Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 19: Cade Doughty

Photo credit:MiLB.com

5 months ago

The prospect we’ll look at today has some serious raw power.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual pre-season list, in which I’ll take a look at the top 50 prospects in the organization. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and other publications’ scouting reports if available.

Let’s take a look at Cade Doughty

Getting to know Cade Doughty…

Position: Third base/Second base

Bats: Right

Born: March 26, 2001

Acquired: 2nd-round compensation, 2022 draft (Blue Jays)

2023 Team: High-A Vancouver

Previous Ranking: 18

Doughty spent three seasons at Louisiana State University, slashing .301/.379/.541 with 30 home runs in 603 plate appearances. At the 2022 draft, the Jays selected Doughty 78th overall with the compensation pick they received for Robbie Ray signing with the Seattle Mariners.

The third baseman had a successful start to his professional career, playing solely for the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2022. He slashed .272/.370/.495 with six home runs in 119 plate appearances, along with an 8.4 BB% and a 24.4 K%. On top of the six home runs in the regular season, Doughty also hit a dinger in Dunedin’s playoff run.

To start the 2023 season, the Blue Jays tested the 22-year-old, as he started the season in Vancouver. With the only Canadian minor league team, Doughty slashed .264/.342/.459 with 18 home runs in 424 plate appearances. The worrisome sign regarding Doughty’s game is the increase in strikeouts, as his K% ballooned to 29.7% while his BB% in Vancouver was 8.3%.

Still, Doughty’s 18 home runs was the sixth-most in the organization, behind prospects Orelvis Martinez, Damiano Palmegiani, Davis Schneider, Will Robertson, and Devonte Brown. Moreover, Doughty helped lead the Canadians to a Northwest League title.

Doughty ranks on two lists heading into the 2024 season, ranking as Fangraphs’ 15th-best Blue Jays prospect, and Scott Mitchell’s 16th-best Blue Jays prospect. Surprisingly, he fell off Baseball America’s Top 30 Blue Jays list.

Fangraphs noted that he does a good job hitting fastballs, but is aggressive and doesn’t work counts a lot. It’s also mentioned in his scouting report on Fangraphs that his batted ball data (launch angle, mainly) isn’t what you’d expect from a third baseman with power. Fangraphs are also high on his ability to make contact, but believe he could move to left field in the future.

It’s likely that Doughty starts the 2024 season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, where he’ll really be tested. The next step to becoming a better player is avoiding strikeouts while continuing to hit for power.