Blue Jays: An updated look at Simeon Woods Richardson’s value

Baseball America updated their prospect rankings on Wednesday, and Blue Jays fans should be excited about Simeon Woods Richardson’s new placement.

When the Blue Jays traded Marcus Stroman to the New York Mets last year, most falls reacted reacted with a fair bit of surprise and disappointment. That was largely because most baseball fans had no idea who Anthony Kay or Simeon Woods Richardson were, including yours truly.

I was vaguely familiar with Kay, but Woods Richardson was an unknown commodity to me, and many others, which led to the initial disappointment around the trade. I’ll be the first to admit, I figured the Blue Jays would get at least one Top 100 prospect in baseball in order to trade Stroman, and when it didn’t happen the return felt underwhelming.

However, now that Baseball America has sent out their latest updated rankings, we get to see how the scouting community really values the young pitcher, and Blue Jays fans should be very encouraged.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

The Texas native didn’t turn 19 until September of last year, but that didn’t stop him from an impressive first showing in the Blue Jays organization. Woods Richardson started the year in Low-A while with the Mets organization, but the Blue Jays assigned him to High-A in Dunedin after he was acquired. At just 18 years old, he made six starts and posted an impressive 2.54 ERA and a 0.882 WHIP over 28.2 innings.

When you consider that Anthony Kay appears to be a solid pitching prospect, the return that the Blue Jays got back from the Mets is really starting to look better all the time. It also helps that some of the shine has come off of Stroman’s star, as he regressed a bit once he went to New York, and also took plenty of shots at the Blue Jays on the way out the door.

We don’t know what the future holds for Woods Richardson or Kay, but we could have said the same in July when the trade originally went down and the perception has already changed a great deal. The way things are going, especially with Woods Richardson’s development, this trade could eventually become quite a steal for the Blue Jays.