Blue Jays: Exclusive Interview with Prospect Joshua Palacios – Part 2

Exclusive interview with Joshua Palacios of the Dunedin Blue Jays. Part I of the interview can be found here.

Hayden Godfrey: In reading your scouting report, it also mentions that you ran track in high school, which I have tremendous respect for. How did running track and being used to running as a stand-alone activity impact you as a baseball player?

Joshua Palacios: It definitely helped my game a lot, because it helped elevate the speed in my game and speed in baseball is a very big thing right now, it’s really trending. If you have speed, they say speed never slumps, so it can help you in any aspect, in offence, in defense, chasing down balls, stealing bags or runnings the bases for your team. I feel like it’s really impactful if used in the right way, to help your team win games.

HG: Your 2017 season with the Lansing Lugnuts was a good one for you, you stole some bases, put up a great slash line and were surrounded by some great young players who really are the talk of the town here in Toronto. What was that like, being surrounded by guys like Guerrero and Bichette, who, if all goes right, you’ll be big league teammates with one day?

JP: That was amazing, that was a great experience, we all got to know each other really well that year and we all kind of fed off each other and were able to learn from each other. Having so many great hitters and great baseball players on the same team, you really got to learn a lot of things because everybody has a different perspective, so picking each other’s brains and being around each other, that helped all of us, at least I felt it helped me a lot.

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HG: According to MLB’s 2017 list of the Blue Jays’ top 30 prospects, on which you appear, your most valuable trait is your speed which we just talked about, both on the basepaths and in the outfield. What do you think is your best tool on the baseball field?

JP: I personally think my best tool would be my stick, swinging the bat, and putting the ball in play and getting on base. I feel like that’s something that I always was really good at and that I really liked to showcase, all throughout the minor leagues. They tell you that you can’t steal first base, so you gotta be able to hit.

HG: For some Blue Jays fans, this might be their first introduction you as a player and as a prospect in the system. What is one thing that Blue Jays fans should know about Joshua Palacios?

JP: One thing that Blue Jays fans should know about me is that I’ve come to fall in love with the atmosphere of Toronto and Canada, it’s an amazing place and I’m really excited to hopefully one day be able to help the Blue Jays win a World Series.

HG: Finally, things are looking really good for you. You are playing some fantastic baseball for the Dunedin Blue Jays and you’ve routinely appeared on top prospect lists for this organization. What is your goal for the end of the season?

JP: I have a few goals for the end of this season. The first is trying to win a minor league championship, I always love to win. Another is to move as many levels as I possibly can and be consistent every single day in my performance and get as good as I can by the end of the year. Mostly, just try to be a better player at the end of the year than I was at the beginning.

Jays Journal wishes Joshua the best of luck for the season and his career. I would like to extend my personal thanks to Joshua and the Dunedin Blue Jays for allowing me to conduct this interview.

Next: Blue Jays: Interview with Prospect Joshua Palacios – Part 1