Episode 31 feat. Chris Georges - Trey Yesavage's historic performance, Assessing the Canadians, Blue Jays success as a whole

Play by play analyst for the Vancouver Canadians, Chris Georges returns as a guest and give us a break down of the season for the High A Affiliates and the Blue Jays success this year. We talked about Trey Yesavage's historic performance and what's his ceiling , Nimmala's ups and downs throughout the season, Gage Stanifer's breakout year, looking in depth and where players stand overall, who could be potentially be in the majors in 2026, and many more !

Where you can find Chris Georges:

1. X: @ChrisGeorges25
2. X: @vancanadians
3. IG: chrisgeorges25

Episode Transcript

(00:30):
Welcome to another edition of the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast. We have a returning guest here
today and he's the play by play of the Vancouver Canadians.
Chris Georges, welcome back. It's an awesome time to be a
Blue Jays fan from top to bottom, and we're honored to
have you once again. Rocky Raw, appreciate you guys
having me here. Good to be here as always.

(00:52):
And yeah, you said it, Blue Jaysare hot right now.
Obviously going to the ALCS. So what a time to be alive if
you're a Blue Jays fan. And we're coming off a good year
in Vancouver too. So All in all, just a great year
in the organization and hoping it keeps going over these next
couple of weeks. Site.

(01:25):
So thank you very much. Absolutely, thanks for having
me. OK, got the first question here.
I guess we'll start it off with Trea Savage and his historic
performance that he for a pitcher started in a ball.
He's now rotation pitcher in theplayoffs, made his started game

(01:45):
two of the ALDS against the Yankees and actually absolutely
threw a gem. So when you when you saw that
performance and and you think back to to how he pitched in
Vancouver, what, what were your thoughts?
Were you surprised at the outcome that he that he he
looked at dominant and and did you always think that he would

(02:08):
be ready for for the for the occasion?
You know, what with him being a first round pick, we had him in
mind as a guy that we were hoping to get in Vancouver this
season. So obviously with his start in
Dunedin and how he kind of just breezed through single a
hitters, we were expecting him to come up at some point.
And that was pretty early, you know, in May.

(02:28):
So it was really only just thosefour starts in Vancouver, but
just the dominant stuff, you know, the mid to upper 90s
fastball with the splitter and the and the slider.
That's got a lot of attention inrecent weeks.
But we saw it first hand in Vancouver.
And really no surprise that he'shad this meteoric rise to the
all the way up to the Blue Jays in the major leagues.

(02:49):
And I think over the last month or two, it became kind of clear
that, you know, this guy was going to be a weapon in the
playoffs with the Blue Jays. Could get there if you could
deploy you Savage in a situationwhere these teams aren't seeing
him and the Yankees had never seen him and he just went out
there and completely dominated. So I'd be lying if I said I
expected him to go 5 plus innings hit list with 11

(03:11):
strikeouts. But I was optimistic that he was
going to have a big role on thisplayoff team.
I think, you know, I think we probably thought it was going to
be more so coming out of the bullpen, maybe, you know, give 3
or 4 innings. But I love the decision just to
throw them out there Game 2 to the wolves and and let them eat.
And that's what he did against the Yankees.
And he's going to have a chance to do it, you know, perhaps for

(03:33):
two more series, if the Jays canget to the World Series, you're
going to face two more teams that he hasn't faced either,
regardless if it's the Tigers orMariners.
We're obviously recording this aday before game five between
those two teams. But regardless of which team
advances to the ALCS, neither has seen Trey A Savage and then
neither team in the NFL field aswell has seen him.

(03:54):
So certainly a chance for him tocome out and have a similar
performance against teams that hasn't seen his stuff yet.
So I want to follow up with thisquestion here because I haven't
seen anything like this in my lifetime.
So from able to to playoff bound.
And you were here earlier this year and you mentioned about

(04:18):
being a future race of the staff.
Is he the profile that fits intothe mold?
Is he the next the next holiday,the next?
I mean, you don't see too many aces in the Jays roster
nowadays. I mean, Pat Hanky was another
guy that does he fit in that mold now as the next ace of this

(04:39):
rotation? Yeah, absolutely.
I think there's no doubt in my mind that this is the closest
thing to an ace that the Blue Jays had since maybe David Price
when they acquired him. But that was kind of a different
situation, right? They traded for him.
But I think going back to Roy Halliday, who you mentioned,
that's probably the closest thing.
And obviously things can go off the rails.

(05:00):
You know, a career can change pretty quickly.
But at least at this point, I don't remember a pitching
prospect that has the this stuffthat Trey is Savage has and you
know, and just what he's been able to do with the Major League
level, not just in the playoff star, but in the regular season
as well in those three starts atthe end of the year.
Just unbelievable. I think you can pencil this guy
into the rotation next year and I would honestly expect him to

(05:23):
be the Blue Jays top pitcher at some point next season.
Maybe it's not right out of the gate, but I think, you know,
maybe after a handful of starts or whatever it is, I would
expect him to be the Jays ace ofthe future and that could be as
soon as next season. Could he be a rookie of the year
candidate? Because in my mind I think he
could be the favorite to be a rookie of the year since he has

(05:45):
still has that credentials. Oh yeah, I mean, who knows the
the ceiling for Tray is savage. We certainly don't know where it
is. You know, obviously with those
11 strikeouts and and hit lists in the in the playoffs, it's
it's pretty remarkable what he'sbeen able to do.
And I think doubting this guy would be a mistake going
forward. So I don't think it be any shock

(06:05):
if he were to win rookie of the year next year.
And like I said, just develop into that ace.
Just the stuff is just unbelievable.
And it seems like he's got the perfect makeup as well.
We didn't get him for too long, like I mentioned earlier in
Vancouver, but even just over those few weeks we had the sense
that he's got his head on straight and he knows what he's
got and he just goes right afterhitters and he's absolutely

(06:26):
unhittable. Let's talk about another
prospect that's in the system. One of the top prospects is
Arjun Namala. And we thought that this guy had
an incredible start into the season.
And the way he started, we thought that he was going to get
promoted. But at some point during the
season he was kind of struggled a bit.
And I think he had an injury later in the year and his

(06:49):
numbers were a bit down in the end.
And how do you look at him as a whole throughout the season with
him? And do you think he's going to
get promoted at some point next year or do you think he's going
to start off with Vancouver and then and then gradually worked
his way up to get to I AA? Yeah, it remains to be seen what
the plan is for Arjun. I think, you know, it doesn't

(07:10):
take a rocket scientist to to look at the numbers and say, you
know, he started off really hot and then by the end of the year
the numbers weren't necessarily there where, you know, anyone
would have maybe liked. But I think you look at certain
things that are encouraging for him going forward.
The home Rd. splits Nat Bailey in Vancouver's notoriously a
tough place to hit. I think with his sort of batted

(07:30):
ball data, kind of his power going to the gaps a little bit
more than to the corners where you can hit them out in
Vancouver, a lot of his balls that he absolutely stung were
run down in the gap. And I've never seen anything
like it. Just the hard hit rate for Arjun
Amala and then really nothing toshow for it.
Just have some of those numbers up right here, 5, 58 OPS at home

