38.5%.

The Jays’ right-hander actually out-whiffed King on Wednesday, 17–16, with 11 swings and misses on the split. In terms of balls in play, both King and Gausman allowed just three at an exit velocity of 95 mph or harder. While the whiffs are staples of both pitchers’ games, the hard hits are especially noteworthy; King’s hard-hit rate on the season — 31.4% — ranks fourth lowest among pitchers with at least 90 innings, and Gausman’s, at 11.5 percentage points higher, ranks a paltry 108th. If you prefer barrel rate, King (6.8%) ranks 22nd lowest and Gausman (9.8%) 110th. Read the rest of this entry »

In the Beforetimes, mid-September brought my annual check-in on the potential for end-of-season chaos in the playoff races via the Team Entropy series. With last year’s introduction of an expanded and restructured postseason, however, Major League Baseball did away with the potential for scheduling mayhem in favor of a larger inventory of playoff games. Along with the expansion of the playoff field from 10 teams to 12 and of the Wild Card round from a pair of winner-take-all games to a quartet of three-game series, MLB also eliminated all winner-take-all regular-season tiebreaker games. In the name of efficiency, we have no more Games 163 and no more potential Bucky Dents. Instead, ties, even for spots where the winner would receive a postseason berth and the loser would go home, are decided by mathematics. It’s enough to make a fan want to shout, “Hey, Manfred, pull your head out of a spreadsheet and watch an elimination game!”

The untangling of the often-chaotic scenarios by which those one-game tiebreakers could come about was Team Entropy’s raison d’etre. But particularly with so many close races, there’s still enough untangling to do in potentially complex tie scenarios that I’ve chosen to continue a version of this exercise, pouring out a cold one for what might have been. If what we’re left with isn’t exactly chaotic, you can thumb your nose at the commissioner as you take a seat on the Team Un-Tropy bandwagon. Read the rest of this entry »

Area Scout – North Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas

Primary Focus:
Be the leading expert in all the amateur baseball talent in your assigned geographic area, with a strong pulse on amateur prospects among all age groups (draft eligible or otherwise). Ensure the Blue Jays have the most complete information possible about all amateur prospects both on and off the field. Collaborate with all departments of the Blue Jays organization around philosophy, baseball opinions and professional development to sustain amateur draft success by facilitating holistic player evaluations, recruiting and educating players about the Blue Jays. Uphold the vision and values of the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club in a professional manner both on and off the field.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Provide written scouting evaluations on amateur players throughout the year in assigned area via in-person and video coverage; create and update pref lists for current and future draft-eligible players throughout the spring, summer and fall.  
• Support the Amateur Scouting Department with gathering subjective and objective information about amateur players of interest in one’s area, including but not limited to off-field and on-field makeup, objective testing, injury history and background information.
• Organize and communicate scheduling for amateur baseball games within assigned area. 
• Conduct visits with players within assigned area and assist with the execution of player interviews and assessments during fall and winter months. 
• Build and maintain working relationships with players, player support system, coaches, advisors, and other key figures related to amateur baseball within one’s area.
• Provide written scouting evaluations at local and national amateur events as assigned by Amateur Scouting leadership.
• Provide written scouting evaluations from Pro Scouting coverage as assigned in the summer and fall.
• Coordinate workouts with Amateur Scouting leadership and supporting departments to assist in player evaluation.
• Work with Crosscheckers and other Baseball Operations staff to further develop one’s scouting ability and ensure the thorough collection, organization, and understanding of the information needed to make informed decisions on amateur players.
• Complete evaluative and background coverage of all players including those flagged by the Front Office.
• Communicate with Amateur Scouting Leadership and office on ways to improve individually, as a department, and as a team.
• Manage all administrative tasks in a timely and professional manner (including scouting reports, expenses, schedule updates, high school stats and injury history).
• Travel to several regional and full staff scouting meetings throughout the year.

Experience and Job Requirements:

• Proficient scouting ability and baseball knowledge.  2+ years of baseball-related work experience preferred.  
• Strong interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with wide range of individuals including members of the front office, scouts, players, and field staff.
• Strong administrative skills to ensure the appropriate level of information on all amateur players.  
• Passion for baseball and excellent problem-solving and communication skills.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office required.
• Baseball playing background is preferred, although not required.
• Ability to travel on a sporadic basis and to work unpredictable hours including nights and weekends in one’s area.
• Demonstrate flexible and efficient time-management skills.
• Comply with the policies and procedures of the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club.

