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Jays Journal

Blue Jays: Five Underrated Players To Watch During Spring Training

By Callum Belshaw

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 12: Richard Urena #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays warms up moments before the start of their MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on April 12, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 12: Richard Urena #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays warms up moments before the start of their MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on April 12, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, CANADA – APRIL 30: The Toronto Blue Jays logo on the dugout roof before an MLB game against the Boston Red Sox on April 30, 2013 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA – APRIL 30: The Toronto Blue Jays logo on the dugout roof before an MLB game against the Boston Red Sox on April 30, 2013 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

C Riley Adams

The Jays backup catcher job is wide open.  I don’t see Alejandro Kirk making the opening day roster unless he can show that he is head and shoulders better than Danny Janson both offensively and defensively.  I don’t think Kirk is quite there yet defensively, and I think that the Jays’ management will want him to play every day in AAA instead of riding the pine at the big league level.

This leaves room for another catcher on the Jays roster and I think that Riley Adams may be able to claim that role.  Adams is one of the more underrated prospects in the Jays’ farm system as he is only ranked 23rd on their Top 30 according to MLB Pipeline.  Despite his ranking, Adams is one of the players who I heard got rave reviews from the alternate site, so I would expect to see him climb up the Jays’ Top 30 when Pipeline releases their updated rankings in a few weeks.

Adams has great power at the dish, and it’s the best in the Blue Jays farm system according to Baseball America.  He showed off this power in 2019, hitting 14 long balls across two different leagues in only 100 games.  Adams’ defence is developing and is one of the things he supposedly made major strides in at the alternate site.

Unless the Jays make a signing over the next couple of weeks, the backup catcher job is really between Adams and Reese McGuire.  With how bad McGuire was last season, I think that Adams has a great shot to make the team if he has a strong spring.