Blue Jays prospect JoJo Parker gets lofty comparisons to a two-time Silver Slugger

JoJo Parker has certainly made an impression in his first few months in the Toronto Blue Jays' system. The 19-year-old who was drafted a year ago in the first round (eight overall) has hit the ground running. Coming out of Purvis High School, the native of Mississippi has slashed .243/.382/.426 with a 119 wRC+ in 77 games with Single-A Dunedin. He also played in the MLB Futures game as part of the All-Star weekend festivities.

He's also shown an impressive combination of power (nine home runs, 21 doubles) and speed (21 stolen bases) while maintaining a high walk rate (16.4%). It's caught the attention of Dunedin's manager Ryan Casteel who compared Parker to All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner, Trevor Story.

Casteel told Mitch Bannon of the Athletic that Paker has the professionalism and maturity that exceeds his age. Casteel came up through the Colorado Rockies system with Story and he says, "JoJo is a way better hitter, I think. I saw Story when he was really good and really bad. JoJo has a way better eye, controls the zone better, way less whiff than (Story) did at that age. That’s still with working through different mechanical adjustments.”

That is some high praise for a kid just coming out of high school. Story put together some incredible seasons for the Rockies in the first half of his career. Between his debut in 2016 to his final year in Colorado in 2021, Story produced a .272/.340/.523 slash line with a 111 wRC+. He hit 158 home runs, stole 100 bases and produced 20.3 fWAR.

The comment about Parker's eye, and control of the zone is interesting to note. During those years in Colorado, Story's lowers strikeout percentage in a givien year was 23.4% in 2021, his age 28 season. Every other year it was 24% or higher, while his walk rate never went over 9.3%.

Meantime, as mentioned, Parker's walk rate suggests he's a guy that is patient at the plate and is just as happy taking a walk as he is lacing a double into the gap. While it hasn't all been sunshine and roses with Parker, Casteel says his progression has been what the team has expected.

"We knew there was going to be struggles,” Casteel said. “But one thing that really just stands out to me is his even-keeledness through the whole process.”

Parker's emergence could give the Blue Jays their next long-term shortstop

There's a long-way to go for Parker before he can really be compared to a player like Story, but it is certainly an excellent start to the career of a first round pick. At this rate, he is being pegged as arguably the successor to Andrés Giménez at the big league level, that is, if Giménez isn't gone within the next two years or so. He's locked in until 2029, and has a club option for 2030.

But by 2029, Parker will be 22-years-old and probably knocking on the door for his MLB debut. Another thing that is likely standing in Parker's way is Arjun Nimmala, the Blue Jays' No. 2 overall prospect, ranked just behind Parker in the MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospects. That's because Nimmala also plays shortstop and has already reached Double-A.

The 20-year-old Nimmala is expected to reach the majors by 2028, a year before Parker, and he may have already staked a claim to that every day shortstop role by that point. Right now it feels like it is a toss up between who may end up being the better fielder overall in the long run. Either way, Parker and Nimmala pushing each other as cornerstones of the next, great, middle infield of the Blue Jays is something Blue Jays fans should be keeping an eye on, especially if one of them is being compared to Trevor Story.

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