The Blue Jays had a horrific Game 2 of Spring Training with a 12-6 loss to the New York Yankees. Toronto struggled defensively, offensively, and on the pitching side. Recent additions Eduardo Escobar and Daniel Vogelbach had little impact in their Spring Training debuts. Despite the glaring problems in Toronto’s blowout loss to New York, there were a few bright spots worth mentioning.
Mix of Top-10 Prospects, Vets Lead Blue Jays Offence
Catcher Alejandro Kirk hit the first Blue Jays home run of 2024 off of Carlos Rodon in the 3rd inning. Kirk crushed a 100 MPH dinger 366 FT to left field to put Toronto on the board. Kirk had a career low .358 slugging percentage in 2023, so his demonstration of power this early in Spring Training is an encouraging sign and hopefully a preview of things to come in 2024.
OF/1B Alan Roden had a solid performance as well, going 1-2 with a 3-run double. His double pulled Toronto within 4 runs in the 7th frame. Roden’s .881 OPS in AA placed him 7th in the Toronto Blue Jays top prospects of 2023 (via MLB.com). If the 24-year-old continues his offensive rampage, he could find himself in AAA by season’s end.
The final bright spot offensively was UTIL Addison Barger. Toronto’s 2023 5th-ranked prospect had an impressive day at the plate, showing his discipline off in his first Spring Training start. Barger got to a full count twice in his three plate appearances. He went 1-2 with a 104 MPH single and a walk. Overall, Addison Barger’s production offensively was a main reason why Toronto was able to score as many runs as they did.
Davis Schneider also had a decent day in the field and at the dish. Schneider took a walk in his 3 PAs during his first action of Spring Training. The main highlight of the second-year player’s game was his diving catch in left field. He showed off his range in the outfield by robbing Anthony Rizzo of extra bases. With Schneider set to play a fair amount of left field in 2024, this play gives Blue Jays fans plenty of optimism for the 25-year-old’s abilities defensively.
Newcomers Headline Toronto’s Offensive Struggles
Daniel Vogelbach had a rough afternoon, going 0-3 on the day with a strikeout. However, all three of his at-bats came against left-handed pitchers, to which his role is meant to be against righties. If Vogelbach can maintain his career .814 OPS against righties, he would be a valuable asset for Toronto coming off the bench late in contests. While his performance in Game 2 wasn’t impressive in the slightest, he will have many opportunities to redeem himself in the coming contests.
Newcomer Eduardo Escobar struggled as well in his Blue Jays debut, going 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. Both strikeouts came against southpaw Carlos Rodon, which isn’t encouraging if Escobar is supposed to serve as the “lefty-killer” off the bench for 2024. Again, there are plenty of chances for Escobar to prove his worth to Toronto and secure a spot on the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster.
Shortstop Leo Jimenez was another disappointment both offensively and defensively. Jimenez continued his defensive miscues from his first Spring Training game on Saturday. The young shortstop made a couple errand throws that lengthened innings and proved costly. He made a costly fielding error in Sunday’s contest that resulted in 2 runs scoring during the 6th inning. Jimenez also went 0-1 with a HBP on the offensive side. Overall, it was an unproductive day at the office for Leo Jimenez.
Stand-Out Pitchers of Game 2
While the pitching side didn’t have many standouts, the main one that comes to mind is RP Connor Cooke. Cooke hasn’t always had a high GB%, but he was able to get Ben Rice to groundout and end the inning. He’s been known for his strikeout stuff the last few years, especially with his 13.06 K/9 in AAA during the 2023 season. The 24-year-old showed off his abilities in his Spring Training debut, striking out 2 hitters and generating 2 whiffs. With a bullpen spot still open, Cooke has the opportunity to secure that opening as Spring Training progresses.
Bowden Francis may not have had the greatest performance in the box score, but he still had a quality outing and continued where he left off. One of Francis’ main issues in 2023 was that he gave up far too many home runs and fly balls and didn’t keep the baseball on the ground. In his Spring Training debut, the right-hander yielded 3 ground balls in 6 at-bats, showing signs of improvement. Also, Francis forced 7 whiffs in his 2 innings, with 3 coming from his curveball. Bowden Francis would serve as solid starting pitching depth and maybe find himself in the bullpen during the 2024 campaign.
The Ugly on the Pitching Side
RP Mitch White was iffy in his spring debut, yielding 2 earned runs on 1 hit and a walk. In White’s best season, 2021, he had a solid 24.9% K% and a quality 8.6 BB%. To add onto this, White had a 47.7% GB%. In his outing on Sunday, the 29-year-old had no swings-and-misses or strikeouts. White also generated only 1 ground ball in 5 plate appearances. The fastball topping out at 97.8 MPH makes some Blue Jays fans optimistic for White’s future, but unless he addresses the issues in his mechanics, it’s unlikely that he will return to the MLB level.
Trevor Richards also had a rough outing during Game 2 of Spring Training. Richards yielded 3 earned runs on 3 hits and a walk. Yankees superstar Juan Soto crushed a 428 FT dinger off of Richards on a fastball up and away, driving in 3 runs and breaking the game wide open. Richards’ extreme lack of whiffs generated on his effective changeup is a discouraging sign for things to come. The 30-year-old should have plenty of chances to bounce back over the next month, but this performance does not leave Toronto optimistic about Richards for the near future.
Vladdy Action?
Overall, it was another underwhelming performance by the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays will look to get their first win of 2024 on Monday, February 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. SP Yusei Kikuchi will get the ball for Toronto with his first action of 2024 as he looks to continue his success from the 2023 season. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is still yet to play this Spring, to which he could see his first action in Monday’s contest at 1:07 PM EST.