Blue Jays: There’s a ton of MiLB infield talent beyond Vlad and Bo

Jordan Groshans– 3B/SS

.296/.353/.446, 13 doubles, 5 home runs, in 37 games played

The Blue Jays made a bit of a surprising choice with their first round pick last year, and I only say that because of the infield talent they already had. However, they viewed Jordan Groshans as someone they couldn’t pass up on with the #12 pick, and there’s a good chance that decision will pay off down the line.

He’s very young at just 19, but he impressed during his 37 game stint in Rookie-ball with the Bluefield Blue Jays. He managed to get 142 at bats in there, and the 2019 season will be all about collecting experience as he starts his first full season. He’ll want to work on cutting down his strikeout numbers as well, as he fanned 29 times in those 142 at bats, however it’s tough to gauge a whole lot from that small of a sample size, and especially from the 18 year old.

Groshans split time pretty much equally between shortstop and third base, and I imagine that trend will likely continue at this early stage of his career. If everything goes right he’ll have a boatload of competition at those positions in Toronto by the time he’s ready for the big leagues, but a lot could happen before then, so there’s no reason to move him around at such a young age.

Instead he’ll have a chance to develop on a reasonable timeline, and to progress through the minors as his performance dictates. My guess is he’ll start the 2019 season with the Lansing Lugnuts in Low-A, and hopefully he’ll continue to show why the Blue Jays felt he was worthy of a first round pick. In terms of an ERA, we’re probably looking at something like 2021-22, but that could change in a hurry too.