Dodgers' Ohtani may lose his "unicorn" status if this Blue Jays prospect pans out

A few years ago, the Toronto Blue Jays tried to land Shohei Ohtani. There were many reasons they would be interested in bringing a player of his caliber. Off the field, he is entering, if not already surpassing, iconic status as arguably the most globally recognized baseball player playing today. But on the field, the Blue Jays would have loved to have been able to take advantage of Ohtani's two-way player ability.

They didn't get Ohtani, but instead they drafted someone who is trying to become him. Austin Smith, a left-handed thrower on the mound, and an outfielder when he's not pitching made his pro-baseball pitching debut on Thursday evening for the Dunedin Blue Jays - Toronto's Single-A affiliate. While the outing wasn't exactly what Smith had planned for, there's a big learning curve that comes with being a two-way player at the professional level.

Blue Jays prospect hoping to be the next two-way player to make it to The Show.

The Blue Jays drafted Smith in the 10th round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of the University of San Diego. He played in 23 games with Dunedin last season after the draft, all as a hitter, and he slashed .259/.394/.395 with two home runs and showed an above average eye at the plate with 12 walks compared to 12 strikeouts.

Smith hit .305 in 213 college games and four NCAA seasons, with three of those being played at USD. He transfered from UC San Deigo in his sophomore season. He also hit 20 home runs and knocked in 160 RBIs, drew 102 walks and scored 146 runs. On the mound, he went 16-9, with eight saves and a 4.12 ERA in 53 games with 28 of those being starts. He struk out 168 batters, while walking 73 hitters.

On the mound on Thursday for Dunedin, Smith only faced four hitters, allowing an earned run on one hit with two walks and no strikeouts getting one out in the fifth. In five games as a hitter this year he's collected two hits in ten at-bats with two walks and three strikeouts, giving him plenty of room for improvement as the season goes along.

Smith understands the amount of work it is going to take to make this opportunity a reality at the big league level. He spoke to reporters before the game and said, "It's double the amount of work, but that's what I signed up for when I wanted to be a two-way. I get to the field, do all my hitting, then I jump in with the pitchers, throw with them, do some conditioning with them, just bouncing back and force. The coaches have been great about communicating with me and letting me do what I need to do."

With the 22-year-old just really beginning his professional baseball career it will be incredibly interesting to watch if he can continue his two-way status as he moves up the ladder, or if he'll decide to try and just do one or the other in an effort to get to the big leagues.