OverDrive - Matheson on the Jays' beatdown of the Rockies, the significance of the upcoming series against the Dodgers, and what the Jays' rotation could look like heading into the playoffs

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

MLB.com Blue Jays writer Keegan Matheson joins the show to discuss the Jays’ dominant series sweep of the Rockies. Matheson details the importance of Toronto’s series with the Los Angeles Dodgers and what the Jays’ rotation could look like heading into the postseason.

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And he's spending it with us here on Overdrive. It's our Frank Egan Matheson on the Maple Toyota hotline who looks sensational, as per usual. What's going on, buddy? NFL preseason talk, fellas. I'm fired up. Yeah. This is the winter. $10 at a time I'm going to change my life this winter. Yeah.

I tell you. We have talked a lot about the Blue Jays. Don't you worry, Keegan. A lot of Blue Jays talk. They deserve it. And you saw that beat down firsthand. You've seen a lot of baseball in your day. Have you ever seen anything like those three games?

No. That was like we're talking about guys. When we start talking about records, you know, biggest differential in runs, most hits in a three game series, most runs. And I'm having to write, this is the most since a team that doesn't exist anymore. a team I've never heard of

that's pretty special man the Rockies are terrible yeah and I might be done with position players pitching I think I'm out on it you know I think it's worn off and maybe that's like a heartbreaking moment for me maybe I've lost that spark

in my heart but I just at the end of that game I was thinking man come just be serious and this you know but that's as good as it gets for the Blue Jays man top to bottom everyone's doing it I mean Ty France reached base six times in a game. So when you're hot, you're hot, and when you're the Rockies, you're the Rockies, that is what you get. Well, it's, it's really interesting because

a lot of people are looking at it and they're like, yeah, it's the Rockies. And it's Coors Field. The ball travels. It's a hitter's park. But they had 63 hits. Like, they were able to make contact on a lot of quality pitches and put the ball in play. So I don't know if you can necessarily shrug that off. The fact that it was just in Coors Field, this team's approach at the plate seems to be at a pretty high level right now. we over exaggerate course field man it's yes it's different it's a little different it's a little easier to hit the ball that might go 400 feet in one park will probably go 407 or 409 there yeah but if i was a rockies reporter i would lose my mind um maybe for a few reasons but one of them

being that every road reporter coming in talks about it like you're playing on jupiter or something you know it's it's like it's this big wow idea it's not that crazy okay and if it was the Rockies would have five guys hitting 40 bombs a year. They don't. It's one percent different. The Jays scored that many runs because they played really damn good baseball. And maybe Corse Field led to 63 hits instead of 62, whatever. But when we talk about course field, we talk about power and how far the ball travels.

One of the real advantages, and this is why I think the Rockies should be trying to build a team like the Blue Jays, is that there's so much space there. The outfield's massive. And why in baseball we allowed fields to be different shapes? I don't know. It's like, imagine we were talking about the NFL. Oh, man, the bills are in New England this week. They've got to throw the ball more.

The end zone's bigger. It's pretty dumb, but it's how it works. And there's so much space in the outfield. And when those balls get rolling, there is so much room for a team like the Blue Jays who runs the bases aggressively to create havoc. The Jays are really built for Coorsfield, just not in the way that most people think. It's such a fascinating place, man, for a team that puts the ball in play. That's who the Rockies should try to be.

I guess most of baseball should try to be the Blue Jays right now. Can't believe I'm saying it, but, man, they were tailor-made for that park. You know what ballpark I miss or what maybe aspect of a ballpark I miss? Remember in Houston they had that, what was it called, Tows Hill? In center of the-in-the-mid-in-the-mid-all. They got to bring that back. In the middle of a field. It's just so stupid.

You're running up a ramp in center field. Imagine up the right sideline, a cowboy's stadium was still. You know what? In the fourth quarter, they're going to have to run the ball because C.D. Lambs running up a hill. That's it. That's exactly. Yeah. So I was game, fellas. I was going back, Keegan Matheson with us, and I read an article of yours from before the season.