(07:52):
in 2025. That was against say 827 mark on
the road. So obviously a lot better on the
road compared to at home. And I think going forward in his
career, it's going to be something where those numbers
will even out. And it's unfortunate that the
first half went so well and thenthe second-half he teetered off
a little bit. Obviously you'd you'd like it to

(08:12):
be reversed and end strong as opposed to begin strong, But I
think he's where everybody in the Blue Jays organization wants
him to be. I know he wanted the numbers to
be a little higher than they were at the end of the year, but
you look back and you think he'sa 19 year old playing in high A.
It's a tough, tough league to plan with only six teams.
We see a lot of the same pictures again and again, so

(08:33):
they start to get a book on you.So I think by the end of the
year maybe he ran outta gas a little bit.
But I think going into next year, there's no reason not to
be optimistic with Arjuna model going forward.
I wanna talk about Victor Arias about he was a prospect who was
known for his bat speed. He's promoted to AA.

(08:54):
Take a look at his game and you figure, do you think he could be
a factor of AAA or perhaps A majors in 2026?
What was the prospects? Are you cut out for a moment?
There. Sorry, Victor Arias.
Oh yeah, yeah. Arias was unbelievable last year
in Vancouver before getting called up.
And, you know, some of those numbers weren't the best once he

(09:14):
got called up, struggled a little bit.
But I think it's worth noting the jump from high 8 to AA is
probably the toughest in the minor leagues.
Obviously going from AAA to the major leagues would probably be
the toughest jump, but I think in the minor leagues, if you
look at high 8 to AA, that's thebiggest difference in skill
level. And I think Victor Aris was
going through a bit of those struggles last year.

(09:35):
But from what we saw in Vancouver, he looks like a
future leadoff hitter. He can do it all really getting
on base, he's got the speed. I've never seen anyone take
bigger heads than he does over the last couple of seasons in
Vancouver. So he's always looking to go
when he reaches base. He's got some power as well.
I think it's more more of a linedrive power at this point.
Not a ton of the over the fence pop, but he certainly has some

(09:57):
hard hit balls that will go for double s and triples going
forward. And I think the outfield defence
was something that most surprised me about.
Victor Arias. Of course the Canadians had
Jason Brown over the last coupleof years.
Back in 2024 he was named the minor league Gold Glove winner
for centre field. So going from that to Victor
Arias was not as big of a drop off as I was expecting.

(10:18):
Obviously having that guy into San Brown there, you know,
anybody would have been a drop off, but Victor Arias certainly
held his own in centre field andonce he went up to AA, I think
especially then it was obvious that the Canadians were missing
that centre fielder. So I think if Victor Aries
continues to progress his game, he's going to be a guy that will
factor into the Blue Jays plantsat some point in the future.

(10:40):
How would you feel Victor Orias as a player?
Like you said, he's an outfielder.
Is there any comp in mind? Like just just for the audience
itself? Because I know people know who
Arias is, but like what would you say in your mindset?
Like it's the closest comp sinceyou watch a lot of players
played. You know, if for some reason on
the spot, Ramon Laureano comes to mind, he's a guy who can play

(11:04):
solid outfield defence in centerfield and contribute with
the bat. I know he's bounced around to a
few different teams, but he's carved out a solid MLB career at
this point. So for some reason, I'm just
going right to Ramon Laureano. There may be a better comp out
there if I could look around a little bit and have some time to
answer that. But I'd say Ramon Laureano, you
know, Victor Aris, I'm certainlyhigh and I know the Blue Jays

(11:26):
are as well. So I think that's a guy that you
know, will eventually carve out a a solid MLB career.
So I think this player is probably the breakout prospect
for the Blue Jays system and that's Gage.
Jennifer started off in a ball, has passed with flying colours

(11:46):
and played phenomenal for Vancouver.
One of the toughest ball characters to pitch, of course.
And talk about his breakup breakout year.
And we had Mitch Bannon on earlier in the season and he
talked about how he had a visionissue and he started wearing
goggles and that's what changed,change his way of pitching.
But talk, talk deep into what worked for him, what went well

(12:07):
for him and how we got the promotion.
Yeah, you know what? I think Gage Sandifer was
probably the breakout prospect the year in the Blue Jays
organization. Obviously they traded a lot of
guys at the trade deadline. Cal Steven shipped out of time
out of town to get Shane Bieber,Jeron Watts, Brown, Kendra
Rojas, Alan Roden. Those trades may be not possible

(12:27):
without the emergence of Gage Stanifer as a top of the line
pitching prospect. He went from an unranked guy to
top five according to MLB Pipeline at least.
I know he's got a lot of attention elsewhere as well, but
unbelievable what he's been ableto do.
He came up with Trey A Savage inthat promotion in May and
through the beginning of the season, through the first few
weeks, he was piggybacking with Trey A Savage.

(12:49):
So you Savage would go 4-5 and then Stanifer would end the game
going four or five as well. So it wasn't until you Savage
moved up to AA on his own that Sandifer entered the Canadians
rotation. And across those 14 stars, just
magnificent numbers, 320 ERA, a whopping 115 strike.
It's in just 76 innings. So really similar strikeout

(13:11):
numbers that Trey is Savage had really and Santa for.
And you Savage were among the top strikeout artists in minor
League Baseball. So you saw your Savage go all
the way up to the major leagues stand up for a couple years.
Younger was never a candidate todo that.
But I think as soon as next year, we could see him have some
a similar meteoric rise if thosestrikeout numbers continue.

(13:31):
Fastball, slider, splitter, verysimilar arsenal at least to Trey
Savage, but it looks a little different with Sandifer.
The slider is a bit more of thatunique pitch.
You talk about trading Savage splitter with all the movement
he has from the higher arm angle.
That's got a lot of attention over the last few weeks.
I think with Gage Sandifer, he throws that slider, but it looks

(13:52):
like a curveball. It's got more of like an 11 five
movement to it, but he throws ithard.
So it's a mid 80s pitch that looked like a curveball.
So that's really the difference maker for Sandifer in 2025.
And I can't say enough about this guy just as the person and
just how he treats people. And he was a pleasure to have in
Vancouver and couldn't have happened to a better guy, this
kind of breakout in 2025. So when you talk about Gage,

(14:15):
Jennifer Pitcher and she was drafted 3 years ago, I think the
same year as Brandon Berry ERA Alan Roden, you mentioned that
also Josh Kasevich. And who's the one at the third
base for high for Dunedin? Oht Tucker Tolman.

