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Spencer Miles enters unique off-season preparing to take another developmental leap in 2027
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Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Sep 29, 2026, 14:30 EDTUpdated: Sep 29, 2026, 14:32 EDT
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TORONTO — The last 12 months have been quite the roller-coaster for Spencer Miles.
This time last year, the 26-year-old hurler — a year younger back then and still a member of the San Francisco Giants organization — was preparing to embark on a pivotal Arizona Fall League campaign. He missed the entire 2025 season in affiliated ball while recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent the year prior after throwing just 7.1 innings in the complex league.
In any normal year, had Miles not been selected by the Blue Jays in last winter’s Rule 5 draft, he probably would’ve spent this past season ascending through the Giants’ minor-league levels. There likely would’ve been countless breakout prospect articles written about him in that alternate universe. Given that he hadn’t pitched above Single-A before, he may not have even appeared in the majors in 2026. Perhaps he wouldn’t have climbed higher than Triple-A.
Instead, in this reality, Miles emerged as one of the biggest and most unexpected surprises of Toronto’s disappointing ’26 season. He entered this year with fewer than 15 career innings in affiliated ball. Now, after serving as a workhorse during his stellar rookie campaign, he came within just 4.1 innings of reaching 100 in Year 1 of his big-league tenure.
“It’s super special,” Miles said about reaching the finish line of his first full season at any level. “Getting to throw almost 100 innings and appear in as many games as I did — start here and there, close, open, leverage, relief, whatever it is. Staying healthy through it all is, I think, a testament to perseverance and the people I have around me, [including] my teammates, the coaching staff, and the health staff and strength staff.”
There wasn’t a blueprint or a how-to guide to help the Blue Jays navigate Miles’ workload throughout the last six months. They had to craft their own. It was all they could do. For someone with multiple season-ending injuries on their resume and a minuscule innings total because of them, this presented a delicate needle to thread that required constant communication among the player, coaches, and the medical staff.
To the organization’s credit, though, they absolutely nailed this one.
“They gave me a super plan,” said Miles. “[I] stuck to it, got bigger, faster, stronger throughout the year, and hit 100 [m.p.h.] in September. I think it’s just a testament to that, and them taking care of me and giving me a plan that I can trust and move forward with.”
The original plan probably didn’t involve Miles throwing nearly 100 innings over 49 games by this season’s end. That likely became a necessity more than anything else, as they needed him to cover as many spots as he did for an overworked bullpen that routinely picked up the slack for a constantly depleted rotation.
On top of that urgency, the 6-foot-3 righty’s underlying metrics — his pitch velocities, spin rates and mechanical readings — continued to hold strong, preventing the Blue Jays’ staff from needing to ease up on the throttle. Physically, he also checked out in those areas, too. In all, those factors led him towards logging the fourth-most innings (95.2) among Blue Jays pitchers — behind only Trey Yesavage (97.2), Kevin Gausman (127.1) and Dylan Cease (169).
Results-wise, Miles put together an excellent portfolio — ranking second in FIP (2.65), fifth in ERA (2.63) and tied for 10th in fWAR (2.0) among qualified major league rookies (min. 70 innings) — that made sending him back out undeniable. Whether it was as an opener, hybrid starter, high-leverage reliever or bulk guy, he checked all the boxes and consistently factored into the club’s winning formula.
“We were going with a blank canvas based on his lack of innings and injuries, and to see him turn into what he’s turned into has been pretty damn remarkable,” manager John Schneider said.
Now that Miles has crossed the finish line of his first season as a Blue Jay, he’s planning to take a couple of weeks off from throwing a baseball before starting his off-season training. He’ll use that well-deserved time off to feel like a normal person again after experiencing the gruelling effects of a 162-game schedule for the first time.
Toronto’s plan for Miles next season remains relatively fluid. If he’s stretched out as a starter, which will depend on how their off-season plays out, they envision slightly increasing his workload from this past season. That means he could finish in the 120 to 130-inning range if everything runs smoothly.
“You tack on 20 to 30 [innings] to that next year if all goes well in the off-season, and yeah, that could turn into a No. 5 starter,” Schneider said of Miles’ 2027 outlook. “I think he has the stuff to do it.”
Miles didn’t bat an eye at any of the roles he was asked to fill this season. Whatever the club needed from him, he’d do it. No questions asked. That made him easy to manage and offered the coaching staff an extremely valuable, versatile weapon in the bullpen.
While he doesn’t necessarily have a preference for starting or relieving, he feels he’s at his best when covering more than three outs.
“I like longer outings,” Miles admitted. “I think I respond a little better in terms of workload, and then with a couple days off and bouncing back from there.”
The Blue Jays held exit interviews with each of their players over the weekend. But unlike most end-of-season meetings, this year’s needed to be structured differently due to the looming CBA lockout, which, pending a new agreement between all 30 owners and the MLB players’ union, will expire on Dec. 1.
In the event a lockout commences, communication must be severed between players and their organizations. They won’t be permitted to speak until it’s lifted, which includes any dialogue with team employees such as coaches and development staff. As such, under these unique circumstances, the messaging to players regarding their off-season programs is being front-loaded.
For Miles, there are minor details he’ll be focused on improving this winter, like refining his mechanics and becoming a bit more mobile to help ensure his overall health. On a macro level, however, he also hopes to add another pitch to his arsenal, such as a changeup or splitter.
This is all about continuing to “keep getting better every day” and “pushing the envelope” as he aims to take another developmental leap in ’27.
Incorporating an off-speed weapon alongside Miles’ four other pitches (sinker, curveball, four-seamer, slider) could provide a pathway to accomplishing precisely that against left-handed batters — whom slashed .247/.286/.374 against him and produced all five of the home runs he allowed in ’26 —  next season. It’d also offer a more dependable third offering behind his sinker and curveball.
Source: Baseball Savant
Over the years, Toronto’s staff has enjoyed tremendous success with changeup and splitter pitchers, and is coming off a season in which exploring that avenue played a key role in unlocking Cease’s full Cy Young potential.
Another somewhat interesting tidbit is that Miles shared a locker directly beside Yesavage’s in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse this season. They both feature vastly different arm angles and release points, so it won’t be as simple as copying and pasting his trademark split. Having said that, there are certainly elements and tips that the former Rule 5 selection can pick up.
As much uncertainty lies ahead this off-season, coming off an exceptional rookie campaign like this has Miles “excited for what next year brings,” and understandably so. He might be this franchise’s biggest X-factor on the pitching front, regardless of which form the ’27 season ultimately takes.

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