Blue Jays prospect Hagen Danner has been promoted to Triple-A Buffalo

The Toronto Blue Jays are promoting yet another prospect from Double-A New Hampshire to Triple-A Buffalo as relief pitcher Hagen Danner has now gotten the call.

Danner, 24, has climbed up to the No. 22 spot in the Blue Jays' system (per MLB.com's latest rankings) and for good reason. He was drafted by the club back in 2017 as a catcher and after three unsuccessful seasons as a position player, elected to use his incredible arm strength on the mound instead.

In 2021, his pitching debut went well, as he posted a 2.02 ERA across 25 outings and 35.2 innings of work. In that time, he struck out 42 batters while walking just 12 and allowing only two home runs all year. 2022 was cut short for Danner as he suffered a shoulder injury early in the year that took him out for the entirety of the second half of the season.

Now, he's back and feeling good. I caught up with Danner himself, who said he worked tirelessly to simplify things during the 2022-2023 offseason.

"I made sure I felt loose and healthy because I knew that if I was healthy mentally and physically, things would work themselves out." So far, work out things have. In a total of 10 outings, Danner has a combined 3.27 ERA with a whopping 21 strikeouts, four walks and zero home runs. He has been a strikeout machine this season, punching out over 17 batters per nine innings.

While this is a small sample size, it's still a highly encouraging sign. "I have really been throwing everything with conviction, I just want to beat the batters in any way that I can", he continues. He possesses a lethal three-pitch mix that is highlighted by a high-90s fastball and massive, sweeping slider. He also utilizes a curveball that he uses nicely to throw batters off from his heater.

Danner was selected to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster this past offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, so he automatically has a leg up on some of his competition. With the uncertainty surrounding certain relievers on the Blue Jays' roster, there's certainly a possibility that we see him in the big leagues later on in the current season.