Hidden gems can take time to shine
Every successful rebuild needs to find at least a couple of hidden gems, players who arrive with low expectations and become long-term pieces. Teams are rarely built through the draft and free agency alone. Creative trades are required and occasionally the ones that get ignored come with the most benefits.
Jose Bautista originally was acquired from Pittsburgh as a temporary fill-in at third base. Edwin Encarnacion was tossed into a trade with the Reds to help offset the salary of Scott Rolen. Marco Estrada was brought in as a swingman and became a key starter for a team that made back-to-back appearances in the AL Championship Series. All three were bit parts who turned into something much bigger.
One pitcher who has a shot at following a similar path — albeit to a lesser degree — is right-hander Thomas Hatch. Six months ago, the 25-yearold appeared to have little hope of becoming anything more than a part-time reliever. Now, after a strong run at double-A New Hampshire, Hatch has visions of joining the Blue Jays’ rotation at some point in 2020, even if he’s not among the top candidates being considered for a job by opening day.
“I definitely think the way I came into the organization and made some adjustments, I think I turned some heads,” Hatch said at the club’s minicamp for prospects last month. “I’m excited about the opportunities that lay ahead … I’m excited for the future of the Blue Jays. Hopefully all of us are here for a long time and can contribute to a lot of success.”
Hatch was in the middle of an underwhelming season at double-A Tennessee when the Jays acquired him at least year’s deadline for reliever David Phelps. The former third-round pick was 4-10 with a 4.59 ERA, while striking out 93 and walking 37 across 100 innings. From an outsider’s perspective, his career was nearing a crossroads and a transition to the bullpen appeared inevitable.
That’s why Hatch’s name was a mere footnote during a trade deadline period that saw general manager Ross Atkins make a flurry of deals. Toronto’s returns for Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez dominated the talk, while the Phelps trade involving Hatch was merely tossed into the roundups, barely worth a mention. Or so it seemed.
Despite Hatch’s struggles with the Cubs, the Blue Jays saw something they liked. The product of Oklahoma State had decent velocity with a fastball that sat at 93 to 94 m.p.h. and touched 96 to 97 m.p.h., but it was the spin rate that stood out. According to FanGraphs, Hatch had an average fastball spin rate of 2,550 revolutions per minute in 2019. The amount of spin changes the ball’s trajectory, and the rate of an average big-league arm is approximately 2,200 rpm. Hatch’s number is similar to that of Gerrit Cole.
The spin rate was enough for the Jays to take a flyer on Hatch and, once he was in the system, they made a few other adjustments. New Hampshire pitching coach Vince Horsman took one look at Hatch’s changeup and determined he wasn’t using the pitch nearly enough. He started going to it more frequently and it became a useful complement to his fastball and cutter.
Hatch’s turnaround, which he also attributed to improved health, was almost immediate. He made six starts after the deadline, with a 2.80 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 35 ⁄ innings. Over his final two outings, Hatch allowed two runs on six hits, struck out 15 and didn’t walk a batter over 14 innings. A small sample size and yet more than enough for the Jays to protect him before the Rule 5 draft.
“It is disappointing the season ended there because you kind of want to keep going,” Hatch said. “But it’s good to get the arm rested. I started throwing (in November), bullpens and stuff. It feels like I picked up where I left off.”
Don’t confuse this optimism with thinking Hatch is a guarantee. His track record isn’t long and shoulder issues, which plagued earlier stretches of his career, might resurface any time. Two months from now, Hatch could just as easily return to his previous trajectory. For now, though, the Jays have every intention of taking a long look. The potential is there, and more recently, the results have been, too.
Nate Pearson and a group of young starters vying for the final spot in Toronto’s rotation figure to attract most of the attention this spring. Ryan Borucki, Trent Thornton, Shun Yamaguchi and Anthony Kay are among those ahead of Hatch on the depth chart. Nobody is getting carried away on the upside, there are a lot of variables at play, but everyone agrees Hatch is a name to watch in 2020 and it might not be long before he enters the mix.
“I love that our guys are going to be competing for jobs,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “That’s the only way you can get better.”