Sports

Blue Jays players who will be most impacted by the insanity of Coors Field

Published

1 year ago

September 1, 2023

The Toronto Blue Jays will open a series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night at Coors Field — a venue completely unlike any other in the majors.

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.

Danny Jansen

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.

Daulton Varsho

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.

Hyun-jin Ryu

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%).

Yusei Kikuchi

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.

Kevin Gausman

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)

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Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

4 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Sports

Penguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season

Published

4 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.

The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.

Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.

At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.

Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal

Published

15 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.

Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.

The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.

“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.

“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”

Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.

The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.

“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”

It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.

“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”

Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.

He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.

Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.

“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”

Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.

“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.

Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.

Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.

“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”

Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.

Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.

Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.

Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.

Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.

“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.

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