Blue Jays: Griffin Conine coming back with a bang

After serving a suspension to start the year, Blue Jays’ outfield prospect Griffin Conine has returned with a bang and is making up for lost time.

50 baseball games can go by in the blink of an eye but when you are watching those games as opposed to actually playing them, it can be quite the opposite.

The Blue Jays 2018 second-rounder Griffin Conine returned from a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance and he hasn’t missed a beat after spending last year with Single-A Short Season Vancouver.

The 21-year-old outfielder made his 2019 debut on May 29th with Low-A Lansing and it took him just two games to find his power stroke once again. His second game of the year he put two balls over the fence and added two doubles, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI’s.

Conine has added six more extra-base hits since that game which has led to an incredible slash line of .436/.488/.949 through his first ten games.

https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1136066940034793472

Conine came to the Blue Jays after an impressive final two seasons at Duke University when his power from the left-side really came to life, blasting 31 home runs over the two years and finishing 2018 tied for the second most homers in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Currently ranked # 15 among Blue Jays prospects according to MLB Pipeline, Conine comes with similarity to several Blue Jays top prospects such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio as the son of a former big leaguer. His dad, Jeff Conine, hit 214 home runs, amassed over 1,000 RBI’s and appeared in two All-Star games while enjoying 17 seasons in the big leagues.

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Conine’s red-hot return from his suspension should have management buzzing as the organization could desperately use some depth in the outfield, which also saw the club go to that position with two of their first four selections at last week’s draft.

Conine has never played above Single-A but he’s a mature player who has already played three seasons in one of the better college conferences, which could see him progress through the minors quicker than some other prospects.

The Florida native has an OBP of .340 with 11 home runs, 19 doubles and 44 RBI’s through his 67 games in the minor leagues and has shown more pop at the dish than his dad in his first season of pro ball.

He has a long way to go to catch up to Jeff, but as his young career continues he is showing the potential to do some special things with his bat. It’s only ten games into his 2019 season but he’s proving himself to be the can’t-miss prospect among outfielders in the Blue Jays farm system.