Blue Jays Nathan Lukes played 10 years in the minors, appearing in 733 games. Prior to this season he had played in a total of 51 MLB games. 2025 was his breakout and now he is going to the World Series as Toronto’s starting left fielder.
The only thing that irks me about this guy is that his last name is pronounced “Lucas” and not “Lukes”
Don’t ask me how long I mispronounced “Andy Pages.” ;)
Jesus Made too
Damn, he is? They make anyone and everybody ova there!
There’s also Pedro Pages on the Cardinals
See, that one I’d probably have figured out because if the Spanish-sounding first name. The “Andy” threw me off. ;)
Wait how is it pronounced?
Pa-hez (though I believe the “h” is actually the Spanish guttural sound associated with a soft “j” – English doesn’t have this, and most English speakers don’t know how to do it, so they use “h”)
Ah, makes sense. Thanks!
So many times that you could write a book?
Kiké Hernandez 😬
I would at least assume “Pa-hess” since he’s hispanic 😭
then don’t ask me how i pronounce cj beathard
I’m glad he’s big enough now for people know how to pronounce his name. Even this season, during one of the AppleTV games, the commentator called him “Lukes” instead of “Lucas”.
Whenever iTalk Studios does videos/recaps and he mentions him, it’s always:
Nathan
Lukes
Josh Jung…
You can’t have it both ways. It’s either “Yosh Yung” or Josh Jung.
I think it’s dumb that the name Lucas is pronounced Lukes and not Lou-cass.
I said it wrong for longer than I would like to admit
Did I imagine that the final vowel is different than “Lucas” because of the spelling? During the games I have been hearing something more like “Luke-ess” than Lucas. I am not a phonetician with a good ear though.
He’s the reason at 39 and cut from my slo pitch team that I will never give up in my pursuit of the majors.
I will always have faith in you, i know u can do it
The jays just haven’t scouted you yet. I’ll make some calls
Tournament team or league team?
His company softball team. Didn’t drink beer fast enough.
He’s been so solid and has really earned his place in the lineup. To me, he and Ernie are unsung heroes, they’ve both had great postseasons
Ernie isnt unsung at all. Hell one of the top posts on this subreddit two days ago was the one saying he’s had more postseason hits than the Brewers had in the entire NLCS. He’s averaging .429 in the postseason, on most other teams he’d be the star hitter.
He’s just playing beside Guerrero, which is insane to have two players on one team with a .420+ postseason average.
I think going into the postseason he’d been a solid player but not talked about in the same way some of the high profile guys were, but he’s definitely getting the spotlight now which is fantastic!
Honestly, it’s fair though. Ernie had a 95 OPS+ and most of his value is in defense and his extreme platoon splits (.900 OPS vs. LHP).
That being said, any Jays fan knows this guy is the best “below-average” hitter in the league. He barely strikes out and can make solid contact no matter what type of pitch and where it’s located.
Dude is the epitome of what makes the Jays so good: situational hitting. It doesn’t matter how good the opposing pitcher is. You cannot pitch around Ernie. He’ll find a way to at least get the ball in play and, often, more.
For sure. He never seems to have a bad day and is the epitome of consistent. I’m so glad he’s getting wider recognition because like you said, jays fans have known how good he is for a long time and it’s time he gets the spotlight
I agree his stats have been highlighted but I think what OP means is, they aren’t interviewing him after the games, he’s not on the World Series poster, non-jays podcasters talking about the Jays usually never name him when talking about the teams threats.
Like he is recognized but considering his slash line you’d think he would be a part of the media in some way. The dude just kept hitting and kept hitting and kept hitting.
That’s fair, although the first player mentioned by name in the MLB podcast I just listened to was Ernie. Specifically: “where did they find Ernie Clement?”
Ernie just has the misfortune of performing amazingly well on a team full of players who are setting/breaking records and creating a flood of viral clip worthy moments. Scherzer, Yesavage, Springer and of course Guerrero are sucking up all the airtime. Hell even the IL and coaching staff are getting media attention with Mattingly finally getting to go to a world series and Bichette getting airtime on whether he’s going to be playing.
