The Toronto Blue Jays had an eventful day of split-squad games against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins. Blue Jays fans saw two highly-anticipated players make their Toronto debuts on March 17th, those being 1B/DH Joey Votto and SP/RP Yariel Rodriguez. As well as this, a few more Blue Jays may be working their way up the depth chart and could see playing time at the MLB level for 2024.
Joey Votto Homers in First Blue Jay At-Bat
Joey Votto started his day in a very encouraging way. Votto stepped up to the dish against Phillies SP Zack Wheeler (6th in NL Cy Young voting in 2023) and pounded a first-pitch 94 MPH four-seamer 392 FT to centre field for a solo shot. The veteran lefty crushed the baseball 103.5 MPH, an encouraging sign for a player who was signed so late in the offseason. Votto left the game early on after stepping on a bat and rolling his ankle in the dugout, but he’s expected to return to action in a couple days, according to MLB.com writer Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson on “X”).
Yariel Rodriguez Shows His Stuff in First Outing
P Yariel Rodriguez had a debut that brought optimism, specifically with the slider’s movement and the fastball’s velocity. The slider’s spin rate was a solid 2,769 RPMs, speaking to it being a quality weapon for Rodriguez. The four-seam fastball sat around 94-95 MPH, peaking at 96.8 MPH. The right-hander tallied 3 whiffs during his 2 frames while striking out two batters.
Rodriguez mixed in a four-seam fastball, slider, cutter, curveball, and splitter during his 2 innings of work. He only threw the splitter once, but it was able to generate a swing-and-miss on the outside corner to Niko Goodrum. This pitch was also able to set up the 96.8 MPH four-seam fastball on the outside corner to get Goodrum looking. The splitter is expected to be a potent weapon for Rodriguez as spring progresses, specifically against left-handed hitters.
Mitch White Tallies 18 Whiffs in 3.1 Innings
Mitch White may not have had the greatest outing against the Twins on the forefront, but he definitely checked a long-awaited box. White yielded 3 earned runs in his 3.1 innings of work, while also walking 3 batters. However, the young righty tallied a whopping 18 (!!!) swings-and-misses. While White’s fastball velocity had impressed early on in camp, he didn’t have the same success when it came to making hitters whiff. In his contest against the Twins, he had no trouble.
Mitch White’s four-seam fastball averaged 96 MPH, topping out at 97.8 MPH. White faced quite a few lefties in his outing, including Canada’s own Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff, and Matt Wallner, among others. Against lefties, the 29-year-old used the four-seamer up-and-away, dotting the fastball on the corner that the southpaws weren’t able to catch up to. This is specifically seen in Edouard Julien’s first at-bat against White, where the righty hurled two straight four-seamers at approximately 96 MPH at the top-left corner of the zone, one for a called strike and the other for a swinging strike.
If Mitch White can continue generating swings-and-misses (and strikeouts) at a high rate like this, he could play himself into the rotation at the beginning of the season. Specifically, SP5 if one of Alek Manoah or Kevin Gausman miss the first few games of the 2024 campaign.
Kevin Kiermaier: NOT A One-Year Wonder?
OF Kevin Kiermaier crushed 2 home runs in his three plate appearances against Minnesota’s pitching staff. Kiermaier’s first home run came on a 94.9 MPH fastball from SP Daniel Duarte that was located right down the pipe during the 2nd inning. The Platinum-Glover took that pitch and roped it to centre field for a 435 FT dinger with an exit velocity of 108.8 MPH. The mark of 108.8 MPH would have been Kiermaier’s highest exit velocity in 2023.
Fast forward to the 6th frame where Kiermaier took a 90 MPH fastball from Caleb Boushley and roped it 342 FT to left field. It’s encouraging that Kiermaier’s uncharacteristic power surge from 2023 is trickling into his at-bats here in 2024. If the outfielder continues slugging going into the season, he would provide much-needed production from the bottom of the lineup.
Pair of Vets Have Big Days Offensively
Both veterans George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had substantial performances against the Twins in their limited at-bats. Springer went 2-3 with a 3-run HR off of RP Hobie Harris. After fouling off a couple tough splitters located down in the zone, Springer made Harris pay for a four-seam fastball at the belt, sending it 428 FT to left-centre field. After a down season in 2023, specifically attributed to a lack of power, this outing makes many Blue Jays fans optimistic for the star outfielder to return to form in 2024.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 2-3 with an RBI in his 3 at-bats. Guerrero Jr. roped to singles with exit velocities over 100 MPH, with his game-high EV being 114.2 MPH on a ground ball base hit to left field. In this at-bat, the superstar first baseman saw 8 pitches, with the final one being a splitter middle-middle, showing that his plate discipline is improving. With “Vladdy” regressing in the power department in 2023, these exit velocities certainly provide Toronto Blue Jays fans with optimism.
Flipped the Switch?
While there was a distinct lack of slugging in 2023, the Toronto Blue Jays have turned the tables and are now tied for 5th in MLB for home runs during 2024 Spring Training. Joey Votto and Yariel Rodriguez are now creating even more competition within their respective position groups. With Opening Day less than 2 weeks away, time is wearing thin for each player to prove that they deserve a spot on the 26-man roster.