Toronto Blue Jays 2020 Top Prospects: #16 Dasan Brown

The Jays Journal staff returns with our yearly Blue Jays Top 30 prospect rankings, and the #16 spot goes to outfielder, Dasan Brown.

Name: Dasan Brown
Position: CF              Age: 18
Height: 6’0”              Weight: 185lbs
Throws: Right           Bats: Right
Acquired: Drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd Round of the 2019 draft (88th overall)
2019 Level: Rookie  ETA: 2023

The summer of 2019 was magical for Oakville’s own Dasan Brown, an18-year old outfielder drafted in the 3rd round of the June Amateur draft at #88 overall from Abbey Park HS, above his pre-draft MLB prospect’s ranking at #103. This came after a decorated amateur career with the Ontario Blue Jays and winning a bronze medal as a member of Team Canada at the 2018 COPABE U-18 Pan Am Championships in Panama. The Texas A&M commit signed with the Jays for $800,000, above his slot’s value of $678,600. He was also the subject of a Sportsnet Junior Journey profile of his draft day experience with Jeff Blair.

The top Canadian taken in the 2019 draft, he is also the highest Canadian picked by the Jays since left-hander James Paxton (who went unsigned) in the 1st round of the 2009 draft.

Toronto scouts have been keeping an eye on the local kid since as early as 2012 when he was selected as an 11-year old to go the All-Star Game in Kansas City to compete in the Pitch Hit & Run Finals. He joined the junior national team program in 2017, and represented Canada in the Dominican Summer League.

In 2018, Brown helped Canada win bronze at the COPABE U-18 Pan Am championship in Panama. He initially gained notoriety with the Ontario Blue Jays amateur baseball program based in Mississauga, being named to the WWBA World Championship All-Tournament Team and to the 2018 Rawlings-PG Pre-Season Underclass All-American Team. In the annual Junior National Team/Blue Jays spring training game in Dunedin last year he had a strong performance, including a home run.

In addition to being the first Canadian selected in the June draft, Dasan was recently honoured with the 2019 Baseball Canada Junior National Team MVP Award. After signing his contract and making his professional baseball debut, he capped a three-year stint with the Junior National Team program by hitting .345 with 10 hits and eight RBI at the U-18 World Cup in Korea.

MLB Pipeline named him the best athlete in the Blue Jays’ farm system after only 45 at-bats as a 17-year old with the Rookie League GCL Blue Jays, playing against players on average 2.5 years older than him. He made 11 starts in CF and one start in RF. By late August, he was assigned to the Vancouver Canadians in A Short league.

https://twitter.com/baseballexis/status/1195362387970478080?s=20

Which is all pretty heady stuff for a young man who only turned 18 last September 25th. His GCL stats are based on only 63 PAs, but he did steal six bases and slashed .222/.444/.356/.800

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins sees Brown as a “plus athlete with plus speed, a chance to be an above-average defender. A chance to be, really, dare I say a five-tool player.”

The 2019 MLB Pipeline prospect watch lists his scouting grades as follows:

Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 70 | Arm: 50 | Field: 60 | Overall: 45

"“Most evaluations on Brown are projections for far off in the future, and the Blue Jays know they will have to be patient with his development. He does have solid contact skills from the right side of the plate and should grow into some raw power. He needs to add strength and has trouble impacting the ball at times as a result, though some scouts point out that Brown was most heavily scouted while facing pro competition this spring. He has close to top-of-the-scale speed, which makes him a threat on the basepaths and helps him cover a ton of ground in center field, where he should be a plus defender down the road.As a younger player with premium athleticism and a ton of ceiling, Brown may require more time to develop than the typical prep pick. But while it may take some time, the long-term payoff could be huge.”"

Baseball America noted that of the Blue Jays 2019 draft card, the fastest runner is Dasan Brown (80 grade), also naming him the best defensive player and best athlete. The ranked him the 19th best prospect in the Gulf Coast League (GCL), noting that “Brown is an outstanding athlete and an 80 runner on the 20-to-80 scouting scale.”

According to Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada’s national teams director:

"“He has centre-field speed and his speed plays. It does impact the game. Some guys have speed but it doesn’t necessarily impact the game the way you’d like it to.His speed impacts the game defensively and it impacts the game offensively.”"

Hitting
MLB.com rates Brown as a 50 hit grade on the 20-80 grade range, with 40 grade power. They note his “solid contact skills from the right side of the plate and should grow into some raw power. He needs to add strength and has trouble impacting the ball at times as a result.”

Defense
Brown is described by MLB.com as having “close to top-of-the-scale speed, which makes him a threat on the basepaths and helps him cover a ton of ground in centre-field, where he should be a plus defender down the road.”  He has a 50 grade arm and 60 grade fielding.

Baseball America rates him as the Blue Jays farm system’s best athlete, fastest baserunner, and best defensive outfielder.

Future

Brown’s calling card has been speed, in the field and on the basepaths, but the long-term goal is for him to turn into much more than a slap hitter. Scouting reports note he is a premium athlete with hitting ability, projectable power, and tremendous speed.

Greg Hamilton, head coach and director of Canada’s national teams says:

"“He has really quick hands, a lot of bat speed to go with those quick hands and the ball jumps off his bat.“I don’t see him as a middle-of-the-order guy, but I see him as a guy who can drive the ball into the gaps and stretch singles into doubles, doubles into triples, and he’ll produce some power.”"

He’s scheduled to start the 2020 season in the A Short league with the Vancouver Canadians after playing against players 2.5 years older than him last summer in GCL Rookie ball. Current projections see his MLB ETA as 2023.

Whether or not he can live up to projections – unlike recent previous top OF prospects Dalton Pompey and Anthony Alford – remains to be seen, but after an incredible run over the past two seasons for his country and in Rookie ball as a Blue Jay, his future looks promising on a team that currently has Randal Grichuk signed through 2023, and out of option CFs Anthony Alford and Derek Fisher to battle it out for CF duties until then.

Best of luck to Dasan for the upcoming season and beyond!