Blue Jays 2023 MLB Draft Primer: Catchers
By Nick Prasad
11 months agoThe 2023 Major League Baseball amateur draft is approaching and the Toronto Blue Jays will make their selections in the 20th spot in this year’s prospect fiesta. The Blue Jays have had some significant successful draft selections over the past few years and look to further equip their farm system with possible future big league stars. What positions should be prioritized in the first three rounds?
Toronto’s farm system currently ranks 20th of 30 teams in the majors, falling a few spots over the years due to promotions and transactions. One huge transaction this offseason welcomed an exceptional athlete to the Blue Jays outfield squad but cost a pretty buck in the form of a top prospect. Daulton Varsho joined the Jays and has been electric all around, Toronto surrendered top prospect catcher Gabriel Moreno. Although the trade is currently working as designed for the Blue Jays, Toronto only has one catcher ranked on the top 30 prospect list, Luis Meza, an international signee in 2022. The Blue Jays should prioritize drafting a catcher within the first three rounds.
It would be hard to start this conversation without starting with Kyle Teel. Teel is a catcher for the University of West Virginia and is in his junior year. The 21-year-old originates from New Jersey and attended Mahwah High School in Mahwah, New Jersey. Perfect Game ranked Teel first overall and first-ranked catcher in all of New Jersey, with a 142 national ranking and 11th national catching rank. This leads into his college career where he flourishes as a full-time starter. Teel is a very projectable player with evidence of exponential development, physically and numerically. His numbers in 2023 were much improved from 2022. He’s played eight fewer games with 25 more hits, at 86, three more home runs, at 9 on the year, and seven more RBIs at 52. He’s currently at a .416 batting average and a .481 on-base percentage.
Although Teel is able to play other positions such as second, third, or the outfield, it is without a doubt that he’ll be a primary catcher. His defence is above satisfactory with a good display of receiving, framing, blocking, and footwork. He sets up with a one-knee stance and glides his glove from the bottom up, sticking right in and around the strike zone. Compared to other catchers in this draft, Teel paints a competitive physical makeup that translates a 6’1” 190lbs frame into quick bat speed with an aggressive swing that generates raw power. His running grade is a 50 on the 20-80 scale but his ability to hustle supersedes that. Recently, his bat has been more consistent with optimism to be one of the best offensive-catching prospects in this class. He may be the one pick that is closest to replacing Gabriel Moreno.
The next option that best suits the Blue Jays is an unorthodox one as he’s out of high school. Alex Sosa is a 2023 graduate out of Viera High School in Florida. Although a developed catching option out of college would be ideal to fit the draft evaluations, Sosa is an exception, while ranked 118 of the top 150 draft prospects by MLB. On the high school field and Perfect Game showcases, Sosa is a strong physical presence behind the plate, and is highly recognized in the box. He’s 6’1” 190lbs in high school, with room to grow. He has an athletic-strong build that exhibits in the batter’s box along with an average workable arm and a 1.93 best pop time. Sosa shows excellent footwork behind the plate and has a quick release down to second base. His arm lags a bit with delayed movement and his throw sends him off balance on his finish; however, this will change with maturity development.
His swing is repeated and flows with his hips and lower body, getting the bat head out and using all fields to hit. His batting practice rounds are money! Hit-and-run style simulations along with swing-away repetitions are executed well in a hard line-drive approach. At a young age, Sosa’s player makeup and profile will be coachable and a successful project for a Major League club to shape up and prepare for the long run of the farm system. Alex Sosa is the style of catcher to be right behind Luis Meza, as Meza climbs the ranks.
ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO
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