Spencer Miles Delivers in a Debut To Remember

[Jesse Burrill]

Welcome to the big leagues, Spencer Miles.

As far as major league debuts go, the Blue Jays have had some memorable ones. J.P. Arencibia hit two home runs in a four-hit performance, Davis Schneider launched one over the Green Monster during an electric opening series, and while Kazuma Okamoto's didn't have the same flair, he reached base twice, recorded his first major league hit, and scored the game-winning run.

Miles' debut was different. He made the team out of camp as a Rule 5 pick from the Giants system, meaning the Blue Jays must keep him on the roster for the whole season or risk losing him back to San Francisco. The plan was to ease him into low-leverage situations, let him get his feet wet, and introduce him to life in the big leagues in small doses.

Baseball doesn’t always care about your plan.

Game two of the season, and the Blue Jays' bullpen was already under pressure. After Dylan Cease left in the sixth inning, Toronto cycled through six relievers to reach the ninth, where Alejandro Kirk hit a game-tying home run to send the game to extras. John Schneider was then looking for options for the top of the 10th.

The options were slim. He could have let Louis Varland work another inning, but he was already pitching on back-to-back days. Alternatively, he could have turned to Jeff Hoffman, who had also pitched the previous day, but Schneider had indicated he wanted to avoid overusing Hoffman and would only use him in a save situation, leaving just one option remaining.

Enter Spencer Miles, who had thrown just 14.2 innings of affiliated baseball since being drafted in 2022. Injuries had limited his time on the field, leaving him with very little professional experience to draw from. But at this point, the Jays were desperate. They needed a win, and Spencer Miles was the one tasked with getting the job done. 

The inning began with the automatic runner on second, so the pressure was immediate. His first test was no easy one: two-time All-Star and former batting champion Jeff McNeil. After a first-pitch curveball missed outside for ball one, Miles left a sinker over the plate that McNeil sent right back at him. From there, baseball instinct took over.

Without hesitation, he charged forward and immediately ran at Jacob Wilson, catching him in a rundown for the first out. A tremendous display of instincts for a pitcher with so little game experience.

The next batter was Max Muncy. Miles opened with a slider just off the plate, then came back with another that Kirk framed perfectly for a strike. He followed it with a 98.3 mph sinker for another called strike, and two pitches later, he finished Muncy with a front-door slider that started off the plate and caught the zone, which Muncy swung over the top of for his first big league strikeout.

A four-pitch walk and a flyout to right later, and Miles was out of the inning. He had inherited the automatic runner on second base and ended the inning without allowing the runner to score. He did exactly what the team needed: he gave them a chance to win.

Sure enough, the Blue Jays did just that. After a Kirk strikeout and an intentional walk to Daulton Varsho, Ernie Clement delivered a line drive to left-center field, securing the win and ultimately, Miles’ first big league victory.

“I blacked out a little bit. It's surreal; you dream of this as a kid,” Miles said postgame. “For them to even put me in that situation, I think it's just surreal.”

John Schneider has to be encouraged by what he’s seen from the 25-year-old rookie, who has now passed his first big league test.

On the whole, Miles threw 16 pitches – eight of them sliders – and generated two whiffs on just four swings. His fastball touched 98.2 mph, and his early Stuff+ numbers were impressive, including a 145 mark on his slider.

Take the small sample with a grain of salt, but for a Blue Jays bullpen with early question marks, continued contributions like this could prove extremely valuable. For what it's worth, through two games (prior to the finale on Sunday), Spencer Miles was leading the pitching staff in Win Probability Added:


via FanGraphs

Whether this turns out to be a brief blip or the start of something bigger, Spencer Miles has already had his big league moment and, more importantly, helped the Blue Jays win a game in the process. If this outing is any indication, it may not be the last time he’s trusted in a big spot.

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