DUNEDIN, Fla. – For some players, spring training amounts to an overly tedious preamble to the main event. For others, it’s something more — a chance to develop alongside the best in their sport.
Back in February, Danny Jansen arrived at spring training with the intention of getting to know the Blue Jays’ pitchers as well as possible. Though he has just 22 games of experience above double-A, Jansen ranks ninth among all catching prospects, according to Baseball America, and could contribute to the big-league team this spring. As such, he wanted to ensure he’d be as prepared as possible.
The 22-year-old appeared in 10 spring games before the Blue Jays optioned him to triple-A this week, collecting two hits in 15 trips to the plate. More importantly, though, he had the chance to work with Blue Jays pitchers and learn their tendencies, strengths and weaknesses.
"It’s a confidence thing. Being able to go up there and play in a lot of the games, backing up Russ (Martin) and (Luke) Maile and even starting a few (games)," Jansen said. "I really wanted to have that, try to master that, because it’s a different animal, man, being up there. I haven’t experienced it obviously, but just that comfort level. I’ve taken some confidence and comfort away from that."
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Jansen worked most often with relievers Ryan Tepera, Aaron Loup and Roberto Osuna in the course of the month he spent in big-league camp. Before each bullpen session he’d compare notes with the understanding that they’d adjust once the game begins.
"You want to be on the same page. It’s your workplace, so you approach them and see what they’ve got for the day," Jansen said. "(And) when the game unfolds that’s when you learn the most."
At the plate Jansen hit .323/.400/.484 with more walks than strikeouts across three levels last year, establishing himself as one of the Blue Jays’ most intriguing prospects.
OVERREACTING TO SMALL SAMPLES
There’s always activity at the Blue Jays’ minor-league complex, so I spent some time there this week, watching top prospects with interest while trying not to overreact to the smallest of small sample sizes: an intra-squad, minor-league spring training game.
The game had umpires and plenty of Blue Jays front office types were watching, but this was essentially a practice. As one player joked, “What would it take to get tossed out of a spring training intra-squad game?”
In the end, we never did find out, but at the very least I was able to watch some of the organization’s top prospects at work. Continue reading only if you’re willing to be swayed by the anecdotal…
• Max Pentecost continues to show promise at the plate, this time with a home run against fellow 2014 draft pick Sean Reid-Foley. Pentecost also caught, and watching his throws to second you wouldn’t guess that he has battled shoulder injuries over the years.
• There were only a few dozen fans at the minor-league complex, including a couple of kids whose ‘Let’s go, Blue Jays!’ chant was foolproof for an intra-squad game. Mostly, the crowd consisted of fellow players and front office execs. On Wednesday, I happened to be sitting beside 1996 Cy Young Award winner Pat Hentgen and a handful of minor-league pitchers. Even in a meaningless game they were comparing notes constantly as they watched fellow pitchers attack minor-league hitters.
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• His father was aggressive to an extreme degree, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s happy to wait. On Wednesday morning, he took pitches in BP if they weren’t to his liking. In the afternoon, he worked the count full, fouled a pitch off and singled up the middle off of Jon Harris. Impressive, and he showed similar patience and plate coverage against Phillies minor-leaguers on Thursday. At one point Guerrero Jr. stole a base, sliding headfirst into second. Realistically he’s not a stolen-base threat going forward, but there’s plenty of reason to believe he’ll continue to work counts and draw walks.
• Nate Pearson impressed in his two innings of work Thursday, reaching 100 m.p.h. twice and hitting 99 a couple of other times. Jansen, who caught Pearson, was impressed with the right-hander’s arsenal, and so was Blue Jays director of player development Gil Kim. Aside from the fastball, Pearson mixed in a hard slider that plays off the fastball, a changeup that checks in close to 90 m.p.h. and a developing curve.