(14:37):
That's right. So right, right.
And and he was a 19th round pick, which is insane.
And another guy, Mason Floaty shout out to him.
He's now in the majors and he's thriving in the playoffs too.
Could he be part of the rotationplans as soon as next year?
Because some people believe thathe's he just needs some

(14:57):
seasoning and he could be part of the rotation as soon as 2026.
Yeah, I think if everything goesright, there's a chance by the
end of the year that there may be a chance of that.
I don't think there's any reasonto rush them at this point.
He's just 21 years old, drafted out of high school, so it's a
little bit different than you Savage, who's drafted to college
and he's used to those heavier workloads at East Carolina with

(15:20):
Gage Sandifer. Of course, being a high school
draft pick, you're moved along alittle bit slower.
I don't think he eclipsed the eighty pitch mark until sometime
near the end of the year for Vancouver.
So that's kind of how it is withhigh school pitchers when
they're drafted slowly to develop.
And we've seen it kind of all come together for Santa for this
year. But I don't know if it's fair to

(15:41):
expect him to factor into the Blue Jays starting pitching
plans at any point sooner than the end of the year.
I think he had one start with AANew Hampshire.
He's a sure bet to start there in 2026.
I think he'll be there for the majority of this season.
And like I said, if everything goes great, he'll probably have
a chance to make his way up to Toronto by the end of the year.

(16:04):
I wanted to ask you about some of the starting pitching depth
that was recently promoted this season to AA from Vancouver
also. Yeah, Cal Steven and John Watts
Brown, but they're no longer with the organization, so we'll
focus on Fernando Perez and Grant Rogers.
So where do you think they standin in the Blue Jays system and

(16:27):
what do you think that their potential could be down the
road? Definitely a big fan of both of
those guys. They're kind of similar in terms
of their pitch ability. They go right after guys.
Maybe they don't have the nasty stuff that you Savage Santa Fur
or Col. Steven or even drawn Drawn Watts
Brown, those two traded players,the kind of stuff that those
guys have. But with Rogers and Perez, it's

(16:50):
all about just command and control and both of those guys
can just pick their spots and goright after guys.
I think Fernando Perez has had alot more prospect type than
Grant Rogers, but I think this was a big year for Rogers to get
some of that notoriety. I think there's a chance going
into next year you might see himpop up on some prospect lists.
But similar guys, although a different body type, of course.

(17:12):
Grant Rogers 6 foot 7, Fernando Perez more of a six foot three
kind of pitcher, but both of them kind of just going right
after guys. Low to mid 90s, Nothing crazy
with the velocity, but you look up and they've gone 6 innings
and they've allowed, you know, 11 earned run and struck out
five. So really good stuff for those
guys and I'm really looking forward to seeing how they
develop go for. I'd like to talk about the other

(17:35):
starting pitching depth that ended a season in Vancouver and
we had Jackson work Wentworth done earlier this year and you
know, he talked about the philosophies of what the Jays
organization has provided him. To also talk about Chris
Mckelvin. He had a decent year in Austin
Kates, who got promoted to high high A and he just flourished

(17:57):
it. Talked in depth about those
guys, where they stand and how important they could be down the
road. Yeah, we're starting with
Jackson Wentworth. We're talking about a guy who
set the Canadians franchise record for strikeouts in a
season, didn't miss a start lastyear.
So it's worth a lot of value in my eyes.
A guy that towed the slab 26 times in Vancouver.

(18:19):
And obviously to set a franchiserecord for something like
strikeouts, that means you're not getting promoted at the same
time. So that's one way to look at it.
But I think for Jackson, being his first year in the
organization, had some ups and downs, but All in all, it's a
solid season when you know, you can go to him, you know, every
fifth day or whatever it ends upbeing in minor League Baseball
once a week at least 435 array. You look up at the end of the

(18:42):
season, those 116 strikeouts and124 innings, solid first year
for Wentworth. And I think with a little bit of
changes, a little bit of, you know, adjustments and
progression going forward, this could be a guy that, you know, a
la Sandifer or Rogers or some ofthese guys that bursted out in
2025. They could be a guy that you see

(19:02):
get some prospect hype going forward.
I think as of now, he's kind of on the outside looking in.
But I expect good things from Wentworth.
And, you know, it remains to be seen if we see him back in
Vancouver next year or if he'll start on opening day in AA.
Some of those other guys you mentioned, Chris Mcelvain, what
an unbelievable return from Tommy John surgery.
He made his return less than a year from undergoing the

(19:25):
surgery. I don't know if I've ever seen
such a quick turn around there. He was on a bit of a limit
earlier on in the year. So with a guy like this, you
can't really just look at the numbers and draw a lot of
conclusions. He wasn't throwing his full
arsenal of pitches until later on in that year.
But All in all did pretty well. 409 E RA501K's in 61 2/3

(19:46):
innings. But Chris Mcilvain fully working
his way back maybe by the end ofthe year, I think next year will
be more telling as far as what picture he will end up being.
Of course he came over in that Santiago Espinal trade a couple
of years ago, but we're looking forward to seeing what
Mcilvaine. As I think with his age and
everything, there's a good chance he starts in AA next

(20:07):
year, but a guy that I'm anxiousto see how his stuff will play
going forward as he gets furtheraway from that injury.
And finally, the third guy you mentioned, Austin Kates and what
a job he did in his five starts in Vancouver, sub 2 ERA.
And we knew he had good stuff from what we saw with the
numbers in Single a Dunedin. But I think I was a little bit

(20:30):
surprised and blown away by whathe did once he got called up to
Vancouver. Really good stuff.
And the more he pitched for Vancouver, the more I was
thinking, man, this might be thenext Gauge Sandifer.
I think going into this year you're going to see him get a
lot more prospect hype. And going into next year, you
never know, he may have played himself out of Vancouver already

(20:51):
in just his first full season. So who knows where what will be
in store for Kates in 2026. But I was very impressed with
what I saw with him. So I love the players, some of
the guys that you haven't mentioned.
Who would you say was a breakoutplayer for the Canadians this

(21:12):
season that really caught your eye and and you think could be
really good moving forward? Yeah, we talked about a few of
those guys, but one of the guys that wasn't mentioned that is on
a position that you don't necessarily think of breakout
performers. But Jayden Coleman, lefty relief
pitcher, played in 18 games withVancouver since his callup from

(21:33):
Dunedin. 140 ERA with plenty of swing and miss stuff.
He had 40 strikeouts against just six walks in 25 and 2/3
innings. This is a guy who is a five year
pitcher at LSU, played with PaulSkeens, played with whoever the
lefty is at the Mariners. Just drafted that.
I'm blanking on the name that. Went Kate Anderson.