Job Questions:

1. Are you willing to relocate?

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Area Scout – Georgia/South Carolina

Primary Focus:
Be the leading expert in all the amateur baseball talent in your assigned geographic area, with a strong pulse on amateur prospects among all age groups (draft eligible or otherwise). Ensure the Blue Jays have the most complete information possible about all amateur prospects both on and off the field. Collaborate with all departments of the Blue Jays organization around philosophy, baseball opinions and professional development to sustain amateur draft success by facilitating holistic player evaluations, recruiting and educating players about the Blue Jays. Uphold the vision and values of the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club in a professional manner both on and off the field.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Provide written scouting evaluations on amateur players throughout the year in assigned area via in-person and video coverage; create and update pref lists for current and future draft-eligible players throughout the spring, summer and fall.  
• Support the Amateur Scouting Department with gathering subjective and objective information about amateur players of interest in one’s area, including but not limited to off-field and on-field makeup, objective testing, injury history and background information.
• Organize and communicate scheduling for amateur baseball games within assigned area. 
• Conduct visits with players within assigned area and assist with the execution of player interviews and assessments during fall and winter months. 
• Build and maintain working relationships with players, player support system, coaches, advisors, and other key figures related to amateur baseball within one’s area.
• Provide written scouting evaluations at local and national amateur events as assigned by Amateur Scouting leadership.
• Provide written scouting evaluations from Pro Scouting coverage as assigned in the summer and fall.
• Coordinate workouts with Amateur Scouting leadership and supporting departments to assist in player evaluation.
• Work with Crosscheckers and other Baseball Operations staff to further develop one’s scouting ability and ensure the thorough collection, organization, and understanding of the information needed to make informed decisions on amateur players.
• Complete evaluative and background coverage of all players including those flagged by the Front Office.
• Communicate with Amateur Scouting Leadership and office on ways to improve individually, as a department, and as a team.
• Manage all administrative tasks in a timely and professional manner (including scouting reports, expenses, schedule updates, high school stats and injury history).
• Travel to several regional and full staff scouting meetings throughout the year.

Experience and Job Requirements:

• Proficient scouting ability and baseball knowledge.  2+ years of baseball-related work experience preferred.  
• Strong interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with wide range of individuals including members of the front office, scouts, players, and field staff.
• Strong administrative skills to ensure the appropriate level of information on all amateur players.  
• Passion for baseball and excellent problem-solving and communication skills.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office required.
• Baseball playing background is preferred, although not required.
• Ability to travel on a sporadic basis and to work unpredictable hours including nights and weekends in one’s area.
• Demonstrate flexible and efficient time-management skills.
• Comply with the policies and procedures of the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club.

Job Questions:

1. Are you willing to relocate?

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Toronto Blue Jays.

You already know the deal with the Blue Jays, so much so that I barely have to mention it. The good players on their team? They’re major league legacies. As kids, they were in major league clubhouses. There are cute pictures of them, chubby-cheeked, watching their famous parents win various accolades. Their major league success was hardly preordained, but let’s just say it didn’t come out of nowhere.

That lazy narrative had already sprung a few leaks, even before this year. Matt Chapman and George Springer don’t quite fit the bill. Kevin Gausman and Jordan Romano don’t either. Cavan Biggio isn’t even a starter. But there’s perhaps no better counter-example than Davis Schneider, the Jays’ newest star. Schneider flew so far under the radar that the metaphor doesn’t work; he was almost subterranean. He was a 28th-round draft pick in 2017, a round that doesn’t exist anymore. He didn’t reach Double-A until the end of the 2022 season. Now he’s the best hitter on the Jays, and in at least a few contrived ways that I’ll endeavor to show you in this article, he might be the best hitter of all time.

I know what you’re thinking. “Really, Ben? The best hitter of all time? He’s not even the best hitter on his own team right now.” To that I say, sure, you might think that. But that’s based on your perception of the future. If we limit our analysis to merely what has happened on the field, no Blue Jays hitter even approaches Schneider’s magnificence. Read the rest of this entry »

With Instructional League underway in Arizona (casts look of disappointment toward Florida) and Fall League rosters likely about two weeks out, the time has come to line the coffers with data and re-worked scouting reports in preparation for another round of farm system audits. Especially at the up-the-middle positions, defense is both very important and also a bit of a black box for readers, as there aren’t many publicly available minor league defensive stats and so much of evaluating defense is visual. I’ve recently been working on a video deep dive on the position players currently graded as 50 FV prospects or better, specifically to evaluate their defense in detail. Here I’ve taken a pass at the shortstops, providing video supplements for the prospects who I’ve evaluated in the 55 FV tier and above. I’ve made changes to their defense and arm tool grades over on The Board as a result of this exercise, and highlight the instances where this has caused a change to the player’s overall FV grade in the analysis below.

I’ve cut the videos in such a way that you can see each shortstop making similar plays one right after another. The videos feature plays to their left where I want to see them flip their hips and throw, plays that show the extreme end of their range, backhand plays in the hole to their right, plays coming in on the grass, and double play attempts. The fewest balls in play I watched for an individual player was 36 (Colson Montgomery and Dyan Jorge) and the most was closer to 70 (Jackson Holliday, Carson Williams and Marcelo Mayer). Read the rest of this entry »

The Toronto Blue Jays have devoted huge resources to their rotation, spending a first-round pick on Alek Manoah, doling out huge free agent contracts to Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman, and trading the farm for José Berríos. (And then giving Berríos a huge contract extension as well.)

But Toronto’s best starting pitcher over the past month — and in a three-way tie for the best pitcher in all of baseball, by WAR — has been Yusei Kikuchi, the guy who couldn’t stay in the rotation a year ago. Read the rest of this entry »