Blue Jays prospect Josh Kasevich discusses his approach at the plate and mentatilty on the field with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2022, infielder Josh Kasevich has hit the ground running since making his professional debut almost two years ago. He had a cough of coffee with the Dunedin Blue Jays to finish out the 2022 campaign before spending all of last season with the Vancouver Canadians, helping the high-A club win another Northwest League Championship.

This season, Kasevich is starting at another new level in his quest for the Major Leagues, joining the Blue Jays double-A affiliate in New Hampshire to start the 2024 campaign.

“It feels great, I was excited to learn I would start the season in New Hampshire with the Fisher Cats,” said Kasevich, speaking to Blue Jays Nation. “I love moving up to face new players and play with new teammates and I am just excited and grateful for the opportunity.”

A contact hitter by trade, Kasevich has carried over a solid slash line in Vancouver (.284/.263/.365 with a .728 OPS), his first full professional campaign, into this season.

With the Fisher Cats, the right-handed batter owns a .340/.392/.447 slash line with eight extra-base hits and 20 RBIs through 94 at-bats. He has eight walks on the year compared to 13 strikeouts with four stolen bases added in. Kasevich owns a .388 BABip and a 142 wRC+ through 22 games and has accounted for 11 runs while working in the top three of the lineup regularly.

“I have found that the biggest thing is simplicity at the plate, working through my game plan and just executing what I have worked on,” said Kasevich. “I try to stay through the middle of the infield and work on the opposing pitcher’s fastball for timing purposes. If I can get that down, I find that I can capitalize on any pitch thrown my way, especially when an offspeed pitch is mixed in, which pitchers in this level throw at an increased rate compared to my previous two seasons because of their experience.”

Regarded for his work ethic both on and off the field, Kasevich is considered one of the top defensive infielders within the Blue Jays organization.

Primarily working on the left side of the infield, the Oregon alum has only played at shortstop since being moved to double-A and continues to shine at the position. Through 22 games and 190 innings, Kasevich has just one error to his name with 28 putouts, 45 assists, and a .986 fielding percentage. He makes the plays one would expect from an everyday shortstop and his plus arm and ability to handle the workload could easily see him hold the position as he works his way up the minor league ladder.

“I love talking about defense and fielding,”  laughed Kasevich. “It is one of my favourite parts of the game. When I am on the field, I always have that mentality of ‘hit the ball to me, I want the ball hit to me”, because I want to be able to support our pitcher and the team by making these outs and being able to help our team win ball games. I love being aggressive on the field, seeing the ball coming to me and being able to make plays and get the outs that help our team.”

In his first season with the Fisher Cats, Kasevich currently leads the squad in average and hits (32) while ranking in the top five in terms of OBP, SLG, OPS, doubles, and walks as he continues to put the ball in play at a high rate. He has eight multi-hit games so far this campaign, including two four-hit games, and has been held hitless through just five contests as he continues to showcase his plus contact ability. Kasevich is tied with Benjamin Cowles (Somerset Patriots – Yankees) for the hits title within the Eastern League while ranking fourth with his .340 batting average and sits tied for third in terms of RBIs.

The California product has increased his line drive percentage by over 12% to 30.4% since reaching double-A and hits the ball to all parts of the field, 37% pull, 25.9% to centre field, and 37% to opposite field, while decreasing his fly ball rate from 29.9% in 2023 to 21.5% in New Hampshire.

Even with the success on the field, Kasevich continues to work on getting better on both sides of the game as he continues to work towards the big leagues.

“I want to keep developing and just getting better against talented players,” said Kasevich. “You will always want to keep getting better and working on things day in and day out, and I think I can still reach new heights with my contact ability and improve my range at the plate. I just love competing daily and taking what I learned in practice and the cages into game time and trusting the work I put in to keep working towards the next level.”

With an estimated MLB arrival time of 2025, Josh Kasevich continues to find success on both sides of the ball which should see him gain more attention from the Blue Jays organization and scouts/analysts across the league.

If he continues to put forward competitive at-bats and continues to showcase his elite fielding ability daily, Kasevich should be in Buffalo by the end of the season as he works towards an MLB debut shortly.