Blue Jay's hitting coach aiming to craft MLB's most creative lineup. And David Popkins is a guy who maybe is not getting as much credit or discussion as he deserves. And, I mean, the way that this team has hit, and they are deep, they are consistent, and they are getting performances from

out of nowhere, seemingly, night after night and week after week and month after month. Go ahead, Michael. The team average this year's 270. The next best team average, 258. Wow. Like 12 points above the next best team. Creative.

How much of this team's performance and the credit deserves to go to David Popkins? A lot of it. David Popkins, Lou Ionati, Hunter Ments, the hitting staff. And creatives a good word, man. And back in spring training, not a lot of people like that. because in Toronto for so many reasons we've become sick of buzzwords and creative though

I think is more of a blanket term last year and the year prior and for too long the Blue Jays have they've tried to hit 10 singles in a row or they've tried to do one specific thing everyone doing the same thing that doesn't work you cannot tell Vladdy and Addison Barger to approach baseball the same way

that Ernie Clements and Miles Straw do it needs to be individualized and a lot of what this hitting staff has done guys to simplify things there is there's too much information in major league baseball right now and it can overwhelm you and certain hitters like it certain pitchers really like it they want to know everything other players they want just a snap of that they want a little bit or they are visual learners they want it explained in a certain way the the number one guys the most important skill in coaching right now. This goes in Major League Baseball. I think this applies across a lot of sports is, I don't want to say communication. That's too buzzwordy. But being able to connect and

explain this information like a human being to players. A lot of teams have tried where they put the nerd in the dugout. And there's a guy with a, you know, you can usually spot him with the 24 inch waist and he's in a uniform and he's the guy that gives them the information. other teams try the former player who can speak that language and I think a lot of teams get caught trying too hard to do that it needs to happen organically and naturally and Pete Walker is another great example of this guy's on the pitching side he's old school but he's learned how to speak this language

David Popkins is fantastic of this I think and really does deserve some credit in this behind the players because he's made it accessible and he has catered it to each individual player. Vlad is capable of things that other players in this roster are just not. So he needs to be handled differently. And when you nail that sweet spot, that's when you get trust from players. And you need trust because the moment you only have 95% of their trust, that is when they start talking to their own hitting coach or their buddy from college or their

dad. And everyone has ideas. It gets cluttered up, man. This is an act of subtraction. now in Major League Baseball. It used to be an active addition. We need more info. We need to find the next money ball. There's a billion money balls, man. There's enough information. This is about subtraction and finding what works for people. They're doing it. And I've never been in a, covered a team where the hitting coach has fans. Man, this is incredible. So it's, you know, you're doing something right. Well, it's funny. Like a hitting coach and how much love has Pete Walker gotten over the years when it comes to the pitching staff here? And, you know, the pitching staff is interesting.

We've had a lot of conversations over the last couple of days, AK and I about what this rotation could turn out to be. And there's still, what, seven or so weeks left in the season before we get to October. But, Keegan, if, you know, if all things go well with Shane Bieber and everyone else continues to pitch along the way that they have all season, like what do you think this rotation looks like come October? I don't know who you can take out of it right now, honestly. I'm usually the last guy to say that the same.

man rotation is a good idea. It might be at this point. None of these guys are 23 years old. They can use the extra day, probably. Right now, I think that Shane Bieber is in one of those first couple of games. Easy. As long as he comes back and he looks normal. Max Scherzer's the surprise for me, man. His last couple of outings, I think the stat line from two outings ago didn't look as great, but his stuff's there, man. And as long as the stuff is there, I trust Max Scherzer in a big game. Kevin Gosman looks like Kevin Gosman. again. I think that's your game one, two, and three, in some sort of order. Beyond that, hmm, hot hand, we'll see who's hot then. It hasn't really been Bereos lately. Eric Lauer deserves

every opportunity. He does not deserve to be taken out of this rotation. He's one of the best stories of the season. But I think if I was writing it out today, my God, where would you put it? Beaver Gosman Scherzer probably at this point. And a lot of that hinges on Beaver. A lot of things need to go right. But there's some real upside there, guys. And that was a worry for me through the season. The Jays had what, five pitchers who you could call a number two, three, or four, but not really that

game winning upside. Beaver can be that. I think Scherzer can be that on the right day. And we've seen that Kevin Gossman can be that. You need an ace to steal you a game along the way. And once you get to games four and five, maybe we're talking short rest, maybe Bassett's hot by then, we'll see.

