Nathan

Lukes

With the Blue Jays facing left-hander MacKenzie Gore, they will go with a righty-heavy outfield with Schneider in left field and Myles Straw in center field. Both Nathan Lukes and Alan Roden will move to the bench.

Nathan Lukes, who played center in three of the previous four games, is on the bench. The Anthony Santander-Springer-Alan Roden outfield allows the Jays to put Will Wagner at DH, opening up third base for Ernie Clement. Clement had sat with Wagner starting at third the previous two days.

Roden has gone 1-for-5 with an RBI through two games to open his big-league career. The 25-year-old rookie appears poised to continue playing regularly for Toronto in a corner outfield role, but will cede the occasional start when bench outfielders Nathan Lukes or Davis Schneider need to get in the lineup. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues considering his extensive track record in the upper minors as a high batting average contributor and strong power/speed source.

Clement started at the hot corner Thursday, but the Blue Jays will have Will Wagner man third base Friday. Wagner was the DH for the opener, but Anthony Santander will be the designated hitter in this one with Nathan Lukes getting the start in center.

The move isn’t completely unexpected since Varsho, who has been limited to DH this spring, is still working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery and needs some extra time to ramp-up his throwing program. The 28-year-old’s absence leaves the door slightly ajar for unheralded prospect Alan Roden, who has turned heads this spring. The most likely outcome involves some combination of Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes and Addison Barger breaking camp in part-time roles along with Davis Schneider. He’s likely facing a multi-week absence since he’ll require a minor league rehab assignment to get back up to full speed.

Lukes demolished a 1-0 curveball from Marcus Stroman in the second inning, launching a 407-foot (107.2 mph exit velocity) solo shot to right center that pulled the Jays to within a run at 2-1. Lukes also worked a leadoff walk in the fifth inning, swiped second base and raced around to score on a double by Addison Barger. He faces an uphill battle at winning a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster, but getting off the schneid on Friday and upping his batting average to .200 (3-for-15) will help his cause.

Earlier this off-season, the Blue Jays said “it could be unrealistic” to expect Varsho to be ready for opening day, and that remains true given the news that he’s just now throwing from 90 feet. Schneider mentioned Joey Loperfido, Nathan Lukes, Jonata Clase, and George Springer as players who can all handle centerfield duties while Varsho is out.

Lukes put Toronto’s only run on the board with a solo homer off Xzavion Curry in the first inning. It was the first career home run for the 30-year-old outfielder. The career minor-leaguer has hit .303/.371/.447 with 13 runs scored and ten RBI across 91 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this season.

The Jays are taking a look at Nathan Lukes in the outfield, leaving no room in left for Schneider of late. Schneider started seven straight games from Sept. 14-21, including four games in left, but he’s played just once, that at second base, this week.

Lukes hit his stride late in this game with doubles in the sixth and eighth innings. His second one vaulted the Blue Jays one inning after Lars Nootbaar tied the game with a homer. Lukes – like a lot of these young, upstart Blue Jays hitters – has found success late this season by peppering tons of balls in play. It’s only been 47 plate appearances, but he has a beautiful .357 batting average as a part-time player who’s now started four straight games at the top of the order.