Prospects’ debuts give Jays fans reason for optimism
KANSAS CITY New Hampshire Fisher Cats manager John Schneider wouldn’t think of not watching baseball on a rare night off.
Not when two of his proteges were making their major-league debuts for the Toronto Blue Jays Monday at Kauffman Stadium.
Schneider would have had plenty of company watching starting pitcher Sean Reid-foley and catcher Danny Jansen hit the show at the same time, as employees throughout the organization look for bright spots in a season of enduring gloom.
“For us in player development, it’s why we do what we do, to see guys work their way through the system and get up to the big-league club,” said Schneider. “It’s exciting for us, and hopefully, it’s exciting for the fans to see some of these good young kids coming up.”
It was a magical Monday in the steamy Midwest for Reid-foley and Jansen, both of whom have been chugging through the Jays pipeline for more than five years.
They formed the battery in single-a ball and advanced up the ladder to double-a New Hampshire in 2017 and triple-a Buffalo this year. And now they hit the bigs together, the first time an American League pitcher and catcher have done so in 51 years.
“The last couple of days have been overwhelming, with all the people reaching out, all the people who have meant so much to me in my career,” Jansen said just hours before Monday’s game. He hit a single to left field in his first career at-bat.
Schneider is one of those people. A former catcher himself, there was a natural connection with Jansen. And the Jays have clearly targeted the 38-year-old as the guy they want handling their most prized commodities. He has coached both Reid-foley and Jansen at multiple levels in the organization and was also tagged to steer the progression of potential stars Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
“I go back all the way to 2012 with (Jansen) in the Gulf Coast League. You remember all those 7 a.m. days throwing and seeing all the hard work they put in, and you’re just really happy for them,” Schneider said.
So where do the latest prospects to arrive figure in the Jays’ future?
Jansen is the team’s No. 3 overall ranked prospect (according to MLB Pipeline), and by all accounts, is projected to be the team’s catcher of the future.
“He’s here, he’s going to play,” manager John Gibbons said of Jansen, confirming Jansen will also start Tuesday when his best pal and fellow rookie Ryan Borucki gets the start on the mound.
Reid-foley’s immediate future doesn’t seem quite as cemented, but that could change over the next couple of weeks. When he pulled No. 54 over his shoulders on Monday, he was ranked as the Jays’ No. 9 prospect and is certainly one of the top arms in the system.
With all the turmoil around his future, Gibbons enjoys moments like Monday’s where he gets to facilitate the dream. And his advice was sound.
“There’s only one first game,” Gibbons said of the maiden-breaking effort that awaited. “Good, bad or ugly, enjoy it. It’s not going to make or break your career.”