Sawchik: Are the Blue Jays creating a launch pad with their new fences?

And then Park Avenue wonders aloud why eighth and ninth-place hitters are swinging for the fences, even with two strikes…

“Our team modeled these adjustments, and we anticipate they will create a similar, neutral environment,” Marnie Starkman, the Blue Jays’ executive vice president of business operations, told reporters last month.

To investigate the claim, theScore consulted with baseball physics expert Dr. Alan Nathan to explain what the changes might mean. We also reviewed every Rogers Centre fly ball from last season that we felt could be affected by the changes.

We used Statcast’s distance projections and launch angles and also employed the eye test to try and discern whether a ball would or would not clear the new fences. It’s by no means a perfect study, but hopefully it gives us a general idea of how the park will play.

What we found: The Blue Jays are going to need a bigger wall if they want to keep home runs neutral. The Rogers Centre could become the most favorable place in the game for long balls.