OverDrive - May on Scherzer's return to the mound, the Blue Jays gaining steam and Raleigh's dominant bat

Episode Date: June 24, 2025

Host of the MayDay! Podcast and Former MLB Pitcher Trevor May joined OverDrive to discuss his perception of the Blue Jays' overall roster, Max Scherzer's return to the mound for the team, Aaron Judge's batting skill and the view from a pitcher, Cal Raleigh's monster season and more.

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Here he is, former MOB here, host ofB here host of foul territory in the Mayday podcast. Here's Trevor May. How you doing Trevor? I'm doing well. How we doing guys all good man. All good. Yeah, we're doing well. Thank you for doing this We're excited up here in Toronto because you know, Jays have hit the road and Max Scherzer is making his triumphant return tomorrow night. He's pitched three innings this year, didn't go so well. Three innings, come on. Well, he went on a kind of a search for perfection of health in his elbow and his wrist and his shoulder and what is your level of expectation for Max Scherzer as of tomorrow night? Well Having have played with Max for a year my expectations are always Are always high because I think he sets very high standards for his play and his health

and I just wouldn't put and putting any getting do him doing anything out of the ordinary past him, but I would say you know if we can go out there and get four or five innings that would be a big win. I think you know he he's a guy who really likes to be you know cooking on all cylinders right away and But ramping up I think it just like at this point it's just eating innings that that is what's needed uh... so uh... if he goes through the entire outing feeling good at the end of it i would say uh... that should be a

uh... smile on everyone's face would you agree though trevor like if he shakes his hand one time or grabs his thumb or his ribs or anything that's probably game over for the whole operation for Max. I mean it wouldn't be a good sign and it would be an indicator that things aren't feeling as good as he needs them to feel so that would definitely be something that would need to be considered at that point you know it you know, time comes for all of us. He's 40 years old.

You just don't heal like you used to. And it's harder and harder and harder just to kind of white knuckle your way through pain. You know, the older you get, you gotta feel better to pitch well. And I think anyone who's pitched as long as he had will tell you that. So, you know, fingers crossed though.

There's, he seems like he's well aware of what was going on and what the issues have been and he's done what he needs to do, he's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen to fix it to the best of his ability. So, one thing I'm confident in is that make sure there's gonna be, in a position to have success, it's just whether or not it happens. But yeah, I think that he's gonna be watched like a hawk, not only by fans and

everyone like in the booths and on TV, but also by that front office. So Trevor, we talked about the Jays daily. What is the perception of the Jays from outside this market and what this team is, you know, their strengths or weaknesses? What do you like about them or maybe some of the needs that they need to take a look at? That's a good question, uh one one Definitely even when I was playing before like the last decade or so it's it's they've always been known to be able to swing it It's interesting because I feel like that that kind of wasn't the case last year or two

And and some of the pitching has been a little better, or at least the starting pitching. But it's a dangerous team, it's a team you can't really take advantage or you can't look past. I mean, I think they're five games over 500, they're riding the hunt this year. That's maybe even a little bit better

than a lot of the rest of the league would have anticipated. And it's just, if you go in and you're not prepared to play, um, they just absolutely boat race you for three days and no, no one wants that to happen. So I think that, or at least the other teams don't, I mean, I guess you guys would love that. Um, so yeah, for outside looking in is it's, it is interesting that the one can Canadian teams sometimes they go overlooked in terms of watching,

or you're watching MLB Network, or you're sitting in the clubhouse and watching other teams. You know, maybe the Lujays aren't in front of your face as much, but definitely known as a team, as a organization that's gonna be in the hunt there at the end,

and that they can go up and put 15 runs on you if you're not careful, and that's going to be in the hunt there at the end and that They can go up and put 15 runs on you if you're not careful and that's been my experience Yeah, and I think that applies this year. You're right about the bats, you know It was remarkably frustrating last year even the the year prior to that where they made the playoffs 89 wins But could not get big hits with runners in scoring position didn't hit for much power But that's changed a lot, you know recently in the last month and a half There's been a lot of bats picking up Addison Barger's been huge young guy who's an everyday player now. Blattie's heating up. Alejandro Kirk's

been outstanding. Bichette's been really really good. Springer's hitting for some power and they're in the hunt in the American League East you know the five games are above 500 they're they're in a wild card spot they're only three and a half back of the Yankees and the American League East you know coming into the year there was a belief that it would be more watered down than in the past and I guess that maybe is coming to fruition although there's you know a lot of teams that are hunting for playoff spots that play in the American League East and I'm curious do you see the Yankees as like a clear-cut best team in the division or do you think the Rays and and now most recently the Blue Jays might have a chance at actually

catching them by the end of the year? I would say yes to that question three weeks ago. I would be much more confident in saying yes, especially with like the way that Rodone had started the season and how him and Fried have really taken over for the absence of Karen Cole. But, you know, he's come down to earth a little bit. The team in general has come down to earth a little bit. The backside of their lineup has kind of slowed down. Even though Aaron Judge is still hitting 370,

he's not hitting 420 anymore. So, the gap has been closed and would not put it past Tampa and Toronto to make a run at this thing because it's happened in the past and it's kind of the name of the game in this division a lot. Tampa has been on an absolute tear. I just think it comes down to who gets hot when, but I definitely think it's winnable. It's a much closer division than maybe was anticipated maybe a couple weeks ago. Trevor, you've got to explain one thing to me.