But it's a, you know, good problem, but it's a legitimate discussion. it's going to be complicated, it's going to be awkward. And home. Must be at home. If he's starting, he needs to start at home. We don't want to see a good mattress or something, guys. I can't make sense of it.

It is very important. You should ask him. You should ask him what he's sleeping on on the nightly baby. I think that's a good idea. Kegan Mathes and our guest covers the Jays for MLB.com. It is fascinating how much the tone has changed in the city because of what the Blue Jays just did to Colorado because it was ugly heading in, right? They had lost six of eight and you're kind of wondering as the bubble burst.

and then they destroy the Rockies and does not get any easier after the off day heading to L.A. to play the Dodgers. What are the Jays in store for this weekend? Some pretty scary pitching, number one. But the Jays have played above 500 teams as well as anyone in Major League Baseball. And that's important.

We've seen that with a couple of the big Yankees series. They've really risen to those occasions. We've seen some duds against bad teams. Think back to that athletic series. But they've played really well. against good teams and guys if they take two of three like let's not say they're going to sweep the dodgers we'll see if they can take two of three that is when the blue jays hype skips over the border i think because the jays are this overachieving team who i i think a lot

of folks on the other side of the border are casting is kind of this like plucky gritty hard nose they have a massive payroll they have vladdie and bow and stars like this is not just a team grinding their way to wins. They're talented. It's a major market. And I think if they take two or three from the Dodgers, that starts to be taken more seriously. Because right now atop the AL East,

like we're not talking about a division race anymore. We are talking about winning the AL and bypassing the wild card series, which is so valuable because we've seen how the wild card series go. When you have a bad day, get a bad bounce, or make a really big-brained bad decision, you can lose one, 02, real quick. It's happened the last three times they've gone in.

And if they can get to a five-game series, that's when their depth. That's when their match-up advantage can take over, I think. So the conversation's going to take off quick. If they take the Dodgers, that's when SportsCenter on the other side of the border is talking about it. That's when ESPN and Fox Sports are talking about the Blue Jays. It's overdue, but they're coming up on that, man. it's almost mid-August. Keegan, a guy who's been absolutely on fire over the course of last month has been Bo Bichette,

who also had a massive series in Colorado, although everyone had a massive series in Colorado. But when you look forward to his future with the club, do you think that this season that he's had, that the team has had, has any impact on whether or not he'll return to Toronto next year? Definitely. It's money always matters, number one. Money is going to be the number one thing. What the Blue Jays need is the tiebreaker, and that's what a team always is after, is the tiebreaker. Now, that can mean your family likes the area.

That means you have friends on the team. He and Vladdy have always said they want to play their entire careers together, and winning is one of the best tiebreakers. And anyone listening to it, you think of it in your own job. If you ever have options to change companies, well, your buddies are there. You're having a good time, work is going well. These little side factors do matter if the money's close. And if it gets to the offseason and the money is close, I don't think Bo Boshet's ever said anything that has left me doubting his desire to be in Toronto. Bo Bouchette is catnip for body language experts.

And I understand that everyone wants him to dance and wear the jacket a little bit more, but that's not his jam. And that's okay. It's never going to be his jam, no matter where he goes. But everything he's said along the way, and I've talked to Bo about this two or three weeks ago, He said he wants to be in a place where he can win, where he's enjoying playing baseball, and where the front office is trying to win, too. And he said right now they're checking every box. It's always going to be the money.

You're not going to make up 40 million bucks just because a guy likes the restaurants here. It doesn't happen. But I think the Blue Jays are doing well with those tiebreakers right now. So much has changed. Bobeshet's making himself some money right now. Like he is making tens of millions dollars more right now, but the Jays are handling the tiebreakers. Keegan Matheson with us.