I mostly just watch Talkin Baseball and they bring up Ernie multiple times every episode
I’m listening to today’s right now lol.
He’s the guy you never notice. Mostly because he’s so fundamentally good he doesn’t make crazy web gem plays. Because he didn’t need to. Across all sports there are the Ernie’s out there - really good, humble guys who just play and get the job done. And leave the limelight to the guys who capture people’s attention.
He’s not unsung now, but before this postseason the only people outside of true baseball sickos who knew of him were Jays fans, Rochesterians, Clevelanders, and UVA baseball fans.
(As both a sicko and a Rochesterian, I knew of him. Actually have met him two or three times. Nice guy, has shown up at the Red Wings team store the last few years after Thanksgiving to do free signings when he’s in town to visit family. I have a feeling that if he does it this off-season they’ll be getting an even bigger line.)
I’ve come to love Earnie this year.
I looked him up and when I found out he’s a cousin from Rochester it gave me the biggest smile.
Its just the other side of the lake.
His game and love of the Bills (see his walk up song) was enough to make me fall in love
Ernie is in the Ed Sprague role.
Ernie had more doubles than Vladdy in the regular season.
And this is the Blue Jays without Bichette
Madness
Barger, too. Great young core that stepped up this year
Nathan Lukes 31 years young
5 years to turn into Springer? /s.ubscribe
Mariners fans will get trauma lol
I was talking about Barger and Clement in my comment lol
Ernie is almost 30 lol he’s not “young” either (by professional athlete standards..lol)
I didn’t know lol he looks and plays joyfully like I think a younger player would
Neither nate nor Ernie are young
Found out the other day Ernie is like 29 or 30 years old. I swear I thought he was a 22-23 year old rookie lol
he’s how fuckin old?? That does it, I’m officially declared him the Paul Rudd of baseball
I was born a couple weeks after Ernie and I say he’s young
Love Barger! He’s got an absolute rocket arm when fielding
I love his angry swing 🤣 dude swings like the ball slept with his wife
Top 10 in OF assists this season despite only playing 57 games out there
99th percentile arm strength. Put it this way, his average exit velocity is 86th percentile at 91.7mph. His average throw is 4.8mph FASTER at 96.5mph. So despite having elite batting power, on average he throws faster than he hits.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/addison-barger-680718
Lukes was always a solid fielder. I think he always had potential as a hitter. I think this year Popkins was the final piece for players like Lukes, Barger, Clement and Varsho.
Bunch of dudes who never give up, exactly the attitude the team needs.
I was at game 7 and every time he was AB, the crowd chanted ERNIE. Definitely not unsung.
Bro doesn’t know what “unsung” means lol
Go Victoria Harbour Cats!
hey that field is walking distance from my place! Gotta get to a game next season.
You should! RAP is a fun, old little park that has barely changed in 25 years - and the ball is decent!
A neighborhood institution, nothing like seeing all your friends there on a warm summer evening
Me too! North Park gang.
I’m also close, fireworks nights are popular.. caught a double header on Aug 4th.. good small park vibes. Talent ranges so the games can be more chaotic, but that’s summer league.
Check em out when the Riverhawks are in town!
He spoke with the Canadian broadcast panel after game 7 on the field and he got very emotional talking about when he thought about quitting baseball to be a responsible provider for his family. Really glad he got his shot in the big leagues.
”….there was no plan B.”
I think it was mentioned on the broadcast recently that he had seriously considered becoming a K9 police officer like his brother.
Yeah ngl he kinda does give off cop vibes…
Just two dogs prowling
A true feel good story as Nathan has a .333 batting average with 13 hits, 7 RBIs and 3 runs scored in 11 games in this postseason.
And to think he almost retired after the 2022 season…
Buffalo Blue Jays are eating good!
