Jorge CastilloOct 27, 2025, 07:00 AM ETCloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on X
Olney: Dodgers, Blue Jays should both feel good going into Game 3 (0:46)Buster Olney lays out the positives for both the Dodgers and the Blue Jays heading into Game 3 of the World Series. (0:46)
Popkins, hired in November 2021, oversaw Twins hitters for three years, helping guide an offense that ranked 11th in wRC+ and 13th in runs scored over the stretch despite major injuries to key players. Then he was made a scapegoat for the team’s collapse out of postseason contention and fired after the 2024 season. His unemployment lasted less than three weeks before the Blue Jays plucked him in October.
Popkins, working with assistant hitting coaches Hunter Mense and Lou Iannotti, has guided the group with one overarching message: Every hitter has different strengths and weaknesses, so let’s play to those. Players say an identity isn’t forced on them.
“I think overall our lineup’s won in different ways every single day this year,” Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho said. “There’s not one way to kind of describe us. We grind out pitchers. We do everything we can to kind of help our team win. Doesn’t matter if it’s a long ball or single you to death.”
That one through nine this season has featured three stars — Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Bo Bichette (when healthy) — and a cast of under-the-radar players who embody the 2025 Blue Jays.
Signature October moment (so far): If the Blue Jays dethrone the Dodgers, Barger’s pinch-hit grand slam in Game 1 — and the story behind his sleeping accommodations — will be remembered in Canada for a long time.
Popkins’ take: “He’s explosive, man. Everything, he does it 100%. Swinging, running, throwing. At any point he can completely flip the game upside down with just his ability. He’s aggressive. He plays the game a lot more than you would think with that profile.”
“He’s probably my favorite player,” Blue Jays reliever Tommy Nance said. “He’s old school. He grinds. He’s gritty. I love the way he plays defense and the way that he takes at-bats.”
An ultra-aggressive hitter, Clement had the eighth-lowest strikeout rate and the 203rd-lowest walk rate among 215 players with at least 400 plate appearances during the regular season. He leads all hitters in the postseason with a 57.7% first-pitch swing percentage. His 63.5% overall swing percentage is the highest among the two remaining teams and third in the playoffs.
Signature October moment (so far): Before Barger clubbed the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, Clement gave the Blue Jays their first lead in the Fall Classic with a go-ahead single off Emmet Sheehan to ignite the nine-run barrage in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays never looked back.
Popkins’ take: “Clement is a dog in every essence of the word. He could have one hand — a broken hand, broken knee, it doesn’t matter. He’ll get up there and he’ll find a way to put the barrel on the ball. He’s been tremendous. It is a pleasure to watch him play the game every day. He plays it the exact way I would expect everyone to play this game. He’s beyond special in that regard.”
Signature October moment (so far): Lukes delivered a two-run double with the bases loaded in a four-run seventh inning in Game 1 of the ALDS. Lukes also made a diving catch in right field to rob Jazz Chisholm Jr. of extra bases in the win. The all-around performance helped set the tone for Toronto in October.
Popkins’ take: “Battle tested. He’s an older guy. I like to say those guys simply have to do twice as much to have the credit. And he finally got an opportunity here to prove that he’s been a good hitter his whole life. And he’s shown that.”
“I just think with Daulton, he’s learned to kind of slow the moment down,” Springer said. “He develops a plan before the game with Pop and Lou and Hunter and he likes to stick with it. And I think as a hitter, any time you can have some confidence in what you’re doing, you trust your pregame prep, it’s obviously starting to show.”
Varsho said he goes to the plate looking to hit a ground ball back to the pitcher every time. Springer joked it’s not the approach, but it typifies the diverse approaches Blue Jays hitters present to opponents.
Four years ago, Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins received a call from Los Angeles Dodgers vice president of player development Will Rhymes, his boss at the time, with good news: The organization wanted to promote him to a minor league hitting coordinator role. It was an encouraging step forward after one season as hitting coach for the High-A Great Lakes Loons. And it never happened because the Minnesota Twins called him the next day asking to interview him for their hitting coach vacancy with the big league club — three rungs above the Midwest League. He was 31 years old at the time. He got the job.
What you need to know: Kirk, a two-time All-Star, is the most accomplished of this group, but he was never projected for such heights. Generously listed at 5-foot-8, 245 pounds, Kirk signed for just $7,500 out of Mexico. He wasn’t widely considered a top-100 prospect until after making his major league debut in 2020. By 2022, he was an All-Star and an integral part of the team’s young core with Guerrero and Bichette. He was rewarded for his ascension with a five-year, $58 million contract in March that will keep him under team control through 2030.
Olney: Dodgers, Blue Jays should both feel good going into Game 3 (0:46)Buster Olney lays out the positives for both the Dodgers and the Blue Jays heading into Game 3 of the World Series. (0:46)
Buster Olney lays out the positives for both the Dodgers and the Blue Jays heading into Game 3 of the World Series. (0:46)
CloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on X
Here are five who have supplemented the big names with invaluable contributions.
ADDISON BARGERPINCH-HITGRAND SLAM#WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/REg58MNosp
Game 161: HRGame 162: 2 HR#ALDS Game 1: 2 HRAlejandro Kirk is on a tear! pic.twitter.com/qNEd19DfJ0
Ernie Clement drives a go-ahead single! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/C72nJKL2c4
Nathan Lukes!The @BlueJays have scored 3 runs in the 7th! #ALDS pic.twitter.com/02W6rQUQk9
NATHAN LUKES GETS THERE! 😱 pic.twitter.com/pxjPyFoTdK
DAULTON VARSHO TIES UP #WORLDSERIES GAME 1! pic.twitter.com/VncyZk97ed