(21:54):
Thank you. That's who it is.
He played with all those guys aswell as Dylan Cruz who went high
in the draft with the nationals.So a guy that's certainly been
around a lot of elite players and and production at LSU,
winning a national championship there as well.
But I was kind of surprised how dominant he was once he came up
to Vancouver. I think this is a guy that could

(22:15):
have some helium men, could be aguy that will be in the Blue
Jays organization or rather on the Blue Jays bullpen that is at
some point in 2026. I think this is a perfect guy
that unlike Gage Sandifer, who Iwas saying he's young, you don't
want to rush him too fast. This is a guy where if he
continues to do this next year at AA, he might be up in the

(22:36):
major leagues before too long and there's really no reason to
hold him back. So let's talk about some of the
players. Uh, that was, that was
surprising that outperformed themselves and thinking that,
hmm, this player turned out to be that player and he actually

(22:57):
took a big step that that surprised you out of nowhere.
Like who would those players be?If there is any?
I mean, I'm sure there would be some because like one mind that
comes in me is Kobe Martin. Like he came out of nowhere, got
promoted to AA high and then he ends up getting traded.
Like, is there anyone towards those lines that you see,

(23:17):
someone that just caught your eye and just caught you by
surprise? Yeah, I don't want to say
anybody outperformed who they were because obviously these
guys are still becoming the players that they will end up
being. So I don't want to sell anyone
short. But one guy that really
impressed me as far as what he was able to do was Pat
Gallagher. This year started with the 2024

(23:40):
club as a starting pitcher. He was in Vancouver the entire
year as a starter. The plan for him in 2025 was a
switch to the bullpen. And you know, these changes and
these position or role changes for going from starter to
reliever, it doesn't benefit every guy.
And and honestly, I thought withPat Gallagher's five pitch mix
that he was probably a better starter than reliever coming

(24:04):
into the year, but I was blown away with how dominant he was
coming out of the pen. Sometimes he was in for just an
inning or two, but other times, you know, you could ask him
going to go four or more even with that starters build.
So you look up at the end of theyear and at least at the end of
his tenure with Vancouver, 20 appearances and a near 1 ERA.
So just really good stuff for Gallagher.

(24:25):
I know he continued that in AA New Hampshire.
And this is a guy all of a sudden you look up and this is
another guy that's going to be knocking on the door of the Blue
Jays. So I think the Jays have a
number of these relief prospectsthat will be in house options to
fill in in Toronto, whether it's, you know, at the beginning
of the year or going forward next year after injuries or

(24:47):
whatever else happens. I want to talk about some of the
catcher depth that, yeah, that has played in the system this
year with Nicholas Deschamps, Hayden Gillette, Gillian Edward
Duran, Aaron Parker. What are their trajectories?
How is their trajectory gone this year and what have they

(25:08):
really improved on or or or needed to work on or just what
is their potential moving forward with some of them
players that you saw this year? Yeah, we had a number of solid
catchers in Vancouver this year and Parker was the starter on
opening day and for most of the season battled some injuries
towards the end of the year Thatkind of opened the door for

(25:30):
Edward Duran to come up from single A and get a number of
those starts at the end of the year.
But both of those guys with solid defensive play, especially
Duran with his with his throwingarm he threw out, I want to say
it was 30 or 31 base Steelers inDunedin and a handful more once
he came up to Vancouver. Didn't quite hit the same way
Duran did once he came up to Vancouver, but there were

(25:52):
certainly some signs of life as that season kind of came to a
close. So I expect Duran to be back in
Vancouver to start next year along with Parker perhaps.
I'm not too sure what the plan is, of course, with those guys,
but both are guys you want to give playing time too.
So sometimes that impacts the decision with where these guys
go. A lot of times being a starter,
say at single A Dunedin as a catcher is, is a better a better

(26:16):
role than being a backup in highor AA.
You see a lot of these guys, Hayden Gilliland's one of them.
Nick Deschamp is another guy whomaybe you're viewed as more
depth catchers at this stage of their career at least.
You saw both of those guys spendtime at a number of different
levels this year. I believe they both spent time
in single A, high A and AA filling in, in different in

(26:39):
different sort of situations. And both of those guys had their
moments as well. Nick Deschamp, a full course
from Quebec City, Quebec, and a guy that was easy for us to root
for as Canadian as Vancouver, Canada's only minor league team.
And once he moved up to AA, you know, we were missing that
Canadian factor. We didn't have one once he moved
up. So that was a guy that we like

(27:01):
to have in Vancouver and certainly wishing the best for
those guys. But as far as what these guys,
what this catching depth looks like going forward, I'd say
Edward Duran is probably the best catching prospect, if you
will. But time will tell, and we'll
see if Aaron Parker can bounce back for some of his injuries
and be productive again to start2026.

(27:23):
Yeah, like with Edward Duran, like he's a number that caught
my eye. I believe he was part of the
Jordan Groshans deal and he was the last man standing and he and
he has become a player for them.And and look, catchers take time
to develop and what do you, whatdo you profile?
Is it a player? Like what's his strength and
what's his weakness? Weaknesses.

(27:45):
Yeah, I mentioned the throwing arm.
That's probably his biggest strength, I'd say.
I mentioned those caught stealing numbers with Dunedin
and not necessarily replicating those right away, but there was
a lot of situations where he hadno chance to throw the runner.
So I can remember at least, you know, the 1st 7 or 8 would be
base stealers. He had really no chance.

(28:07):
So those base runners taking it off the pitchers.
So I think the numbers may be evened out a little bit by the
end of the year, but that's going to be something that's
going to be his calling card going forward will be his
throwing arm defensively. Not to say that he can't block
and do all the other stuff that catchers need to do, but going
forward I think that arm is his biggest trait.
And you look at the offensive numbers overall in the season,

(28:29):
you know, despite the a little bit of a down sort of stretch
with Vancouver to end the year, still had a 362-ON base
percentage across single A and high in 2020.
Five, that's a 767 OPS. So that's certainly something
and numbers that will play. And this guy's still just 21
years old. So Edward Duran, certainly a guy
that's going to be a key player in this organization going

(28:52):
forward. So I think this this outfield
depth became an interesting situation for the for the
Vancouver Canadians. And there's so many names we
could talk about here. But I could start off with Eddie
Mclarty, who was another guy I thought broke out as well, Jr.
Freethy, Bryce Arnold, Matt Scandal, Alexis Hernandez.

(29:12):
I mean, I mentioned it, but the one name that kind of surprised
me that actually played in the outfield with Sam Shaw, because
I remember he was playing third base for the Dunedin Blue Jays.
And did that transition become adifference?
But looking at the depth of these outfields, like is there
any trajectory of these upside with these players overall?

(29:34):
Yeah, for sure. And you said it at the top there
that there's a number of guys that could all be kind of
considered, you know, going forward as outfield prospects.
And starting with Sam Shaw, he was a guy that filled in quite
well in centre field. He went down with an injury and
missed the the end of the season, but he was he did a
great job filling it in centre field along with Jay Harry.
I kind of alluded to it with Victor Arias after he went up to

(29:58):
AA. The Canadians really didn't have
that centre field or that prototype centre fielder to turn
to. So they had a number of guys
either corner outfielders that were moonlighting as centre
fielders or infielders that werethere like Jay Harry, Sam Shaw
and Bryce Arnold who ended up getting released.
But they had a number of guys kind of fitting in there.
And I liked how Sam Shaw looked out there.

