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
<h2>Getting to know Josh Kasevich…</h2>
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.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Josh Kasevich just hit his first professional home run to give the Canadians a 5-0 lead!!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NextLevel?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NextLevel</a> <a href="https://t.co/71qCc06mmy">pic.twitter.com/71qCc06mmy</a>
&mdash; Brennan qualifying offer Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1668823865886232579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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. <a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/toronto-blue-jays-top-31-prospects/">Fangraphs has Kasevich as their ninth-best Blue Jays prospect</a>, <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/mlb/scott-mitchell-top-50-blue-jays-prospects-of-2024-1.2064424">Scott Mitchell has him ranked 21st on his top 50 list</a>, while <a href="https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2023-toronto-blue-jays/prospects/">Baseball America has him as their 15th-best Blue Jays prospect</a>.
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).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
What a defensive game from Josh Kasevich tonight, man.<a href="https://t.co/Umy8RJTyoT">pic.twitter.com/Umy8RJTyoT</a>
&mdash; Brennan qualifying offer Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1702899401994154177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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.
<h2>In case you missed it…</h2>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-the-honourable-mentions">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown: The honourable mentions</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-32-michael-dominguez">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 32: Michael Dominguez</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-31-connor-ohalloran">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 31: Connor O&#8217;Halloran</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-30-brennan-orf">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 30: Brennan Orf</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-29-adrian-pinto">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 29: Adrian Pinto</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-28-franklin-rojas">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 28: Franklin Rojas</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-27-gabriel-martinez">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 27: Gabriel Martinez</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-26-rafael-lantigua">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 26: Rafael Lantigua</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-25-kendry-rojas">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 25: Kendry Rojas</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-24-connor-cooke">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 24: Connor Cooke</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-23-cj-van-eyk">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 23: CJ Van Eyk</a>
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As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.
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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
<h2>Getting to know Josh Kasevich…</h2>
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.

https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1668823865886232579

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. <a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/toronto-blue-jays-top-31-prospects/">Fangraphs has Kasevich as their ninth-best Blue Jays prospect</a>, <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/mlb/scott-mitchell-top-50-blue-jays-prospects-of-2024-1.2064424">Scott Mitchell has him ranked 21st on his top 50 list</a>, while <a href="https://www.baseballamerica.com/teams/2023-toronto-blue-jays/prospects/">Baseball America has him as their 15th-best Blue Jays prospect</a>.

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).

https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1702899401994154177

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.
<h2>In case you missed it…</h2>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-the-honourable-mentions">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown: The honourable mentions</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-32-michael-dominguez">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 32: Michael Dominguez</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-31-connor-ohalloran">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 31: Connor O'Halloran</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-30-brennan-orf">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 30: Brennan Orf</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-29-adrian-pinto">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 29: Adrian Pinto</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-28-franklin-rojas">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 28: Franklin Rojas</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-27-gabriel-martinez">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 27: Gabriel Martinez</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-26-rafael-lantigua">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 26: Rafael Lantigua</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-25-kendry-rojas">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 25: Kendry Rojas</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-24-connor-cooke">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 24: Connor Cooke</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-23-cj-van-eyk">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 23: CJ Van Eyk</a>

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As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.

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<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center;"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

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

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