FORT MYERS, Fla. — Starting a game in the major leagues has been 27 years in the making for Bowden Francis. That milestone is not yet guaranteed, but the way the Blue Jays right-hander has been throwing this spring, he might as well grab a calendar and bust out the red marker.
The potential opportunity hasn’t resulted solely from his work on the mound, though. Instead, Francis has been diligently manifesting the day when he one day toes the rubber in an MLB game.
“All the time,” Francis said. “I trickle it in — nights I’m laying in bed, I think about it. Even bullpens at the [Blue Jays’ player development complex], I’m thinking about it.
“I got to be ready for that moment because I never know when it’s going to come. But when it does come, I’m gonna be ready.”
The spotlight has shone brighter on Francis at Blue Jays camp due to the shoulder issues plaguing fellow right-handers Alex Manoah and Kevin Gausman. Manoah will long toss on Thursday, noted Blue Jays manager John Schneider, while Gausman’s next step will include either a live batting practice or game action. However, with Opening Day quickly approaching, it’s clear both pitchers are running up against the clock.
In turn, that’s created an opening in the rotation for Francis and he’s seemingly seized it.
“He’s making a really strong case right now,” Schneider said before Thursday’s game, acknowledging the club was nearing the point where it will determine if Francis breaks camp as a member of the starting staff. The manager noted the Blue Jays want to see how Francis’s stuff holds up as he pitches deeper in to games and in that regard, Thursday represented a box ticked. Emphatically so.
Francis tossed 67 pitches over six innings in the Blue Jays’ 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on a sunny 30 C afternoon at Hammond Stadium. He allowed one unearned run on four hits and showed off a fastball that topped out at 94.9 m.p.h. against a Twins starting lineup that featured all of its regular major leaguers.
“The heater was there when I needed it,” said Francis. “Obviously it was trending down a little bit as the outing got on but when I need it to get a little extra oomph, it’s still there. So, I’m happy with it.”
Added Schneider: “What he did today was he pitched. The stuff was there and he took a little off and put a little on. He still had 93-94 [m.p.h.] at the end of his outing … It’s at that point in camp where guys are tuned in offensively. [The Twins have] a good lineup, balanced, and he was in total control. Doing that against that team was really good.”
Francis, a native of Tallahassee, Fla., was acquired by the Blue Jays along with right-hander Trevor Richards in the July 2021 trade that sent Rowdy Tellez to the Milwaukee Brewers. He made his MLB debut in 2022 when he got into one game in relief for the Blue Jays, but really turned heads in the organization with his efforts last season. The right-hander posted a 1.73 ERA across 36.1 innings out of the bullpen, proving his stuff can play and, at times, dominate at the big-league level.
He was predominantly a starter in the minors and entered this spring training with the mission of pitching in that role for the Blue Jays.
Francis, who turns 28 in April, first learned about manifestation in 2020 during his work with a shaman in Arizona. Since then, he says he’s become addicted.
The principle of manifestation, which became popularized by The Secret, Rhonda Byrne’s 2006 self-help book about the law of attraction, requires one to feel the emotions of an event before it happens. To that end, Francis has been envisioning what it would be like to take the ball in a first inning for the Blue Jays.
“I write it down a lot, I say it a lot when I wake up and when I go to bed,” he said. “I try to get it into my routine. It goes for anything in life too, not just baseball. I try to be a good father and be a good husband.
“I think our minds are strong and a lot of people can grab on to negativity nowadays,” added Francis. “So, I just try to even it out with the positive.”