Lukes, Clement, and Barger starting with Schneider and Loperfido on the bench
🦬💙
Joey is probably getting replaced by Bo for the world series
I don’t know if it would be within the rules but I think it would make more sense to drop one of the pitchers we’re not using. If Bo can’t field it will give a lot more flexibility with the lineup.
I so badly wanted to get down to Buffalo for a Bisons game back when Vlad and Bo and Cavan and whatnot were there
Buffalo boys forever 🫶🏻
Unrelated. But I love how the Miles Straw trade was a salary dump, and Straw is now a critical piece in closing out games.
Stats that sound fake: Kylometers Straw was 6th on the 2025 Blue Jays in WAR. 2.9 in 299 PA
To try and get Sasaki, only to lose out to the Dodgers and become their closer. Both teams got closers from that whole affair.
Even though it’s too bad Seattle still hasn’t reached the WS, the fact that this guy and Mattingly are finally getting there is pretty cool.
Nathan “Don’t call me Lukes” Lukes
So many great stories in this team. I hope a documentary is being made.
Take the production team from those leaf ones.
My boy needs to start hittin more homeruns so we can call him Nathan Nukes
Pronounced “Nucas”
The Jays take a world series away from the Mariners’ and now they take Rivas’ storyline…. when will it end?!
Once you stop begging springer to fuck your shit up
Was literally his last kick at the can and he’s made the most of it. Wild story.
And because they pitched to Springer instead of pitching to him.
I mean Lukes can hit the ball too. That’s why he’s in the #2 spot and then you have Vlad right behind him. I don’t know if walking Springer was necessarily the better play.
Yeah Lukes is batting like .333 this postseason, of course Springer has a way chance of homering it but if you walk him then Lukes just needs a double to talk the lead. And then like you said, Vlad is next
I tried saying this elsewhere. Not sure the force play is that valuable as you have to pitch to Lukes and Vlad if you don’t turn the double.
Springer had a pretty rough game 6 (due to the knee) and a horrible at bat in the 5th inning of game 7, I think the Mariners were betting they could either get him swinging or to ground into a double play. In retrospect he was the dagger but I don’t think it was as bad a decision as it’s been made out to be.
I feel like you could argue it either way, but considering Springers awful previous AB it makes sense to pitch to him.
Lukes, Clement, Straw, Giminez, Lauer.
Half the fun cheering for this team is knowing that a bunch of these guys had negative value in the or could’ve been had for nothing in the past couple of years.
(I know Giminez has a gold glove and is a major league talent but the Jays got him basically as a salary dump)
IKF for flask when we picked him up off waivers, but he was a solid piece of the ALDS win.
4 Guardians lol
Ross Atkins Masterclass
He had a post ALCS interview with some of the Sportsnet staff including Kevin Pillar and it was refreshing because the guy actually pauses to reflect on his answers, not just your automatic “we do it for the fans, this group of guys is awesome” blah blah that so many interviews are. Can’t seem to find it on youtube unfortunately.
I saw that too, seems like a really smart guy.
Pillar was also a dark horse to make it in the MLB, I thought it was a cool moment
I’m not gonna lie, when the Jays added him initially, my own (and many other fans) reaction was “what the fuck are we doing?”. The whole team felt a little slapped together if I’m being honest.
But seeing how these guys have grown and progressed through the season, it’s a little surreal. Exciting couple of weeks ahead.
“I love Nathan Lukes… you wait for these opportunities and he is doing his job with these opportunities.”
This is the first time i am watching baseball (started with the ALDS), and I can confidently say that there are three things certain in life: Death, taxes and Lukes getting on base
It’s crazy how far he has come. love watching him play, super fortunate to have him, what a year! 💪
There are a lot of reasons to watch baseball. I think I do for these storylines. Here’s to the last chancers. Hard to root against them.
Sac State legend
He went to my high school, and all I can picture is this scrawny little freshman from one of the classes I TA’d for.
That’s hilarious lol. Ty France went to my high school and he was the big shot on campus immediately
That’s Baseball, baby!
