Blue Jays: Intriguing young arm joins the ranks

Recently, the Blue Jays signed a young Cuban pitcher who has ties to another prodigious young arm. With the contract signed, it shouldn’t be long before William Gastón begins to climb the ranks of the Blue Jays organization.

On Dec. 20, the Blue Jays signed 22-year-old RHP William Gastón to a minor-league contract. One of the three young pitchers the team has signed since the beginning of the offseason, Gastón, in particular, has some interesting connections to another well-known Cuban pitching prospect.

William is the cousin of Sandy Gastón, another exciting young arm who recently agreed to a mammoth international contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. Sandy, 16, was ranked as baseball’s No. 16 international prospect in recent MLB Pipeline rankings.

Though significantly older, William boasts an impressive repertoire of pitches that includes a fastball that consistently reaches between 92 and 95 MPH. If all goes well, he could join the organizational ranks and begin his journey through the minor-league system as early as April 2019.

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Gastón will likely be assigned to a Rookie level affiliate of the organization before getting a shot at one of the higher Single-A levels, according to a source familiar with the situation. Gastón has not yet been assigned to a level by the organization, according to his recent interview with Yusseff Diaz of Pelota Cubana.

This signing proves that the Blue Jays, forever quiet and discrete in MLB free agency, remain active in international free agency, building up their farm system with a host of hopeful and talented arms, especially from Cuba, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

The Blue Jays also signed Venezuelan southpaw Junior A. Guzman to a minor-league contract on the same day. Guzman, 19, stands at 5’11” and was born in Caracas.

Special thanks to the outstanding Pelota Cubana Blog for their insight on William and Sandy Gastón.