The Toronto Blue Jays' bet on Spencer Miles in the Rule 5 Draft was a calculated one. The hard-throwing right-hander had some legitimate prospect pedigree while in the San Francisco Giants' system, but multiple serious, long-term injuries derailed his hype train before it ever really left the station.
The premise was simple: keep Miles healthy, and maybe he'd show out in the major leagues. Well, through the first month and change of the 2026 season, consider this experiment a resounding success.
After yesterday's game, Spencer Miles has now pitched more innings with the #BlueJays than the rest of his pro career combined (15.2 vs 14.2).
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) April 30, 2026
He owns a 2.87 ERA, 3.84 xERA — pretty effective in that multi-inning role from the R5 pick.
Following the team's 11-4 victory over the Twins on May 2, Miles has now covered 16.2 innings this season. That's the second-most in the bullpen, behind only Braydon Fisher. Though he's been a low-leverage option thus far, he may also be growing into a bigger role; he's recorded more than three outs in six of his 10 outing this year, hinting at a long-relief future that could benefit both his career and the longevity of the Blue Jays' relief corps.
Spencer Miles is working his way up the pecking order in Blue Jays' bullpen
Miles' surface-level stats do a pretty good job of telling the story on his efforts in Toronto — he owns a 2.70 ERA, 3.80 FIP, and 22.1% strikeout rate through his 10 appearances. It's true that the 25-year-old is benefiting from an unsustainable stranded-runners rate (100%), but he's also been above average in regards to limiting hard contact, barrels, and walks. He's been a fundamentally solid pitcher no matter how you slice it.
This emergence has been well-timed to boot. Manager John Schneider has shifted a lot of roles in the bullpen in recent weeks, including the long-awaited displacement of Jeff Hoffman from the closer role. Save for the consistently excellent contributions the Blue Jays have gotten from Louis Varland (0.53 ERA), Tyler Rogers (0.55), and Braydon Fisher (1.53), it's been difficult to find relievers worth relying on this year.
Miles isn't anywhere near that trio in terms of Schneider's circle of trust, but he has been the fourth-best reliever in Toronto by most metrics. That carries some weight, particularly if he keeps pitching to this level in higher leverage situations in the near future.
Even if that elevation in title never comes, though, just the fact that Miles has been so willing and able to eat innings has been a godsend for this team. I don't need to tell you how beat up the pitching staff has been all year. Having a multi-inning fireman of his quality has saved quite a few bullets for the Blue Jays' best relievers.
He's not the kind of player who will draw headlines like Hoffman or Varland do, but Spencer Miles has quietly been one of Ross Atkins' shrewdest acquisitions in recent memory.