Because of the high altitude in Denver, the ballpark is an offensive haven with Statcast’s highest Park Factor rating (111) over the last three years. The ball travels extremely well at Coors Field, but it would be an oversimplification to say that all Blue Jays hitters will be in for a big weekend while the whole pitching staff is likely to suffer.
MLB’s most unusual park will affect different players to different degrees depending on their play stye. Here’s a breakdown of the Blue Jays likeliest to produce extreme results in the crucial series due to the Coors effect:
Hitters
Davis Schneider‘s offensive profile meshes well with Coors Field. (Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
To find hitters who will benefit most from a trip to Denver, the first place to look is groundball rate. It’s impossible to take advantage of thin air with a ball travelling along the dirt. Flyballs are more likely to carry for home runs at Coors, and line drives have the ability to find the stadium’s massive outfield gaps.
Another factor that plays a role is raw power, or perhaps a lack thereof. For hitters who tend to clear the fence by a significant margin when they hit home runs — think Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — the Coors boost is unlikely to make a huge difference. Hitters who produce more wall scrapers have more to gain from some added carry on the ball.
The Blue Jays have a few players who consistently keep the ball in the air, but could use a little power boost.
Davis Schneider
Considering he’s slashing .426/.526/.894 in his first 14 MLB games it doesn’t seem like Schneider needs much help from Coors to keep rolling, but the park meshes perfectly with his skill set.
His groundball rate early in his MLB career is just 18.8%, far below the MLB average of 42.8%. We’re dealing with a tiny sample, but his minor-league career suggests Schneider can be relied upon to keep the ball in the air.
Before his promotion to the majors his groundball percentage was just 28.8% at Triple-A, and that number hasn’t topped 30% at any level since 2019.
While the rookie has been hitting for plenty of power recently, his raw thump leaves something to be desired. His max exit velocity is in the 30th percentile among MLB hitters, and his average home run distance (389 feet) ranks eighth on the Blue Jays.
Many of his batted balls are hit to the warning track or just over the wall, so a little Coors magic seems likely to do him some good.
Jansen has many of the same characteristics as Toronto’s rookie sensation as a hitter. Both players lack high-end power but compensate by pulling flyballs at an impressive rate.
The catcher hits relatively few groundballs (34.0%) with the highest flyball rate on the team (52.7%). Much like Schneider, he also has a relatively low average home run distance (388).
Jansen doesn’t hit as many line drives as the 24-year-old rookie — so he may not be able to capitalize on the spacious gaps in Denver — but he’s a good bet to go deep in this series.
Varsho has the second-lowest groundball rate on the Blue Jays (31.5%), and his launch angle (20.3) is higher than any of his teammates.
Unlike most other Blue Jays, the outfielder also has a fair amount of experience at Coors Field from his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In 14 games at Coors, the outfielder has slashed a meaty .283/.353/.562 with four home runs and two triples.
Denver is by far the best place in the majors to hit triples with a Park Factor of 211 for three-base hits — Comerica Park is second at 171 — so left-handed hitters possessing above-average speed like Varsho, Kevin Kiermaier and Cavan Biggio have opportunities to produce three baggers.
Starting pitchers
With pitchers, there are a couple of things to consider in the battle to survive Coors. Groundballs and strikeouts are especially valuable and curveballs don’t break the way they do at other parks, making life difficult for pitchers relying on that offering.
The three starters Toronto will roll out vary in their likelihood to weather the storm ahead of them.
Toronto’s Friday starter is not particularly well positioned to thrive in Denver.
His strikeout rate is relatively low (20.6%) and he throws a curve 18.6% of the time. That pitch has also been his best offering at missing bats with a 36.6% whiff rate.
If the Rockies consistently put the ball in play against him he could be in for a long night, although his groundball rate is above-average (45.7%).
Kikuchi brings a slightly below-average groundball rate to Coors (38.3%) but he has the ability to compensate by missing bats thanks to a strong 25.3% strikeout percentage.
The southpaw throws his curveball at a similar rate to Ryu (17.0%) and he uses it slightly more against right-handers, which means he’ll have to adjust more when he lacks the platoon advantage. The Rockies often use three lefties even against southpaws, making things a little easier on Kikuchi.
Gausman is in the midst of such a strong season, even an extreme ballpark is unlikely to affect him in a profound way.
Although he doesn’t generate many grounders, he possesses the second-highest strikeout rate among qualified MLB starters (31.6%) and his fastball-splitter combo should fare well at high altitude.
Other notes
In Toronto’s bullpen, Tim Mayza is by far the most effective groundball pitcher (58.7%) while Trevor Richards (35.5%) and Jordan Romano (29.7%) stand out for their strikeout rates. Richards and Romano both struggle to induce grounders, though, so their ability to rack up Ks could be mitigated.
No relief pitcher on the Blue Jays besides longman Bowden Francis uses curveballs more than 10% of the time.
Coors Field’s enormous outfield surface area will be an excellent showcase for the defence of Kiermaier and Varsho. The former has a 96th percentile OAA mark (+9) while the latter ranks in the 94th percentile (+8)
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
