Although spending his childhood, college career, and the first portion of his professional career on the West Coast, Blue Jays shortstop prospect Josh Kasevich has his eyes on playing successful baseball towards the East Coast – in multiple countries – in 2025.

The 23-year-old, who was drafted out of the University of Oregon by the Blue Jays in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft, has gradually moved up the organization ranks with his most recent promotion going from double-A New Hampshire to triple-A Buffalo last August.

“It becomes more real for sure,” said Kasevich, speaking to Blue Jays Nation. “When you’re a couple of steps away, it’s kind of hard to see, but you just keep grinding. Getting that call was like, ‘OK, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel’. I’m never going to stop working, but it’s definitely some motivation. You’re close, keep grinding and going in the right direction.”

Kasevich opened the 2024 season with New Hampshire, slashing .284/.333/.364 with three home runs, 41 RBIs, and 20 doubles through 87 total games. He played all but three games at shortstop, committing only six errors across 299 defensive chances, good for a .980 fielding percentage at the position. Kasevich was officially called up to Buffalo on August 6th, playing 41 games in the International League to round out the season.

He saw an uptick in offensive production, working his slash line up to .325/.382/.433 with three home runs, 23 RBIs, and 8 doubles. Kasevich finished the season strong with a .368 average, .950 OPS, and eight multi-hit games through 18 September contests.

With his 128 games played being a career-high at the professional level, Kasevich had a chance to learn a lot about his game. Near the forefront of that list was sticking to an approach and sticking to his strengths.

“My first full season in Vancouver, I was kind of over-analyzing scouting reports,” he said. “This year, I tried to keep it simple with my thoughts and my approach going into the box. Just to be as clear and concise as I can to go execute that plan.”

Kasevich had the opportunity to feel some of the ripple effects of the decisions and occurrences from the big league club this season, including being around several of the prospects that the Blue Jays received at the trade deadline.

During his final week in New Hampshire, Kasevich had a chance to meet Josh Rivera, Charles McAdoo, RJ Schreck, and Yohendrick Ponango, who were all assigned to Double-A once their respective trades became official. Even when Kasevich moved to Buffalo, he was able to meet Will Wagner and Jake Bloss, two pieces of the Yusei Kikuchi trade.

“From my perspective, it was cool to meet some great dudes,” Kasevich said. “Gaining those guys in your organization is always a plus…all these guys are stand-up dudes who can really play the game well.”

Kasevich had the chance to spend a couple of days around and take ground balls with Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who was on a rehab assignment with the Bisons in mid-September. Nearing the end of his rehab, Bichette joined the major league club for their series in Atlanta. Once that series concluded, he made the short trip over to Gwinnett to play four games with the Bisons.

“Watching him take BP is unbelievable,” Kasevich said. “It’s so cool to see how he approaches the game and what his thoughts are on defense, which is a part of the game I don’t think people talk about as much as they should.”

If learning from the two-time MLB leader in hits wasn’t enough, Kasevich also made it to Buffalo just in time to catch the final two weeks of Joey Votto’s illustrious career. Although it was only a short amount of time, the opportunity to be in the same clubhouse as Votto was one to remember. “He (Votto) is a one-of-a-kind dude who is just so genuine and was really helpful, which a guy like that – that’s a surefire Hall of Famer. I’m a guy coming up through the minors, he doesn’t have to be nice to me. He went out of his way to be a stand-up guy. He was so detailed. His routines are so refined. Everything he did had a purpose. There was just so much to take away from what he did.”

Kasevich is one of multiple players from the ’22 draft class that is knocking on the door of the MLB call-up, including outfielder Alan Roden and lefty reliever Mason Fluharty. Roden, who was also promoted from double-A to triple-A in the middle of last season and is a close friend of Kasevich’s, posted an impressive .916 OPS in 71 games in Buffalo with nine home runs, 48 RBIs, and 15 doubles.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Kasevich, speaking about the Blue Jays organization. “The people are awesome. The coaches are always there to help you, challenge you, guide you. Having mentors that you can look up to that have been there and done that, it’s unbelievable.”

Kasevich also holds the same level of praise for several specific players within the organization, and when asked who is a prospect fans should keep his eyes on, he noted catching prospect Aaron Parker. Parker was selected in the sixth round by the Blue Jays of the most recent MLB Draft after three seasons at the University of California Santa Barbara. The two grew up playing alongside each other and Parker is “one of the strongest dudes I’ve ever met” according to Kasevich.

Between a bat that has improved year over year and highly-lauded defensive skills at shortstop, Kasevich possesses a lot of winning qualities on the baseball diamond. Although sparingly, Kasevich has shown the ability to play at third base as well, which will only be to his benefit in an organization that values defensive flexibility.

“I love to work and I love to put my head down and grind, so when I get to the field I can do anything to help the team win,” Kasevich said. “That’s one thing I take a lot of pride in. Day in and day out, I will put the team in a position to win a baseball game.”