(30:18):
So we'll see if that's somethingthat continues to be in the
plans for Shaw for or if you'll continue to get time in the
infield. But obviously as a prospect, and
you know, a top 30 prospect likeSam Shaw, but wherever you can
contribute, it's only going to help your overall profile,
right? You know, you might be a second
baseman or a third baseman, but if you can be trusted to be out

(30:39):
there in the outfield and not only the outfield, but in centre
field, you know, that only just,you know, increases your value
to the organization. So I think that's a guy
certainly worth watching to see if he sticks in the outfield or
if he's moved back to the infield.
You mentioned Eddie Micheletti, this is the ultimate hype guy
for the Canadians in 2025. Just really good.
Numbers. He got better as it went along

(31:02):
too. Like he I would say he got off
to a slower start, but you look up at the end of the year 881
OPS for Eddie Micheletti in actually, you know what, that's
only an away game. So let me let me adjust my
parameters a little bit here. A 793 OPS, so not quite as good
overall, but still fourteen homeruns, more walks than strikeouts

(31:23):
were the biggest thing for me about Micheletti's game that
that really stood out. Whenever a guy can have that
kind of profile where you're walking a ton and you're seeing
a ton of pitches and you're not striking out a whole lot, it's a
really exciting profile for me. So I think Micheletti, he's got
some Alan rode into his game as far as a guy that gets on base a
lot but also has some pop. So I think this is a guy that's

(31:46):
ticketed for AA to start next year and a guy that everyone's
going to be watching. I mentioned him being a hype
guy. We had it on our video board
throughout most of the year. Just an Eddie chant that really
got the crowd going and you know, fun name to say Eddie
Micheletti goes without saying, but the crowd really loves it
and he feeds off it. You know, the crowd when the

(32:08):
crowd got into it and were chanting his name, he was a guy
that seemed to play his best in those moments.
So certainly a fun guy going forward for for the Blue Jays
and, and, and fans of this organization.
So I want to talk about some of the infield depth that's in
Vancouver right now. You have Jax, Adrian Pinto,
Jackson, Horde and Cut Her Coffee, Nick Goodwin, Shawn Keys

(32:32):
Just talked with some of those players and some of the
potential, the intriguing potential that those guys have.
Yeah, number of guys that could help out in different spots.
Some of those names you mentioned were only in Vancouver
for a short period of time, be it because of injury.
Adrian Pinto lit the world on fire as a Canadian to start the
year, 7 homers in 19 games before unfortunately going down

(32:55):
with an injury. And that's kind of been the the
tale of the tape for Pinto of his career.
He just hasn't been able to stayon the field.
It's been a number of different injuries, but when he's in the
lineup, he's absolutely electric.
I've made this comparison before, but Ozzie Albies is my
go to comparison for Adrian Pinto.
But for him it's really just staying healthy.
If he can do that, I think that's his ceiling is becoming

(33:18):
an Aussie Albies type of guy. You know, it's easy to make a
comparison to Albies or Jose Altuve as, you know, second
baseman who are, you know, on the shorter end at 5-6 or five
seven. But Pintos got it all going.
He's got power Despite that size.
You know, we can play a good defence and run a little bit
too. So one of my favorite players
just as a person and as a playeras well.

(33:40):
But Pinto wishing nothing but but good injury luck for him and
health going forward. If he can play a full season, I
think he's going to get a lot ofattention going forward.
Some of those other guys you mentioned, Jackson Hornung, a
guy that completely kind of transformed over a year.
He was an All Star for Vancouverin 2024, playing as a catcher

(34:00):
for the most part. He was on the Opening day lineup
as a catcher and then filled in in different spots, mostly at
first base. He was on the development list
after being an All Star, which is something we were all shocked
at to start 2025. And he was not eligible to play
in games to start 2025. And I think we were all kind of,
you know, wondering what the idea was there.
But by the time he got into games, I'd say several weeks

(34:24):
into the season, it became clearthat he was working on his
defence. His defence at first base along
with in the corner outfield was was absolutely spectacular and
and he kind of stopped catching.I don't think that's going to be
the plan for him going forward at all behind the plate, just a
bit of a bigger body and not necessarily that prototype

(34:45):
catching body that you'd expect.But I don't think anyone
expected him to transition to first base and a corner outfield
spot as smoothly as he did. Not only did he fit in there,
but he completely excelled thereand made a number of nice plays
at at each spot. And that to go along with really
gaudy offensive numbers. He had an 855 OPS in Vancouver

(35:09):
and then that earned himself that promotion up to AA.
I mentioned it earlier some of that how difficult it is to go
from high A to AA, but this is aguy that really didn't miss a
beat at all since he moved up. He had 44 games in Vancouver,
855 OS and then in 52 games he had a 787 OS.
So numbers just a slight dip, but really in all around game.

(35:33):
And this is a D3 superstar, you know, a guy that went in the
16th round out of Skidmore and another guy that's just salted
the earth, You know, huge smile on his face whenever you see him
and just just a nice guy to be around as well.
So easy guy to root for. And I think Jackson Hornung hit
tool and ability to kind of fit in at first base in those corner
spots will make him a valuable asset going forward.

(35:57):
I mentioned about Shawn Keith earlier for a while now, right?
Like we talked about Sean Keys altogether.
We're out another breakout candidate as well.
Like he played third base and how would you look at him as a
player itself? Because he's a guy that came out
of nowhere and just became a guy, right, all of a sudden and
he could get promoted as soon asnext year.
But like with Sean Keys, like how do you look at him as a

(36:19):
player? Yeah, fourth round pick last
year, I think we all kind of tabbed him as a guy that's
probably going to play in Vancouver for for most of the
year and he ended up playing theentire year in Vancouver, 119
games, hit nineteen home runs, which ended up being the
franchise mark. He bested Kate Doty by one
Homer. He hit that back in 2022, I

(36:40):
believe, but 19 bombs for keys. He also set the franchise record
for walks in a season at 86. And of course, when I say
franchise record, that's just covering five years because the
Vancouver Canadians were a rookie ball team for the
majority of the time with as an affiliate as the of the Blue
Jays. But it's only been in the last
five years that the club has been a high affiliate and

(37:02):
playing way more games. So easier to set franchise
marks, of course, when you're playing more games, but still
impressive nonetheless. 86 walksagainst 117 strikeouts.
So there was some swing and missto his game, but just the on
base percentage was there just power and on base for Keys and
other kind of similar prototype to guys we've seen in the past
that are up at the Major League level now.

