Blue Jays: The next wave of pitching prospects are full of huge potential

Adam Kloffenstein

The Blue Jays were very fortunate to get a talent like Adam Kloffenstein in the third round of the 2018 draft, and selecting one of his good friends in Jordan Groshans in the first round likely didn’t hurt. In fact, Groshans arguably took less than he could have gotten for a signing bonus so that the Blue Jays could afford to give Kloffenstein 2.4 million, and I’m thrilled they worked together on the proposition, if that’s how it went down.

The 6’5 right-hander is still just 19 years old, but he’s already showing Blue Jays fans why the organization was excited to get him under contract. He pitched with the Vancouver Canadians in Rookie Ball in 2019, and was very successful in his first real season as a professional. He finished the year with a 2.24 ERA over 13 starts and 64.1 innings, also posting a 1.088 WHIP.

It was also encouraging to see him strikeout 64 batters against 23 walks, also showing the ability to post fan a hitter per inning, and flashing decent control for a teenager. Chances are he’ll move up to at least Low-A Lansing in 2020 to start with, and if things go well he’ll likely even have a shot at moving up to High-A before the season is over. However, because of his young age and lack of innings on his talented right arm, I don’t think the Blue Jays will be in a big rush with Kloffenstein.

He’s one of a few that will be part of the next wave of pitching talent that comes after the Pearson’s and Pardinho’s, and I don’t know that we’ll see him in the big leagues until 2022, or maybe even later. Keep in mind that he just turned 19 in August, and he was finishing high school a little over a year ago.

However, when the time comes that he’s ready I think the Blue Jays are going to be in great hands. Especially because he’s not alone.