It’s hard to imagine a player proving they were big league-ready in a more emphatic way than Spencer Horwitz did in 2023, slashing .337/.450/.495 in Triple-A Buffalo. However, despite a 15-game cup of coffee in Toronto, the Blue Jays sent the Timonium, Maryland native back to Buffalo to start 2024, where he slashed an almost identical .335/.456/.514 line.

He came back up to the Major Leagues for good on June 7th, proving to be one of the most productive rookies in all of baseball in 2024. His numbers through the last four months of the season show what kind of impact with the bat that he had.

Horwitz proved to be an important table setter for the team as the season moved along, ranking second on the team in on-base percentage after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The former Radford University Highlander routinely posted a BB% close to 15% in the Minor Leagues, a patient approach that translated to the Major Leagues. He ended the 2024 season with an 11.0%, with his even .300 BABIP showing that he didn’t benefit or suffer from any batted ball luck.

At 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Horwitz doesn’t exactly look like your prototypical first basemen. Having played some second base and outfield in the Minor Leagues, he brought a versatile defensive profile to the Blue Jays this season.

In 2024, he spent 41 games at first base, 39 at second, while DHing in 17 games. As a second baseman, Horwitz was roughly league average, ranking 30th out of 50 second basemen with at least 250 innings at the position. However, as a first baseman, he ranked 4th out of 47 first basemen with at least 300 innings. It may not come as much of a surprise that a natural second baseman would be an elite defensive first baseman, but it bodes well for the 26-year-old as playing the middle infield gets more difficult with age.

Horwitz received some recognition for his strong season this week, being named the MLB Pipeline All-Rookie Second Team first baseman. His 127 wRC+ ranked fifth among all rookies in 2024 and he may have been robbed for the first team nod by Cubs first baseman Michael Busch (119 wRC+).

As the Blue Jays enter an important offseason, it should be comforting to know that they can rely on Spencer Horwitz as a lineup regular in 2025. He spent most of his time hitting cleanup (35 games) for the team in 2024 while appearing in the two-hole the second most (29 games). Given his elite on-base skills and average power numbers, the Blue Jays would be wise to slot Horwitz 1st or 2nd in the lineup, where he could get on-base for Guerrero Jr. and perhaps another bopper acquired this offseason (Soto, anyone?).