Bo Bichette's First Five Years in the Blue Jays System

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TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 01: Bo Bichette #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays warms up ahead of their MLB game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on October 1, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) /

The 2021 season was Bo Bichette’s sixth year in the Blue Jays system and his first full season in the majors. All he did was lead the American League in hits, finish sixth in the AL in stolen bases, post the third-highest fWAR (4.9) of any shortstop in the AL, and play in his first All-Star game.

Blue Jays fans looked on with pride as the electrifying 22-year-old lit up the Major Leagues, settling in as the franchise’s shortstop for the foreseeable future. So much has happened so quickly for Bo – it seems like yesterday that Toronto drafted the teenager out of high school – that it can be hard to keep track of the record-setting, historic start to his career. Here then, is a review of Bichette’s first five years in the Blue Jays system, and the steps that preceded his 2021 breakout season.

2016 (Age 18)

Bichette was home-schooled but played his senior year for Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, Florida. Though he had verbally committed to Arizona State prior to graduating, he also made it clear that he was focused on turning pro.

In early June, he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Baseball for Florida, annually awarded to the state’s top high school player. Baseball America had ranked Bichette the 46th best prospect in the 2016 class prior to the MLB draft. After selecting TJ Zeuch with their first pick and JB Woodman with their second pick, the Blue Jays drafted Bo at 66th overall. Bichette commented at the time that the Blue Jays were his first choice due to the club’s player development system, adding “I may end up taking a little less [in signing bonus], but this is the best fit. I actually turned down about four offers earlier in the draft because they weren’t good fits.”

A review into Bo Bichette’s first five years in the Blue Jays organization and how he progressed through the minor leagues after being drafted.

After signing a $1.1 million bonus on June 17, 2016, Bichette was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays (now known as the Florida Complex League Blue Jays) in Dunedin for Rookie ball. In 91 plate appearances (PA) over 22 games, he hit .427 with an OPS of 1.182, and despite missing significant time due to an appendectomy, was selected as an end of season All-Star at shortstop. He then capped off his 2016 season by representing Brazil in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier, eligible due to his mother Mariana being a native of Brazil (his maternal grandfather is of Chinese descent).

TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 02: Bo Bichette #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during a MLB game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on October 2, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

2017 (Age 19)

The following spring, Bichette was sent to Michigan to play with Toronto’s Class-A affiliate, the Lansing Lugnuts. It didn’t take him long to adjust to the higher level, to put it mildly. At mid-season he was leading the league in hits, runs, and OPS and was named an All-Star. He slashed .384/.448/.623 with 32 doubles, 10 home runs, and 51 RBI in 70 games for Lansing before being promoted to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays in early July. With Dunedin, he proceeded to hit .323 with four home runs, 23 RBI, and 10 stolen bases over 40 games. At season end, he was named the Midwest League’s MVP, Prospect of the Year, and a Postseason All-Star. Notably, his combined .362 batting average led all of Minor League Baseball, and made him the first teenager to lead the minors in hitting since Gil Torres did so in 1963.

Oct 3, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) reaches for but misses a ball hit for a single by Baltimore Orioles second baseman Pat Valaika (not shown) in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

2018 (Age 20)

Bo continued to roll after joining the Jays’ AA affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats for the 2018 campaign, leading the league in runs, doubles, and triples, and finishing third in RBI and second in stolen bases with 32. Playing alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., team MVP Cavan Biggio, Jordan Romano, and Lourdes Guerriel Jr. at various points of the season, Bichette won an Eastern League championship with the Fisher Cats as the team claimed its first title in its franchise history. For the season, Bo slashed .286/.343/.453 and set the single season doubles record for the Fisher Cats with 43.

TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 01: Bo Bichette #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays fields the ball in the eighth inning of their MLB game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre on October 1, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) /

2019 (Age 21)

Bo had been promoted to AAA Buffalo prior to the 2019 season but suffered a setback with a broken hand in April that probably delayed his call-up to the majors. By the time he arrived in Toronto on July 29th, he was, evidently, ready to make history. He started his career in the majors by setting the MLB record as the only hitter with 15 extra-base hits in his first 15 games. He tied Ted Williams with a nine-game extra-base hit streak as a rookie (Williams did it in 1939). He set the all-time MLB record with a double in nine consecutive games and reached base in each of his first 17 career games, the longest such streak in franchise history. Overall for the 2019 season, Bichette finished with a .311 average and 11 home runs over 46 games.

Aug 13, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) before playing against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

2020 (Age 22)

Bichette was, once again, on fire to start the season in 2020, recording a hit in 13 of 14 games to start the campaign, including a 5 for 5 game in which he homered, walked, scored three times and stole two bases, making him the youngest player in franchise history to accumulate five hits in a single game. On August 13th, he became the first shortstop in the MLB modern era to reach base safely six times, hit a home run and steal two bases in the same game.

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Unfortunately, shortly thereafter he injured his knee, which forced him to miss almost a month on the IL and his production dropped off following his return for the stretch run. Overall, his numbers for the shortened season were strong, finishing with a .301 average, 5 home runs, 23 RBIs and five steals in 29 games.

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Bo Bichette’s First Five Years in the Blue Jays System – Path to Stardom

A review into Bo Bichette’s first five years in the Blue Jays organization and how he progressed through the minor leagues after being drafted.

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