A man who has received the bag is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. $500 million, of course, in the early part of this season. He has been really good since the All-Star break. And in Colorado, he was hammering balls to right field, over the fence, off the fence, and all of a sudden you look at his numbers. And I know the home runs aren't there, but the double productions there,

the on-base is there, everything else you'd want from Vlad Jr. is there. I think his OPS is creeping up close to, 900. All of a sudden, he's having a very respectable season. Save the power, but again, maybe the 48 home run season that he had in 2021 is kind of obscuring what is reality when it comes to Vlad Jr. How would you assess his season in totality, Vlad Jr. at this point of time, Gigan? It's been slow to get here, but I think he's back, honestly. The power to right center field, guys, compare this to the opening weeks of the season. Early this season, over and over and over again. Vlad would hit the ball

115 miles an hour, whatever it was, but it would be kind of a line drive from a ground ball up the middle to right center. And it looked like he was doing it on purpose. It looked like if one of us went to play slow pitch and you just kind of try to drive one over the second basement. He was doing it easily. But he wasn't lifting it.

He wasn't doing that big damage all at once. Now he is. And what I loved in Colorado was that Vladdy took a couple of big hacks at 2-1-3-0 pitch. whereas before he was being incredibly patient and that's a good thing you take walks you help move this thing along but he's Vladdy man this is not a singles hitter this is not an on base guy even though that's part of his game what makes him truly special is the power and coming up as a prospect Vladdy his best tool was hitting not power but just hitting making contact driving

the ball all around the field he's gifted in ways that very few people in the planet are. But when he taps into the power guys, this is the exact same conversation with Boba Shett. They can put a bat on anything. It doesn't matter if it's 150 miles an hour. They'll make contact. But when they're driving the ball for power, they become superstars. And that's what the Jays need right now. The Jays at this point, I think we need to be a little needier and greedier with these conversations because this is no longer about sneaking in as a wildcard team and being happy to be little old Toronto invited to the playoffs. This is about how they can win a world series,

which means how do you beat the Dodgers? How do you beat the Brewers? How do you beat the Tigers, the Yankees? And you do that by being a really good team that probably over the course of a seven-game series has someone take over a game. A month or two ago, Vladdy was not that player. Now he is.

He can take over a game against any pitcher right now. And I think he is just about all the way back. He's feeling it, man. And this is as impressive as I've seen him. all season. Before we get you out here, Keegan, any updates on the guys kind of working their way back up to the roster, Springer, Bieber, who else out there, Manoa, Santander. Manez as well. And then that is a lot of them. But any updates here? The mystery of Santander. I don't have one there. Maybe someday. George Springer was not in their lineup today. Guys, there is a concussion

protocol in baseball that we don't talk about as much, but he does still need to pass some tests before he gets into a game, probably play one or two. Then he's back. Jimenez is off today. He'll play the next couple of days. Bieber will pitch Saturday and then one more. So he's probably back when would that put him later in August. August, you know, 20 range or something like that. But it's getting close, guys.

There's going to be some big roster decisions there as well. I don't think we'll see Santander play a baseball game the rest of this season. It's just unfortunate how that's worked out, but just the realities of the time at this point and how that will work, it's getting pretty tight. but George Springer being back is the big one. Looks like he just needs to play a couple, but he's got to pass those tests. And then a very good roster gets a little crunched,

but like Beaver, good baseball teams have good problems. That's exactly it. Jay's deserving of a day off. They have that today heading to L.A. for the first of three. And what a pitching matchup tomorrow. Scherzer versus Kershaw. Are you kidding me? That's going to be fun.

You think that'll be the last 3,000 strikeout pitcher versus 3,000 strikeout pitcher, we ever see? Well, until the World Series, that is. Oh, that's right. I think Kirshah's making the World Series? Not anymore. We're trying to be optimistic. But it's pretty incredible.

That is. We are going to be witnessing history tomorrow. It could be like one of the last times we see that, the way that modern baseball is. Best on best, man. No one's going to throw that many innings again, probably. But, you know. Geegan, thanks for doing this, buddy. We appreciate your time. A Tate Night to remember.

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