From Playoff Lineups to Hospital Staffing: How Palantir Foundry Optimizes the Game

The Toronto Blue Jays have clinched a playoff spot, and as any fan knows, that’s when the debates heat up. Which lineup should we use? Who gets the start against a left-handed pitcher? What do we do if one of our stars is coming back from injury?

For us at i4C Consulting, it was the perfect excuse to combine two passions: baseball and Palantir Foundry.

Baseball Meets Foundry

To keep things simple, we programmed Foundry with a small set of inputs:
  • Assets: The players on the roster
  • Scenario factors: Pitcher’s throwing hand (left vs. right)
  • Key stats: Offensive splits and defensive efficiency

We then used Foundry’s scenario engine (which we nicknamed ScnAIder) to generate the optimal lineup.

The results were fast and flexible. A player is injured? Adjust the lineup. A rookie is unproven? Factor that in. Another is just coming back from injury? Re-optimize. In seconds, Foundry recalculates the best mix to give the Jays a fighting chance.

The Real-World Parallel

While it’s fun to test this on baseball, the bigger story is what this looks like in real organizations. Take hospital staffing, for example:

⚾ Baseball
🏥 Hospital
Scenario factor: Pitcher’s throwing hand
Scenario factor: Patient load (normal vs. surge)
Assets: Players
Assets: Doctors, nurses, technicians
Stats: Batting splits & defense
Stats: Payroll cost, travel time, patient outcomes
Decision: Build the lineup
Decision: Build the shift schedule
Outcome: Better chance of winning the game
Outcome: Better patient care at lower cost
The same principles apply in countless industries. Whether it’s optimizing crews for utilities work, scheduling retail staff during peak hours, or aligning project teams across geographies—Foundry helps leaders deploy the right resources at the right time, based on the data that matters.

Why It Matters 

The Jays want to win playoff games. Hospitals want to save lives. Businesses want to deliver better outcomes with fewer resources. Foundry makes this possible by simplifying complex data, modeling scenarios in real time, and helping decision-makers act with confidence.

In short: if Foundry can optimize a playoff lineup, imagine what it can do for your organization.

👉🏻 Check out this video to see ScnAIder in action.