5 Blue Jays prospects who could see the big leagues post-trade deadline

Phil Clarke

The Jays’ faithful may not be too familiar with the name Phil Clarke. After all, he is not among the Jays’ top 30 prospects in their system. Nevertheless, the former ninth-round pick from the 2019 MLB Draft has made steady progress in moving up the Jays’ minor league system in the past four years.

Clarke began the year this season with the Jays’ Double-A affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats. After putting together a solid first couple of months where he hit an impressive .307 with a .788 OPS, 8 RBI, 2 stolen bases, 16 walks and just 5 strikeouts in 29 games, he received a well-earned promotion to Buffalo. Since then, Clarke has registered his first Triple-A home run, along with 9 runs scored, 8 RBI and 2 stolen bases in 21 games. 

With Danny Jansen finding himself right in the middle of swirling trade rumors, there is a high possibility that he will have a new home by next week. So rather than calling up serviceable veterans such as Brian Serven, Payton Henry and Max McDowell to fill out the backup role behind Alejandro Kirk, the Jays should give Clarke the opportunity instead. Since by that time, the Jays will likely be just playing out the season, it would be more productive for them to give Clarke a run at the job to see what they have in the promising prospect. If he does well, he could become a viable option down the road. Whereas if he struggles mightily, then the Jays would know some more work needs to be done for the catching position for the future.