Blue Jays notebook: Bowden Francis finding his comfort zone

On Sep 23, 2024

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A season of stops, begins and bouncing between roles instantly has momentum for Bowden Francis, who’s profiting from his newest stint within the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation.

The 28-year-old right-hander’s seven-inning, one-hit, eight-strikeout gem Monday towards the Los Angeles Angels made it three straight begins by which he’s gone a minimum of 5 innings, a primary for him within the majors. There’s some course of progress when it comes to higher sustaining velocity and pitch utilization underpinning these outcomes, too, as he’s stacked good points upon good points.

“Comfortability and confidence, building trust with the team,” Francis stated of what the roll is doing for him. “Just trying to work on all the little things. Bouncing back from the beginning of the year and trying to learn from it. Just continue to work. I’m at a good spot with mechanics, been kind of in a groove. Got to keep trucking along.”

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The Blue Jays actually want him to do this as he was reinserted into the rotation July 29, the day Yusei Kikuchi was traded to the Houston Astros, and allowed three runs over 5.2 innings towards the Orioles in Baltimore. Per week later, in Toronto, he held the AL East leaders to 2 runs in 5 innings with seven strikeouts, main into his career-best outing in Anaheim.

“That’s so encouraging for Bowden,” stated Blue Jays supervisor John Schneider. “He had everything working. He was just executing at a high level. Held his stuff. They were really aggressive, kept his pitch count down, and split was great. He was using his curveball at the right times. The slider was good. Threw some sinkers, which is kind of new for him, too, but he had them in between all night. And most encouraging was held his stuff throughout seven innings, which is really good.”

Francis has upped the utilization of his splitter since returning, throwing it extra typically than his bread-and-butter curveball and slider the previous two begins, giving him a brand new wrinkle to higher management bat velocity. Notably, his final fastball of the night time, on career-high tying pitch No. 81, hit 93.4 m.p.h., a hair off the 93.8 m.p.h. he averaged all through the outing.

“Being able to repeat, getting in my legs, arm’s on time,” Francis stated of holding his velo. “I’ve been working hard on it ever since I had a little fall-off at the beginning. I knew I could get back to it. The last few years, it’s been like I have a little second wind in the second half with my stuff.”

Francis started the 12 months within the Blue Jays rotation, had two tough outings earlier than finding himself the piggyback for Yariel Rodriguez, ended up on the injured checklist with proper forearm extensor tendinitis, returned as a reliever, didn’t acclimate effectively to the function, after which was despatched to triple-A Buffalo after the All-Star break to get stretched out for his present return.

He referred to as the readability on his utilization “huge.”

“I feel so much more myself and comfortable,” he added. “I feel like I can work on those four days off and really prepare my mind for it. It was just a little different out of the ‘pen, but being able to start, I can really hone in and I’ve got no excuses. I can take this for what it is and get my mind right, my body right and get ready.”

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JIMENEZ GOES DEEP: Profession homer No. 1 for Leo Jimenez was struck effectively, however when the 23-year-old shortstop watched Angels centre fielder Mickey Moniak leap for it on the wall, his coronary heart momentarily sunk.

“I actually thought that he caught the ball, not going to lie to you,” stated Jimenez. “But then as soon as I saw him throw his glove in the air, I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s actually happening.’ So then, it’s going to sound a little bit out there, but I don’t remember running the bases. I remember only when I touched home plate and I was actually celebrating. When I went back out to play shortstop, I was like, did I actually touch every single base?’”

No worries there and his milestone swing entered the books, the kind of swing he’s been working towards. He’s reached in six of his final eight video games after an prolonged chilly stretch and has centered on being “able to recognize my zone, know my zone, not trying to expand too much,” he stated. “That’s when I get in trouble a little bit. Keeping my zone, getting good swings on my pitches. That’s what I’ve been working on.”

BERROA GETS ON-BASE: As Will Wagner, Francis and Leo Jimenez bagged firsts and profession bests in Monday’s 4-2 win, Steward Berroa quietly labored three walks, his first time reaching base thrice in a big-league recreation.

It’s precisely why Schneider began the 25-year-old outfielder into the Blue Jays lineup, looking for “a little bit of energy and he did his part.” Berroa actually carries an infectious power and it’s actually helped him attain the large leagues, one thing that wasn’t projected for him when the season started.

All of which made his first hit July 27 and his different firsts all of the extra rewarding.

“Honestly, it feels good,” he stated. “Being here when you didn’t have a lot of expectations is a positive thing already. Getting the first hit, first stolen base, it’s something that makes you think that all the process paid off. At the end, I feel the same in certain ways because we’re just baseball players and we want to do well, no matter where we are. I focus on those little moments and I’m seeing myself passing through a lot of good stuff right now. That makes me feel really proud of myself.”

DE LOS SANTOS DEMOTED: Luis De Los Santos’ was demoted to triple-A Buffalo to make room for fellow infielder Wagner however his promotion to the large leagues resonated with folks across the group.

The 26-year-old was signed as a world free agent in 2015 and he climbed the farm system rung-by-rung, continually working to get higher. Understandably, when he debuted at Camden Yards on July 31, he described himself as “very happy.”

“It’s a dream to be here, playing in this level,” he stated. “A lot of emotions, with my family. When I got to Baltimore and I saw the field, I felt so, so happy to be there and excited to play. That’s a dream come true.”

De Los Santos collected his first two big-league hits and first RBI on Sunday in an 8-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics, simply earlier than he was returned to Buffalo. Earlier than he left, he felt that exhibiting “more patience at the plate” helped him “to control the zone a little bit and this year I think I’m getting better at that. I’m taking more walks. My OPS is up, my on-base percentage, too. And that’s the key to being ready for the call.”

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QUOTABLE: “I was nervous on the on-deck circle, but once I was walking up to the plate, I just started to gain a little bit more confidence, just go up there and know I’m here for a reason. I was just trying to be aggressive (with) that at-bat. … When I touched first, I was like, ‘Hey, I got the first hit out of the way, I’m really happy.’ I didn’t know the double celebration though, so I got teased on that a little bit.” – Will Wagner, on hitting the primary pitch to him within the majors for a double

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