When I watch Judge smash one, basically out of ballparks, I always ask myself, what on earth was the pitcher doing putting that thing anywhere close to that? And I know that nobody's a coward in the big leagues, but I just wonder why it's not like Serrano curve ball in the dirt every time and it's like i'm not going to let this guy try to just smash this i i don't understand the thought process well there's a couple things going on with judge and i'll be honest want

photos very similar in this way uh... all even throw account warbler in this area. I think actually Schwaber and Judge are definitely a closer comparison simply because they swing a miss. They have swing a miss. And Judge will miss stuff in the zone and so will Schwaber. It's just very specific spots and if you hit those very specific spots over and over and over again, they'll just be out. Unfortunately, those two guys have been around long enough and have completely committed to the idea, to the fact that they know how their swing operates, what they can hit the hardest and they just made a decision that if a pitch is missed in that zone, it simply

is not going to be missed and I'll take whatever else comes with that if I keep getting those really perfect pitches over and over again, then I'll get out but 99% of guys can't do that as much as they need to and I'm good I'm strong enough where I'm gonna get them and they both have they look hitting tons of home runs So if you go look at like I look at heat maps example, where they do damage and where swings and misses are, uh, judge has a couple cold zones that if you just threw it there every time, he simply won't hit the ball. The problem is that that spot, especially when he's dialed in like he has been all year, that spot is just really small and it's really, really hard to do.

And I think that's what he's, the reason he's that way, he's that way. And that's why the playoffs sometimes struggle because he's getting the best pitchers in the league every single time and they're hitting those spots more often than you know, the rookies are sometimes in the in the minor or it's not the miners in the regular season and And he just makes you pay Bryce Harper is another guy who does this extremely well If you can hit a couple spots every time he'll concede that you get him out But he knows that the vast majority guys aren't gonna hit those spots every time and he's gonna crush it if you don't and judges The best guy on the planet at doing that the former MLB pitcher host of foul territory in the Mayday podcast Trevor May

So this season Cal rallies having Is just absurd man like he's got 32 home runs he leads the majors in home runs I'd love to know the last time a catcher did that this late in the season if ever I mean you mentioned judge all he does is mash Otani mashes they're looking up at this guy he's on pace for I believe 68 home runs this year he's got 32 we haven't hit the all-star break yet you know his OPS is off the charts he's leading the league in RBI the Mariners are a pretty good team they're in the hunt to make the playoffs but what more can you say Trevor can you add

to this like how do you put this in a perspective what this guy's doing at the plate it's really really hard to put in your spectrum because it is that kind of an outlier season it he actually it does have the most home runs he broke Johnny Johnny Brent's record before the All-Star break. It was like 28, so he did it a while ago. I don't know, he's hitting like four a day at this point, or two every day, so it could have been a couple days ago. But yes, the things he's doing are absolutely incredible.

We've been having a conversation about who's the MVP if today, if it's him or Judge. Here's some really fun stats for you. Calralli has more home runs than Aaron Judge, which is Aaron Judge is kind of his thing, so he's not even leading in that category, and he also has more stolen bases than Aaron Judge, and he is way better metrics defensively than Aaron Judge, and he's an everyday catcher. So it comes down to, yeah, their batting averages are you know, a hundred points apart but that is the only huge advantage that the judges had

and he's having an incredible season. I think that puts into perspective what Calralli is doing. And also the strike zone was adjusted a little bit this year. There was a story that came out reported by the athletic earlier about changes in the buffer zone for the umpires and long story short, the umpires have been incentivized to tighten up the edges a little bit more. And that high strike has very much not gone away, but it's way less likely to be called or framed.

And that was Cal Raleigh's bread and butter. He was the best guy in the league at catching those top, those high pitches and getting them called strikes. And those have gone away. So that has actually hurt his metrics. And he's still in the top seven catchers in receiving. So I just, I can't say enough. And just, and he's a, like, he's just a catcher. Like catchers just don't,

don't get the love that they deserve. I was on foul territory earlier today with AJ Przezinski and he is, I don't think there's a bigger fan of Cal Raleigh on the planet than AJ Prudinski and I was, we don't agree on everything but that was one thing we were both very much in agreement on. Stats are crazy, like you said, the grind behind the plate, what he does defensively,

you know, his team's in the hunt, it's just, it's a magical season, man. It's a magical, magical season. He is Trevor May and we always appreciate him finding time for us. Thank you for doing this, Trevor. We'll do it again down the road. Of course, anytime, guys.

There he is. Former MLB, our host of Fallow Territory and the May Day podcast. The biggest songs in the world. ["The Biggest Song in the World"] You've heard them countless times. Now, learn the details of how they came to be. Join Ruby Carr for Encore, the stories behind the songs you love.

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