Future Blue Jays Newsletter

Spring training invites, some prospects on the bubble, and the organization’s difficulties in acquiring and developing impact prospect bats, and a few other things on this sunny Southern Ontario day……

Spring Training Invitees

An invitation to big league camp sends a message to prospects that they are that close to the bigs. But there are other benefits.

In addition to the extra reps these invitees get ahead of their fellow minor leaguers, there is valuable exposure to how big league veterans prepare themselves for each day. Prospects still tend to be learning about their day-to-day work, and seeing how established players conduct themselves and go about their routines can be very motivating and valuable in and of itself. Plus, there is a chance to get some playing time against advanced competition in a less pressurized environment - most prospects in other organizations will likely not have played in front of many crowds the size of spring training ones, but the Blue Jays have something of a competitive advantage with their Vancouver affiliate.

Tiedemann tops the list, and why not? He’s the crown jewel of the organization, even though he may be a long shot to break camp with the team this year. Cooke, Dallas, and Fluharty all are being rewarded for strong 2023 seasons, as is Roden. Robertson may be a bit advanced in age, but a strong Arizona showing last fall boosted his stock. Harrison came out of the bullpen to anchor Vancouver’s rotation last year, and Jennings was the C’s best pitcher down the stretch after coming off the IL. Palmegiani made a lot of believers last year, and once a position is finally nailed down for him, that bat should play at the big leagues. Britton was on an upward trajectory before missing most of last season - it’s interesting to see he’s listed back at catcher, his original position.

Who’s missing from that list? I thought Adam Macko, who was added to the 40, as well as Dahian Santos, who wasn’t. CJ Van Eyk seems to have finished his long rehab journey, and was even considered to be a potential Rule 5 pick after a strong Arizona showing.

On the Bubble?

Speaking of Santos, well, this may not be a make-or-break season for him, but he can force the organization’s hand by being healthy and returning to his 2022 and first part of 2023 form.

The owner of the best slider in the system is a slender, has-to-run-around-in-the-shower-to-get-wet type, and may be ticketed to a bullpen role this season. Santos was ineffective for about a month before being shut down with shoulder issues in early July. Surgery was avoided, and the player development staff are likely going to send him to AA to start the season.

Dasan Brown is another guy who is clearly on the bubble. After a breakout second half in 2022, the Oakville native struggled in 2024, posting an OPS of .624. One of the fastest players in the minors, Brown is still learning to steal bases. If he can harness that skill and get on base more often as well, we could be looking at the Blue Jays leadoff hitter/CF of the future. The incredibly toolsy Brown, who has a true affection for the game, has long been behind his MiLB counterparts in baseball experience. It’s time for him to learn better pitch recognition, see more pitches per AB, and put that skill into practice. But that development clock is ticking….

Developing Hitters

Geoff Pontes knows probably more about the Jays system than anyone outside of the organization (not including yours truly, of course). He lives close to Manchester, NH, home of the Fisher Cats, as well as Worcester, MA, where he can see Blue Jays prospects when the Bisons come to town, and brave soul that he is, spends a couple of weeks in FL every summer watching FSL and Complex League games. He’s also a good source and someone I bounce ideas and questions off of on occasion.

 Pontes was a guest on JD Bunkis’ show on the FAN 590 in Toronto this week, and had some interesting observations, particularly about the system’s inability to draft and develop impact bats.

Pontes feels that the Jays have had “an ability to find upper level talent in the first five rounds,” and it’s hard to disagree with that observation. While we still have to give Amateur Scouting Director Shane Farrell some time, his first four drafts have yet to produce what looks like an impact bat. From the Austin Martin debacle in 2020 to the 2022 bats like Josh Kasevich, Tucker Toman, and Cade Doughty, there seems to be a preference for hit-over-power guys. In 2021, the Blue Jays took pitchers with 10 of their first 11 picks - the player development staff did help reduce some of the holes in 14th rounder Damiano Palmegiani. But at this point, one could argue the top hitters in the system are Palmegiani, Spencer Horwitz (a 24th round pick in 2019), IFA Orelvis Martinez, and 2022 draftee Roden.

Perhaps the organization has been guided by the “grow the arms and buy the bats” philosophy, but for now they have a system of some guys who know the strike zone, but haven’t developed the power tool yet. Of course, there is considerable hope for 2024 1st rounder Arjun Nimmala, about whom we’ve had many positive reports.

Groshans DFA’d

And speaking of top draft pick bats that didn’t turn out, the Marlins designated Jordan Groshans, the Blue Jays top pick (12th overall) in 2018, for assignment.

I first got eyes on Groshans when he was with Low A Lansing in April, 2019, and there was a lot to be impressed by, although there were some warning signs that I had both seen and later heard.

First off - it was his first time through the league, but Groshans was raking Low A pitching just ten months after graduating from high school. While his hit tool was obvious, there were other parts of his game that were not advanced. One afternoon, I watched from the stands in those blissful quiet early hours before the park opens to fans as a coach worked at length with Groshans on his footwork at short stop. In the game that evening, Groshans ranged to his left to snag a ground ball up the middle. Rather than stopping, turning his body and planting to make the throw to 1st, he did a 360 and nearly threw the ball into the stands. As I watched from the pressbox, my attention was grabbed by the coaching staff in the Lunguts’ dugout, several of whom had thrown their hands into the air before retreating back down the steps, shaking their heads in disbelief. Recently, I was told that perhaps Jordan wasn’t the most coachable of players, and that incident instantly came to mind.

Then there was Groshans’ footspeed - or lack thereof. In Branch Rickey’s day, any prospect at his many tryout camps who couldn’t run 60 yards in less than 7 seconds was sent packing before they even had the chance to put their hands on a bat or ball. “Speed is the common denominator on offence and defence,” Rickey once said. “It’s the only tool that you can’t teach.” Groshans may have never made it past that cut line in a Rickey tryout, because speed afoot is not something he was blessed with in abundance. “Jordan looked like an athlete,” I have been told, “right up until he left the batter’s box.”

Injuries robbed Groshans of much of that season, and COVID the next, and that power tool surprisingly did not develop, and he was traded to the Marlins in 2022. He did make his MLB debut for Miami, but lost his spot on the 40. He seems to have turned into more of a doubles hitter, and since he only turned 24 in November, maybe there’s a chance he can discover that power stroke.

Stevie to the Hall

Last November at the Canadian Baseball History Conference in Toronto, I had the pleasure to meet Kevin Glew of Cooperstowners in Canada (@coopincanada over at Elon’s lair), and we both got to wondering if Ashley Stephenson, who joined the Blue Jays minor league staff in a coaching role last season, had ever been nominated for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. That question was answered earlier this month when the Burlington, ON native was elected to the Hall.

I spoke at length with Ash last spring in Vancouver, and again this past fall (both conversations are in back issues, if you’re interested). A highly decorated international player, Ashely wore the maple leaf with distinction, and is now making her mark in the system. She’s returning to the C’s again this year, and I fully expect her to make her debut as a manager in the Blue Jays system one day.

On a personal note, I was hoping to see Stephenson at the induction ceremonies at St Mary’s in June, but my nominee - former Toronto Maple Leafs field boss Dan Howley - was not voted by the committee for next year. Luckily, I’ll be in Vancouver Opening Weekend, and we’ll get to renew acquaintances once more.