Blue Jays Nation’s countdown of the top 20 Canadian baseball prospects for 2025 continues with a Blue Jays prospect that continues to inch closer to the Major Leagues after a productive 2024 season.

Hometown: Oakville, Ontario

Organization: Toronto Blue Jays

Position: Centerfield

Acquired: 3rd round, 2019 Draft (TOR)

Dasan Brown has been one of the more intriguing prospects in the Jays’ system after signing for an $800k signing bonus back in 2019. Brown is perhaps the very best athlete in the entire organization, with game changing speed and the ability to go get balls in the outfield with ease. The Jays have focused on developing other parts of his game over the last five-plus years.

After playing just 14 rookie ball games as a 17-year-old at the tail end of 2019, the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team product’s development was put on pause thanks to the 2020 season being lost due to the pandemic. The five-foot-eleven Ontario product moved to single-A Dunedin upon minor league baseball’s return in 2021 and he was still young for the level, slashing .212/.310/.323 with a .633 OPS across 51 games.

The 2022 season showed what kind of offensive potential he has. He maintained a .803 OPS split between three different levels although spending most of his time in Dunedin and high-A Vancouver. Unfortunately, he came back down to earth a little bit in 2023, as the speedy centerfielder slashed just .218/.309/.315 through 107 games in Vancouver. He also added 26 stolen bases.

Things came together for Brown in 2024, as his offensive game blossomed with another full season with the Canadians. Over 74 games, he slashed .257/.363/.411 while also producing eight home runs and 39 RBIs. He saw a bit of a decline in his production after a later season call-up to double-A New Hampshire (.217/.285/.302), but it was still a successful overall season for him. His base stealing took a big step forward, as he stole 35 bases while only being caught four times.

In today’s game, teams often have no trouble finding a roster spot for a guy they can rely on to play quality defense and run well. Brown’s excellent centerfield defense and speed give him the floor of being a team’s fourth outfielder at the big league level. Of course, he has certainly displayed the potential to be so much more.

The Oakville, Ontario native’s instincts combined with his athleticism give him a chance to be an elite defender in center field. He was honoured with the minor league Gold Glove award after the 2024 season, and there is a real chance that if he becomes a regular starter in Toronto, he could take home a Major League Gold Glove award someday.

Brown showed in Vancouver in 2024 that he has the skills to be a Major League starter someday. His on-base skills made him a natural fit for the leadoff spot for the affiliate all year. His 11.9 BB% was the highest he had put forth in any minor league spot in his career and showed that the game was starting to slow down for him. For a guy that doesn’t have the most power (25 career home runs), Brown will have to continue to take walks and get on base any way he can.

After playing 32 games in New Hampshire last year, Brown is likely ticketed for a return to the double-A affiliate to start 2025. He is now at an age where he is within striking distance of the Major Leagues, but proving that he can hit will once again be necessary for further advancement. This will also be Brown’s sixth year in the Blue Jays system, so he is technically eligible for minor league free agency after this upcoming season barring a contract extension or being placed on the 40-man roster.

If he can maintain an on-base percentage around .350 this season, there’s a chance that we could see the dynamic outfielder debut in Toronto by the end of the year given his plus defence. However, he will need to keep finding ways to get on base at a higher clip to stand out in an outfield group that has become deeper this past year.

15. Émilien Pitre

16. Adam Maier

17. Liam Hicks

18. David McCabe

19. Calvin Ziegler

20. Jeremy Pilon