Brock Beauchamp

Owen and Jesse are back to break down a second straight series win for the Toronto Blue Jays, this time over the Cleveland Guardians. They get the bad news out of the way early, and break down Max Scherzer’s recent struggles and his 2.1 inning, seven-run performance against the Guardians before praising Kevin Gausman and Patrick Corbin. The guys then get to the offensive side of the ball and have compliments for Kazuma Okamoto, Jesús Sánchez, Ernie Clement, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The guys finish by talking about the new “bullpen by committee” and previewing the upcoming series against the Boston Red Sox. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre

Yohendrick Pinango had a breakout season with the Jays in 2025, just after getting acquired from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Nate Pearson at the 2024 trade deadline. Pinango was always and still is a data darling, but he finally parlayed that into real-life results this past season. He was Rule 5 eligible this offseason, and the Jays left him unprotected, to the dismay of many prospect watchers and analysts, but he was not selected, and the Jays subsequently re-signed him to a minor league contract. The outfielder was merely an afterthought in the roller coaster trade deadline for the Jays in 2024, as they made a flurry of trades, and he struggled to perform in his first stint in the Jays organization. Pinango got out of the gates hot in 2025, however, torching Double-A New Hampshire in his second go-around there. In 47 games and 192 plate appearances, Pinango scorched for a 169 wRC+, slashing .298/.406/.522. He was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo and fell back down to earth, hitting just under the league average; however, that doesn’t tell the whole story. Despite Pinango’s performance dropping off after reaching Triple A, the underlying metrics still supported stronger results from him going forward. Pinango paired strong contact metrics (87.4% zone-contact rate, 20.2% whiff rate) with consistent hard contact due to his fast bat speed (91.9 mph average exit velocity, 108.8 mph 90th percentile exit velocity). He is also disciplined, although a bit passive, with a 39.2% swing rate and just a 25.6% chase rate. The issue with his offensive profile is his launch angles. When Pinango is making the most impact on the ball, his launch angles are suboptimal, resulting in lower liners or grounders instead of balls lifted in the air. He’s able to spray the ball with his current launch angles, being adept at hitting the ball the other way. Still, there is a ton of power for Pinango to unlock if he can start lifting the ball consistently. If he can tap into that, he could have 20-plus home run power. Defensively and on the basepaths, Pinango is quite limited. He did steal 100% of the bags that he attempted in 2025, but he runs poorly, which carries over to his defense. His already limited defensive profile due to his build and height forces him to play corner outfield, and with his below-average speed, he’s below average there as well. That limits his floor and ceiling, as his bat is the only carrying tool for Pinango. The Jays are still quite loaded in the outfield, with Daulton Varsho, George Springer, Jesús Sánchez, Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes, RJ Schreck, and Jonatan Clase all potentially being ahead of Pinango on the depth chart. When Anthony Santander gets healthy, he’ll also be in the mix. Pinango's path forward to the major leagues will need to come off of an excellent second stint in Triple A, where he will hope to show that his underlying batted ball data can turn into real production.

Owen and Jesse are elated to break down the Jays' first series win since Opening Weekend, as they take two of three from the Angels. They start by taking a broad look at where the Jays are at on the season and look for reasons to be optimistic going forward. They then get into Dylan Cease's hot start, but look for areas of improvement to get him deeper into games, talk about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s hitting streak, which included a homer in the series, and give credit to Patrick Corbin for his start on Saturday. The guys get into Jeff Hoffman's continued struggles and frustrations with Eric Lauer before previewing the upcoming series against the Cleveland Guardians. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre

Owen and Jesse lament the sixth straight series loss for the Toronto Blue Jays, but take some solace in the series finale victory before getting into Jeff Hoffman's continued struggles. They both have emotional thoughts about Eric Lauer's comments to the media about his thoughts on pitching behind an opener. The guys finish with some positives, crediting Kazuma Okamoto and Nathan Lukes with strong series performances in Arizona, and preview the upcoming series in Los Angeles against the Angels. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre

Owen and Jesse are back with even worse news than last episode: the Blue Jays have lost 5 straight series and fallen four games below .500. The guys rant about the poor offense and defense before going over the bright spot that included strong starts from Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease and Patrick Corbin, and breaking down the struggles of relievers like Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Rogers. They then talk about Lenyn Sosa’s first impression with the Jays, then give injury updates on Trey Yesavage, José Berríos, George Springer, and Addison Barger before previewing the weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre

JoJo Parker was selected in the most recent major league draft by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round, eighth overall. He is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound shortstop, and he oozes potential. Coming into the draft, he was billed as one of the safer high school bats. He wasn't necessarily a player who stood out in one area or another, but was consistently average or above average in all areas. He put on weight in the offseason after not getting into a minor league game following the draft. This year, he looks noticeably stronger and began the year at Dunedin, after playing in the Spring Breakout game. Over 61 PA in Single A this year, he is hitting .298/.459/.553, with two home runs, six doubles, and six stolen bases. His first home run came off the bat at 108.3 mph, showing his power potential already as a 19-year-old. He also has an average exit velocity of 96.1 mph on the season so far. He is even displaying solid plate discipline, with 13 strikeouts to 12 walks. Parker will look to continue putting up big swings and honing his all-around game in Single A. If he maintains his plate discipline and shows more in-game power, he could get a jump up to High A by the summer and will be making his way into industry-wide top 50 or even top 25 rankings if things go well. It has been a good start to the 2026 season for him, and Blue Jays fans will be following his progress closely, hoping he is the next Bo Bichette or Vladimir Guerrero Jr.