A move that should have been made a month ago has finally happened.
On Friday afternoon, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported that first baseman/second baseman/left fielder/designated hitter Spencer Horwitz has joined the team in Oakland.
Hearing that Spencer Horwitz is expected to be in Oakland, where the Blue Jays open a three-game series versus Athletics tonight.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) June 7, 2024
It was only a matter of time before the 26-year-old was called up, as he’s had a terrific season with Triple-A Buffalo. This season with the Bisons, he’s slashing .335/.456/.514 with four homers in 259 plate appearances. Moreover, he has a higher BB% (17%) than K% (15.8%) for a 157 wRC+, the highest total for any player in the organization with 150 or more plate appearances.
While he hasn’t hit for more over the fence power, Horwitz’s 22 doubles lead the International League by a wide margin, and is just eight doubles away from matching his career-high that he set last season in 200 more plate appearances.
Spencer Horwitz is tearing the cover off the ball in AAA in grand fashion!
He has a 154 wRC+ in 246 PA while displaying solid power and fantastic contact metrics. His plate discipline has been strong, resulting in 16.9 BB% & he has demonstrated a knack for lifting the ball pic.twitter.com/Qz8bIOTmh2
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) June 3, 2024
Horwitz has a track record of hitting like this as well. Last season in Buffalo, he slashed .337/.450/.495 with 10 homers in 484 plate appearances, along with a higher BB% (16.1%) than K% (14.9%). In fact, there’s only been one level with 200 or more plate appearances where he didn’t have a wRC+ above 130, and that was Triple-A in 2022 where he dealt with injuries.
The 26-year-old has also had a cup of coffee in the big leagues, slashing .256/.341/.395 with a home run in 44 plate appearances with the Blue Jays at the tail end of last season (as well as a brief call up in the summer). While his Triple-A stats didn’t translate, it’s imperative for the Jays to keep Horwitz in the lineup every day.
"Sometimes you just have to applaud at what a guy does." 👏@BlueJays No. 16 prospect Spencer Horwitz collects his third 5-hit game as a pro and drives in 6 runs for the Triple-A @BuffaloBisons: pic.twitter.com/DYs9YdAQUG
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 2, 2024
One way the Jays should be able to keep him in the lineup is due to his versatility. After playing a whole bunch of left field last season (200.2 innings), the Buffalo Bisons have played him at second base in 11 games, or 87 innings.
Along with first base and the designated hitter spot, Horwitz should get plenty of opportunity on a Jays’ team that desperately needs a player to consistently get on base and hit extra-base hits.
This article will be updated when the corresponding move is made.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