(37:24):
Addison Barger, another guy who has a lot of power and walk to
his game and Alan Roden, who I mentioned earlier.
But Sean Keys, just a really good player overall filling in
at third base or first base. I think maybe as time goes on
he's more of a first baseman, but you never know.
He's he definitely looked the part at 3rd and didn't look over

(37:45):
matched at all. He is kind of a bigger guy.
So I wonder, you know, as the years go by, maybe he fits more
as a first baseman to 1/3 baseman, but time will tell as
far as where he fits defensively.
But I can't talk about Sean Keyswithout mentioning those two
walk off homers he hit pretty unbelievable.
We didn't have a single one in 2024 and we had two walkoff

(38:06):
bombs from Sean Keys, both of them coming on Saturday nights
with fireworks to follow. So certainly a flair for the
dramatic for Sean Keys. And, you know, some of those,
some of those moments were, well, you know, we'll remember
for years in Vancouver. Let's talk about something that
might be a factor down the road because guys like Mason Flirty,

(38:28):
who's now in the playoff roster for the Jays.
And you made a comparison. I believe that Kai Peterson was
the closest comparison to Mason Flirty.
And I know you already mentioneda couple guys, but I would like
to type a little bit deeper. You talked about David Cormier,
Pat Gallagher, but Shay Jager had a great year.
Every month it had a decent year.
And another guy that I don't know if nobody knows that the

(38:52):
that name hasn't been heard is Brett Garcia.
Like talk about the remaining guys that was in in the bullpen
and how intrical. What were they part of that
Vancouver Canadians roster, especially in the bullpen?
Yeah, just a number of bullpen arms that we could talk about as
as potential guys that could impact the the Major League team

(39:12):
over the next couple of years. You mentioned Charger, he made a
huge change going from a curveball being his go to off
speed pitch to a harder slider and that coupled with a couple
of extra mph on the fastball really took his game to another
level. You know, 177 ERA across 25
appearances with Vancouver before getting moved up to AA.

(39:33):
So really a night and day difference with Yager from what
he did last year. He was on the Vancouver
Canadians all of 2024 and most of 2025, but really just an
unbelievable difference. You know, less walks, more
strikeouts and really exactly what you want to see for a for a
reliever. And that's kind of how it goes
with relief pitching. Sometimes you can make one

(39:56):
little change with your deliveryor a new pitch or a tweaked
pitch and all of a sudden, you know, you have a huge year.
So, you know, of course you got to string those years together
to get up to the major leagues. But Jay Edgar certainly looking
like he's on his way and Aaron Munson, another guy you
mentioned kind of sneakily with A281 ear array across 30
appearances. He didn't give a home run up all

(40:18):
season long in Vancouver. So that was something we didn't
really realize until, you know, one of the last couple of games
that he pitched on the year. But you know, another guy that
was in Vancouver for all of 24 and all of 25.
So I think he's poised to move up to AA New Hampshire to start
2026. But a guy that you know, pretty
funny story. Not funny, but an interesting

(40:38):
story that. He was an outfielder when in
college at Angelo State in Texas.
And you know, his coach told him, you know, look, we got a
lot of older guys on this team. If you're gonna if you're gonna
play for us, it's probably gonnabe on the mound.
So all of a sudden he switched from an outfielder to a pitcher
and all of a sudden becomes a pro prospect and gets drafted.
So pretty unbelievable story a few years later.

(41:00):
And, you know, he's dominating Northwest League hitters.
So that's another guy I'm I'm definitely keeping an eye on
going forward. And one of the guy I'll
highlight is Nate Garco, anotherguy with, you know, all kinds of
strikeout stuff. He's got that change up that has
a lot of swing and miss. You know, the Jays just finished
that series with the Yankees, ofcourse, and Devin Williams

(41:20):
pitching a couple times. You know, he's known for that
airbender change up. I think this is the closest
thing that I've seen to a changeup with that much swing and miss
is Nate Gargos pitch guys know it's coming.
He's got a low 90s fastball, buthe's throwing that change up
most of the time and it's unbelievable how much swing and
miss he generates off of it. You know, across 10 appearances

(41:41):
with Vancouver, he had a bit of an inflated ERA that was some
early season struggles, but 32 strikeouts in 16 and 2/3 and he
really did better stuff since going up to AA.
You know, you look at the total numbers for him across 39 games,
he had 86 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings.
So I thought this could have been a guy that made his way all

(42:04):
the way up to Toronto this year.You know, his services weren't
necessarily needed at the highest level.
But you know, you look at the overall numbers numbers, This is
a guy that was signed from indieball, a 319 ERA in 39 games.
This is going to be a guy that Ithink, you know, given his age,
he's an older guy at 28. This is going to be a guy that
could factor into the Blue Jays bullpen plans as early as early

(42:25):
2026. So who are some guys that play
Vancouver this season that were kind of underwhelmed this this
year, who could potentially bounce back in 2026?
Yeah, you know what erv Carter is one that comes to mind.
He had a lot of good with, you know, there was some ups and

(42:45):
downs with his year. You know, he came up initially
in 2024 mid season and spent theentire 2025 season with the
Canadians, but 27 games. His role kind of changing
throughout the year. You know, he had a couple of,
you know, 2 inning spurts or less than two innings at times
and then next thing you know you'd be asked for four or five
innings out of the pen. So I think All in all, it's a

(43:08):
good year and especially with how we finished the year, 62
strikeouts and 60 innings. This is a guy that was a top
prospect or a top 30 prospect earlier in his career as a
starting pitcher and a guy that moved to the bullpen.
So I think it's fair to expect some some growing pains with
that move to the bullpen for Herve.
But I think, you know, the last few weeks of the 2025 season

(43:30):
show that this is a guy that, you know, has the stuff that
will play coming out of the bullpen and just the attitude,
you know, we we've grown to loveHerb and Vancouver over the last
couple of years. And, you know, he strikes out a
guy, he's strutting on the mound.
He lets his personality show. And, you know, I feel like that
fuels some of his success on themound as well.

(43:53):
So we saw Travis Savage startingin a ball.
I mean, he was in Vancouver and it's such an anomaly.
And another player that remindedme kind of in the Jays
organization years ago was Kendall Graveman Once Upon a
time. But if you look at the way the
rosters constructed for the Canadians right now, if you have

(44:13):
to ask yourself who has the opportunity to be in the major,
I know it's a stretch, but in your mind potentially who who
has the opportunity that has a chance to be in a major?
I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if you had someone
in mind or multiple people. Yeah, there's certainly multiple

(44:33):
guys that could make that kind of jump.
You know, without knowing our roster and what it's going to
look like to start the year, it's it's, it's hard to give you
a definitive name. But some of those guys I
mentioned, especially Javen Coleman, would be one guy that
I'd probably # the table for as as far as a guy that could rock
it up to the Blue Jays, you know, as early as 2026.
But you know, that's that's The thing is the development happens

(44:57):
not only during the year, but inthe off season.
So you know, I mentioned it withArjun Namala.
Maybe he didn't end the year like he wanted to, but a lot can
still happen before game start to be played in 2026, right?
You've got the full offseason, you've got spring training.
You know, for a 19 year old likeKamala, by the time the opening
day, opening day rolls around in2026, you know, there's still

(45:19):
going to be development happening there.
So I wouldn't say Tamala has, you know, really any chance at
all to make it all the way up tothe majors in 2026.
But I think that will be a guy that takes a big step forward
next year. Looking into the Vancouver
Canadian season this year, they won 75 games, which are second
most in the history of the of the franchise.

