Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown

Who doesn’t love relievers with nasty stuff?

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 Connor Cooke

Getting to know Connor Cooke…

Position: Relief Pitcher

Throws: Right

Born: November 2, 1999

Acquired: 10th-round, 2021 draft (Blue Jays)

2023 Team: Triple-A Buffalo

Previous Ranking: 49

Out of any prospect in the Blue Jays organization, there was no one who raised his stock as much as Connor Cooke.

Pitching just five innings in 2021, Cooke made his full-season debut with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays in 2022, posting a 4.86 ERA and a 3 FIP in 46.1 innings pitched, which included eight starts in 14 appearances. Cooke also struck out 32% of batters while walking just 7.1%. His tenure in High-A in 2022 was brief, posting a 6.75 ERA and a 4.97 FIP in 10.2 innings pitched, along with a 26.1 K% and 6.5 BB%.

To start the 2023 season, Cooke repeated the level and posted a 2.89 ERA and a 1.99 FIP in 9.1 innings, along with an insane 48.7 K% and 7.7 BB%. Cooke pitched most of the 2023 season with New Hampshire in Double-A and had a 4.38 ERA and a 2.10 FIP in 24.2 innings pitched, along with a 41.4 K% and a 6.3 BB%.

Cooke finished the 2023 season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, posting a 4.35 ERA and a 4.83 FIP in 10.1 innings pitched. The 24-year-old once again had a high 32.6 K%, but his BB% increased to 19.6%.

In Triple-A, Cooke’s fastball averaged 94 mph and had a 18.2 whiff%, the lowest of any pitch. His changeup was his best pitched, averaging 82.1 mph and having a 2791.1 RPM spin rate on it, but has clocked in above 3200 RPM. As you can imagine, the slider has a 45 whiff%, the highest of any of his three pitches. Cooke’s changeup averaged 84.8 mph and had a 27.3 whiff%.

If Connor Cooke (@connorcooke440) comes into the game with the bases loaded with two outs, he's probably going to strike you out.

Just a nasty slider. pic.twitter.com/H1iRGv3LUU

— Brennan qualifying offer Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) June 3, 2023

So far this off-season, Cooke ranks on all three lists we’ve been looking at. He ranks as Baseball America’s 10th best Blue Jays’ prospect, Fangraphs’ 14th-best Blue Jays’ prospect, and Scott Mitchell’s 23rd-best Blue Jays’ prospect.

Mitchell notes that Cooke has elite stuff, with a fastball that has been all over the place, sitting near triple digits at one point, and low-90s in college. Fangraphs’ note that Cooke has a low release hit which allows his slider to look like a fastball. They also note that the slider command isn’t consistent enough to get bad chases.

Either way, Cooke will have an opportunity to pitch with the Jays in 2024 if he does well in Triple-A. The stuff is elite, and he has a realistic shot of being a high-leverage reliever.