Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 22: Josh Kasevich

5 months ago

Today’s prospect will likely stick at an important position

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 Josh Kasevich

Getting to know Josh Kasevich…

Position: Shortstop/Third base

Bats: Right

Born: January 17, 2001

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

2023 Team: High-A Vancouver

Previous Ranking: 22

Kasevich was selected in the second-round of the 2022 draft (60th-overall) and spent his first season in the organization with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays. There, he slashed .262/.344/.336 with a 9 BB% and a 7.4 BB% in 122 plate appearances. Unfortunately, he didn’t hit his first professional home run, but he did have eight doubles and plenty of singles.

The 23-year-old shortstop was promoted to High-A to start his 2023 season and spent the entire season with the Vancouver Canadians. Kasevich slashed .284/.363/.365 with four home runs in 383 plate appearances for a 103 wRC+. On top of that, Kasevich had a 9.9 BB% and a 10.7 K%, always great numbers for a hit-over-power type of bat.

There are two areas that Kasevich excels at, his hit tool and his defence. The 23-year-old is likely going to stick at shortstop as he has a strong arm and good footwork. His hit tool is one of the best in the organization, getting to balls in locations where most can’t, and there’s a good shot he’ll hit for a high average in his professional career.

Kasevich ranks on all three publication’s lists. Fangraphs has Kasevich as their ninth-best Blue Jays prospect, Scott Mitchell has him ranked 21st on his top 50 list, while Baseball America has him as their 15th-best Blue Jays prospect.

Fangraphs points out that Kasevich has a 5.2% whiff rate, which was one of the lowest in all of minor league baseball in 2023. All publications note that he’s a hit-over-power player, but Fangraphs believes he’s an iffy fit at shortstop and is better suited to third base. Mitchell, on the other hand, thinks Kasevich is an elite defender at shortstop (but acknowledges that some other evaluators have opposing thoughts).

Either way, the 2024 season will be a big one for Kasevich, as he may get his first shot in the upper-minors with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. It’s to be seen if he starts the season there, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him end the season in New Hampshire.