Jays Talk Plus: Battle of the Birds

Blake Murphy opens the show with a quick trip around Monday’s Major League Baseball action, sans the idle Blue Jays. Sportsnet's own Ben Nicholson-Smith joins the show to chat about the curious case of  Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s season, where in the world is Alek Manoah, the current condition of the pitching staff, and the heated Wild Card race in August. Following this, Geoff Pontes from Baseball America guides Blake through an exploration of prospects within the Jays' ranks who are on the cusp of advancing, as well as those who have faced setbacks (31:16). In the second hour, Craig Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus stops by for a detailed look at Vlad's season statistics, how the dimensions of different parks impact player performance, and how to evaluate team execution data in high-leverage scoring situations (52:56). We wrap up with a visit from Mid-Atlantic Sports Network’s Melanie Newman, who shares her colleague Kevin Brown’s thespian exploits, before delving into the upcoming AL East showdown between the Jays and Orioles (01:18:47).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.