This team is the 2004 Detroit Pistons of 2025. You can argue Vladdy is a superstar, but he didn’t get Aaron Judge numbers. This is just a solid team full of underrated gems and insane chemistry.
The Starters and the Alternators - for sure.
it just goes to show that if you stick with something long enough, put in the work, and never give up…that you probably will NOT be one of the rare exceptions that actually achieve what Lukes has.
Surprised this isn’t an MLB Official post.
Bre?
Not just starting LF, he bats second vs RHP!
I heard in the post game that Jays have 15 players who spend some time in the minors this year ( including rehabbing).
I was listening to Rates and Barrels this week and Eno thought Lukes was an older rookie player at 28. I was like no dude he’s 31 lol.
It’s Lukes with the Lid Off
Bre
so…another reason the Dodgers will steamroll the Jays…
It’s a shame people don’t realize that when Bo comes back, it’ll have to be either him or Barger that goes.
No they can shuffle guys around.
Bo to DH, Springer to the OF, Barger to 3B, Clement to 2B, IKF to the bench.
This also assumes Springer’s knee is good enough to play OF. If it isn’t then Bo is probably just a pinch hitter.
Can springer play OF with his busted knee?
It’s not busted. It’s bruised. And it will be several more days past by Friday. He’ll probably be fine, and if not this weekend, then almost certainly by Monday.
Who knows. If he can’t then Bo is probably just pinch hitting and then there are no lineup changes at all
Based on what we seen in game 7, the knee isn’t going to hold him back from playing. I don’t want to see Bo playing SS, so Springer to the outfield and Bo DHing, is really the only good solution.
For game 1 vs Snell you won’t have Barger or Lukes in the lineup so I say we go Straw-Varsho-Springer in the OF and have Myles + Daulton cover like 80% of it and just leave unc a little corner of RF to manage lol
Bo can replace Loperfido.
We’re talking about the starting lineup specifically
Springer had a good year because we don’t field him. He stays at DH.
If Springer’s knee is healthy enough for him to field then I think you have to roll the dice at Springer playing OF so you can upgrade IKFs bat to Bo
over the course of a season it definitely helped, but it’s the World Series now……i think he can handle it. he’s got all offseason to recuperate
Wouldn’t the move be IKF to bench, Clement to 2B, Barger to 3B, Springer to RF, Bichette DH? Wouldn’t be surprised if both Lukes and Barger were swapped for Snell’s start anyway tbh…
Yup exactly this. For Snell’s starts I’d go Straw-Varsho-Springer OF, Ernie 3B, Gimenez SS, Schneider 2B, Bo DH
Bo will probably be pinch hitting mostly
I think this makes the most sense
I don’t see a world where 1 legged Springer comes out of the lineup or plays the field. Maybe if we’re desperate against a lefty idk
I could see it against Snell but not for any of the righties
Yeah, Barger/Lukes are not starting vs Snell.
So theres an open spot that game.
Schneider for Barger. Straw for Lukes.
With Bo at DH and Springer at RF vs Snell.
Yea it’s likely gonna be
Schneider-Varsho-Springer
Clement-Giminez-IKF-Vlad
Barger-Lukes off the bench once they get to the bullpen, maybe a Straw PR/defensive replacement late in the game for Springer if they have a lead
They could stick Schneider at 2nd with IKF coming into the game later and have Straw out in LF but I doubt it honestly, Schneider hasn’t started at 2B in a while
No chance. Loperfido off the roster, barger to 3rd, IKF to bench, Clement to 2nd, Bo DH, George to Right
Bo will DH. Springer will go to the outfield. Barger will move to the infield. IKF will sit. Schneider will replace Barger when Snell starts.
lmao no it won’t
Are you daft
It will almost certainly be IKF
I think it’s Loperfido. A 6th outfielder and pinch hitter is less needed than IKF’s utility and defense.
I read that as “goes from the starting lineup” since there’s zero chance that either Lukes or Barger are off the roster entirely.
But yes loperfido is the easy choice on the 26 man
Don’t forget IKF’s pitching in case the find themselves in a blowout
