Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 48: Will Robertson

Photo credit:MLB.com

6 months ago

Who doesn’t love power hitting outfielders?

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 Will Robertson.

Getting to know Will Robertson…

Position: Outfielder

Bats: Left

Born: December 26, 1997

Acquired: 4th-round, 2019 draft (Blue Jays)

2023 Team: Double-A New Hampshire

Previous Ranking: Not Ranked

It’s been a long and winding road for the left-handed batting outfielder. Robertson looked great after the 2019 draft, slashing .268/.365/.404 with six homers in 263 plate appearances for a 124 wRC+ with the Short-A Vancouver Canadians.

His play declined with the High-A Vancouver Canadians in 2021, slashing just 235/.310/.385 with five homers in 248 plate appearances, while his K% increased from 18.6% in 2019 to 30.2% for an 88 wRC+.

Robertson followed up a mediocre 2021 season with another one in 2022 with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, slashing .215/.291/.401 with 12 homers in 340 plate appearances, along with a 28.2 K% for an 89 wRC+ On top of two homers in Single-A and one at the Complex, that gave Robertson a career-high 15 homers as a 25-year-old in Double-A.

However, Robertson put himself on the map in 2023, slashing .245/.323/.488 with a career-high 19 home runs in 412 plate appearances as he repeated the Double-A level. His 118 wRC+ was the best since his run in 2019.

Moreover, Robertson was one of the best hitters in the Jays organization from July 3rd onward, slashing .318/.371/.619 with 11 homers in just 194 plate appearances for a 164 wRC+. He attended the Arizona Fall League and slashed .279/.449/.485 with three homers in 89 plate appearances while winning the whole damn thing with the Surprise Saguaros.

Robertson’s raw power was always evident, as he had a 60 raw power grade back in 2021 according to Fangraphs. However, the same publication graded him with 30 game power at the time, with a future grade of 50 in that category. It appears that Robertson figured out how to hit for more game power in 2023 though, as his 19 home runs were the fourth-most in the organization.

The 26-year-old will be tested in Triple-A and will need to continue to hit for power while dropping the strikeout rate. If he can do that, there’s a pathway for him to make the big league club as a fourth outfielder.

Next up, we’ll take a look at a prep player the Blue Jays selected in 2021 who hasn’t quite figured it out yet.