(45:42):
They just fell short of the playoffs.
I believe there's two. There's a first half and a
second-half right in the minor leagues, I believe.
And that's right. Yeah, and it's very hard to make
the playoffs, but you guys had afantastic season.
So just give us kind of a recap of the way the season went and
how you guys were, how happy youwere with the way the season

(46:04):
went. Yeah, a bit of a frustrating
year, just how talented the Canadians team was and with so
many prospects that came throughthat the Canadians weren't able
to get to that playoff. But you mentioned the first half
and second-half, basically how it works.
The first half winner faces the second-half winner.
If it's the same team that wins both halves, it's the

(46:25):
second-half, second, second place team, which the Canadians
were able to make the playoffs that way last year before losing
to Spokane. But unfortunately this year the
first half ended after the Canadians went on 11 game win
streak. But the end of that half in a
tie with Everett and losing out on that tiebreaker based on head
to head. So finishing it with a in a tie,

(46:46):
1st in that first half and then a distant second in the
second-half, Eugene really running away with things.
I think we all assume that Eugene would win the Northwest
League title. But of course, anything could
happen in A5 game series. And Everett who was in last
place in the second-half after being in first place in the
first half, were able to beat Eugene in that Northwest League
Championship series. So kind of a disappointing year

(47:09):
based on, you know, the Canadians being 75 and 57, an
all time run differential seasonas well.
They were plus 169. So that kind of shows you, you
know, what they were capable of.You look at the expected win
loss based on the run differential and it was 82 and
50, so 7 extra wins. So some of that, some of those
struggles, you know, could be attributed to, you know, not

(47:31):
winning some of these one run games.
I don't have it up in front of me, but they were, you know,
really, really struggled in those one run games, especially
in the first half. And, you know, I think we've
talked about it a lot, you know,around the stadium and whatnot,
that if we had a guy like Trey Savage, maybe for another week
or two, you know, maybe things are different.
Maybe if Cal Steven doesn't get traded, we keep him for another

(47:53):
week. You never know.
But, you know, as as we look back, it was certainly a
successful season based on the individual performances and, you
know, the number of wins that weput up, but definitely a bit
disappointing that we didn't make it into that Northwest
League championship. So heading into 2026 and we know
that some of these guys are going to get promoted and some

(48:16):
of the guys from the drafter's going to be in Vancouver as they
are are assigned and looking into that.
And were you surprised some guysfrom Donna and you could mention
names if you want that, that didget promoted to Vancouver?
And also who would you think in the 20 from last year's draft or
this past year's draft class in 2025 that that could be assigned

(48:40):
to Vancouver? Like for example, you could say
maybe a Jared Spencer or Kaiser Lego or any of those names.
Like who would you think could get assigned if you have to say
in your opinion? Yeah, I think the Blue Jays
follow a certain trajectory withsome of their guys.
I think with pictures, even if it's a college pitcher, it's

(49:03):
fairly unlikely that a starting college player will start off in
high. A Trey is Savage, Exhibit A, the
top of top prospects. And even he started in single a
Dunedin, right. So I don't think there's a
chance that a guy like Jared Spencer, who you mentioned would
start in Vancouver. I think he's ticketed for

(49:25):
Dunedin, you know, to at least get his feet wet there before
coming up. But I think you see it with
relief college relief farms hereand there.
So if you look up and down the guys they they drafted, there's
certainly going to be a couple of guys that they drafted at a
college that are relief farms that'll start in Vancouver.
A couple of guys, a couple of hitters that were drafted out of

(49:46):
college that I would look at would be Jake Cook.
He was a third round pick and outfielder.
I'd expect to see him maybe to start the year.
You never know. Another guy, Eric Snow taking in
the sixth round out of Auburn. That's another guy that I was
expected to be on Vancouver, youknow, for the majority of the
season, if not the entire year. You know, I, I think you can
look back in years past and giveyou an idea with, you know, what

(50:09):
the Blue Jays plan is with some of these guys.
And you look at guys that were in Vancouver for the entire 2025
season. Sean Keys, Carter Cunningham,
Eddie Micheletti and look, therewas one more name there, but at
least those three guys, all of them drafted last year out of
college. So I think, you know, if you're
drafted in the 1st, 10 rounds orso out of college is a good

(50:30):
chance you're going to start in Vancouver and it's going to take
a little bit to get you up to AAas well though.
Is it Jackson? Fort Worth was drafted last
year. He started off in Vancouver,
right? I think he stayed there the
whole year. I think that's the only thing.
I think he was the one that was drafted last year.
And yeah. That's a good point, actually.
He would be the only one that that I can think of and and
pretty funny to look back that Jackson Wentworth was the guy

(50:54):
that was on the high a opening day roster, but Trey Savage
wasn't. So I think that kind of shows
you a little bit that it's not as simple as, you know, the top
prospects or the best pitching prospects you have are for sure
going to start at the highest level.
But that's certainly a good point that Jackson Wentworth,
you know, in his first full season, was able to log every

(51:15):
start, you know, at at a higher level.
Could you see Johnny King via Vancouver at some point next
year? Because he's he's been highly
touted. He's a guy that's also presented
A caja and he's probably anotherguy that also helped the Blue
Jays be affordable trading a guylike Kendra Rojas and you

(51:38):
mentioned JWB and and Gage Jennifer, because there is a lot
of, you know, comps and I don't want to get to the whole comp
point because I know that Jade don't like to rush prospects and
he's a very talented prospect. But could you see a guy like him
being promoted? It certainly would be exciting
if we saw Johnny King at some point in 2026.

(52:01):
I believe he was one year younger than a typical high
school drafted player last year.So he was 18 for the entire 2025
season. He's gonna be 19 all next year.
So I think that would be quite the accomplishment for a 19 year
old to get up to high A. And I think it is a possibility
just with how dominant he was with Dunedin last year, you

(52:22):
know, a 335 ER, a whopping 64 strikeouts and 37 2/3 innings.
So really good stuff for him in single A Dunedin, I think he's
going to start there next year. But you know, if all goes well
and he continues shoving like hewas, then you know, it's
certainly in the realm of possibility, you know, that he
could get called up sometime around mid season.

(52:45):
So the Blue Jays having this remarkable season this year, you
know, going from what they did last year and ultimately selling
their entire team to making their first ALCS since 2016.
So let's just, let's just talk about the season they had and,

(53:06):
and tell us about what a remarkable turnaround it was.
And, and, and what are your feelings going into this ALCS
And what were your feelings about them beating the Yankees
and the LTS? Yeah, what an unbelievable
season for the Blue Jays. I think optimism was maybe at an
all time low in the off season 2.
So it was kind of interesting that how things go sometimes in

(53:29):
Major League Baseball. You know, coming off the season
that the Jays did, you know, missing out on Roki Sasaki and
and Juan Soto, who they reportedly had interest in.
I think coming off of those two kind of losses in the offseason,
so to speak, that I don't think a lot of people were maybe
expecting the James to bounce back and have a huge year.
But boy, did they ever do that. John Schneider, I think being on

(53:52):
the hot seat, you know, during the offseason last year, what a
job he did with this team. You know, it's been said quite a
bit, but just one through 9 and you just, everybody on this
roster has contributed at some point, especially offensively.
You know, you don't have that one superstar.
Of course, you have Lady Guerrero and George Springer,
who had an unbelievable year, but just so many contributions

(54:14):
up and down the lineup. And you've got pitching depth as
well. You saw it all year.
The bullpen was a lot better this year as well.
And you know, if you can add a guy like Trey Savage late in the
season like they have, it just makes you that much more
exciting and deadly in the playoffs.
But I think that's been the biggest thing is, you know, you
put together this full season where you've needed so many

(54:34):
different guys and then, you know, a team thinks they have an
idea of what the Blue Jays are going to throw at you.
And then you can throw a guy like Trey Savage who's nobody's
seen. So I think that's that's worked
to their advantage. And, you know, it seems like
that's been the plan all along is to have him kind of come up
for the end of the year. And I think, you know, they look
like geniuses at this point sitting here with the ALCS about

(54:56):
to start. But of course, we're a couple
days away from that with Seattleand Detroit still set to play
their game five game on Friday night.
So I think regardless of which team ends up making it and faces
off against the Jays and the ALCS, that, you know, the Blue
Jays are probably going to be favored in that series.
And, you know, they've got a good chance to get to the World
Series for the first time since 1993.

(55:17):
So that's an exciting sentence to say right there.
And, you know, I'm, you know, selfishly hoping that the
Seattle Mariners are the ones that make it so that, you know,
me being in Vancouver, you know,maybe have a chance to get down
to Seattle and see a game that that, you know, would be really
exciting. But both of those teams, Detroit
and Seattle, will have a chance,you know, for Blue Jays fans to

(55:40):
get there and maybe paint the stadium blue a little bit.
I think both of those, you know,Rd. cities, Detroit and Seattle,
there's a high chance that Blue Jays fans are going to make
their way there for those Rd. games.
So you mentioned altogether the way the seasons got prior to the
season. We don't know where the farm

(56:02):
stood. Like I know that that we had
there was a lot of pitching in the system, but I know there was
a down year in 2024. And this year it seems like it's
like, have you seen a situation that an organization from top to
bottom, not only just the rosteritself, but in the farm system

(56:22):
has told the 180 and the way they drafted and thinking that,
you know, Shane Farrell was was the farm director, was his team
last year. Now he's off to Detroit and they
hired Mark Tremonti Tramuta fromthe Mets organization And
looking at as a whole now movingforward from 26 and beyond and

(56:43):
the way they did about how remarkable is it as a as an
overall standpoint, which is organization as a whole moving
forward. Yeah, it's really exciting, I
think for any Blue Jays fan to, you know, come into this year
maybe thinking that this may be the one of the last times with
this crew to make this happen and go on a run.

(57:06):
Of course, Vladdy signs that extension, you know, once the
season had started. So I think that really changed
things and changed the outlook for this Blue Jays team.
You know, they went from, you know, maybe having to blow
things up if they don't sign Vladdy to sign him to a long
term deal. Then you, like you said, you
have this prospect renaissance. You have up and down the minor

(57:27):
leagues, you know, a lot of prospects kind of seemingly
coming out of nowhere. And then at the Major League
level you get all these great performances as well.
So I think, you know, that proverbial window for the Blue
Jays is wide open at this point.I think, you know, regardless of
what happens this season, they're going to go into next
year as the favorites in the AL East.

(57:48):
You know, especially with with some of the guys that some of
the young guys they've been ableto call up and you know, some of
those, you know, further young guys that will come up in the
future. But I think the that window is
wide open. And Rogers has made it clear
they're completely willing to spend money as well.
So I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to add this
offseason, maybe get a couple other pieces in there, But

(58:11):
certainly an exciting time to bea Blue Jays fan.
And to follow up, to finish thisoff, the Jays wanted to have
winning baseball and continue tobuild the farm.
And it took some time to build this team.
And could you see a, a transition or you could say a

(58:32):
circular motion and, and, and a well oiled roster with guys from
mine from the minor leagues because you're, you covered
these games and you're witnessing it's guys already
been promoted to AA and AAA and perhaps some in the majors right
now, right? Could you see something what
compared to like a team like theDodgers, for example, because
they try to bring up guides and stuff, but they spend guys.

(58:54):
But could you see a balance of what the Jays are doing?
Because the way they're developing guys, they're not
going to rush guys and they're the way they're building guys.
They're going to gradually try to bring them up and not rush
them. So how, how important is that to
the organization building that talent with it?
Yeah, I think for me, being a guy that's been around the

(59:17):
Canadians over the last two seasons and, you know, seeing
these guys have success and moveon, you know, it may be a
position where, you know, it's easy to get excited about guys
performing well and moving on, but also realizing that high A
is just one step of the ladder, right?
So right now I'm not Privy to all the details in every minor

(59:41):
league team and what's going on around the organization with
these guys, development and whatthe plans are with that.
So it's hard to know exactly, you know, what that means
exactly. You know, success at one year
like we just mentioned, you know, 75 wins for Vancouver this
year plus 169 run differential. But you look at some of the

(01:00:01):
other minor league teams and they weren't so successful on a
win loss basis. So what does that mean exactly?
Who knows, right? It doesn't, it doesn't mean that
all the Canadians prospects or all the Blue Jays prospects
necessarily are concentrated in one area.
It just means that kind of there's a lot of moving parts
and things were not really awareof as far as the development

(01:00:23):
process of these guys. But it's easy to be biased when
you're in the organization and you're seeing these guys all the
time. You're rooting for these guys as
well. But to answer your question, I
don't know if it's if it was necessarily obvious that I was
seeing, you know, 180 change necessarily, but there's there's
always some positive things going on along with negative,

(01:00:45):
but ups and downs throughout theseason.
But yeah, what would have would have changed a year makes you
know, not only for the Blue Jays, but in Vancouver as well.
Well, Chris, we appreciate you. We, we had a great time on this
man. That was awesome man.
And we would love to have to have you back once again.
Thank you for doing this, takingyour time to, you know, dive

(01:01:06):
into the this whole season with the Vancouver Canadians and the
players. But where can we find you?
In social media and everywhere else?
Yeah, at Chris Georges 25 on social media, that's Twitter and
Instagram. You can find me there.
Really appreciate you guys Rockyand Rob, really great stuff that
you guys are doing over the lastyear plus and just all the

(01:01:27):
guests you guys have had on. So it's been great listening to
some of those those podcasts andbeing here along alongside you
guys as well. Well, thanks very much for the
kind words. We appreciate it.
Man means means everything come from you.
So we're excited and we're we'rehonored to have you back and we
will be seeing you in Vancouver next season.

(01:01:49):
So that'll be fun. So thank you very much.
Sounds good. We'll have to roll out the red
carpet for you guys, You know, rolling.
In hey, we'll take whatever, whatever order we can bed, but
thank you once again and we willplace the description below

(01:02:09):
where you can find Chris Georgesand make sure we keep track.
And you know, it's a remarkable time to be a Jays fan
altogether. But till next time, take care.
Be kind to each other. Signing off in the Blue Jays
Ave. podcast Thursday, October 9th, 2025.