At least for now, catcher Gabriel Moreno has graduated to the big leagues. So for the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans, the prospect focus on the Buffalo Bisons has squarely turned to infielder Jordan Groshans.
The 22-year-old has got the billing at No. 3 on the Jays' list, according to MLB.com, and is now working on providing the results. After three straight hitless games that had dropped his batting average below .300, Groshans bounced back to go 2 for 4 Sunday in Buffalo's 4-3 loss to the Worcester Red Sox in Sahlen Field.
The Blue Jays' top prospect played all of 14 games in Sahlen Field, a mere 46 at-bats (although he batted a robust .391). Moreno batted .324 for the Bisons and led all Triple-A catchers in runners caught stealing (15) and caught-stealing rate (53.6%). There's no doubt he looked awfully polished for a 22-year-old.
Groshans was the Blue Jays' No. 1 pick in 2018, taken 12th overall out of Magnolia (Texas) High School. He played only 23 games in 2019 due to a foot injury and then only got to play at Toronto's Alternate Training Site in Rochester in 2020 when the minor-league season was canceled. Back trouble limited him to 75 games last year at Double-A New Hampshire and he opened this season on the IL with an oblique issue.
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The Blue Jays need Groshans to stay healthy but they have to like what they see when he's on the field. He's batting .291 for the Bisons in 33 games and showing plate discipline far beyond his years, with 19 walks and only 18 strikeouts in 110 at-bats.
"I'm just being patient and taking what the game gives me, not trying to do too much in certain situations," said the 6-foot-3 Groshans. "I'm working hard to trust the game, trusting what they throw to me, recognizing it and going with it. The plate discipline is pretty big for you to have success and I've been doing a pretty good job with that."
Groshans has only one home run and 15 RBIs but impresses Toronto brass with lots of little things at the plate. In the seventh inning Sunday, for instance, he drove a first-pitch fly ball to right-center that allowed Samad Taylor to tag and go from second to third en route to scoring a go-ahead run.
"He's got really good barrel awareness with his bat every time up," said manager Casey Candaele. "He's able to make adjustments at the plate and takes what pitchers give him when he's behind in the count. That's a pretty mature thing to do. He's a 22-year-old hitter right now, which is pretty impressive. He knows how to hit. He's not just swinging. As you get older, then I would look for him to do more damage."
Groshans has mostly been a shortstop but with Bo Bichette in Toronto, he needs looks at other positions. There were no issues Sunday as he played first base for the first time in Triple-A.
"Very rarely do you go to the big leagues in your normal position," Candaele said. "In this day and age, it's more likely you play different positions. They have some pretty young players up there. You want to be prepared to say yes when they say, 'Hey, has he played any time here or there?'"
"The Blue Jays really trust their staff and what they bring to the table in developing players," Groshan said. "By the time they get here, if they need them, they know they're going to be in the right spots, mentally more than anything and physically, to go up there and take advantage of every opportunity.
"You see the business side for sure more at Triple-A, but the game itself isn't too different really. You notice the pace of play sometimes because there's less mistakes at this level and the game gets played more efficiently. You just have to slow the game down and not let it speed you up."
Tough loss
The Bisons' two-game winning streak ended as they struck out 14 times and left 12 men on base, including the tying run at third in the bottom of the ninth. Taylor went 3 for 5 and scored twice.
Worcester won the game with a three-run eighth as Jeter Downs belted a two-run homer and Jarren Duran followed with a solo shot, both off Bowden Francis, to erase the Bisons' 2-1 lead. Buffalo had been 26-0 this season when leading after seven innings.
"We battled and that's good. Just left a lot of guys on base," Candaele said. "You have to make things happen and this was a game where they did and they hurt us late."
The Bisons tallied on wild pitches in the second and seventh as Chavez Young and Taylor each bolted home from third to score. Zack Collins' RBI double in the ninth got the Herd within a run.
Around the horn
• The Bisons went 2-4 for the second straight series but pulled within 1½ games of first-place Rochester in the IL East as the Red Wings dropped all six games in their series at St. Paul.
• The Bisons sold 6,555 tickets for Sunday's series finale, giving them a robust total of 32,273 for the three games over the weekend. Saturday's Star Wars Night crowd of 15,490 was the biggest of the season in the minor leagues.
• The Bisons are 16-13 at home this season and 17-13 on the road. Their next six-game series opens Tuesday night at Lehigh Valley. The next set at home starts June 21 against St. Paul in the first visit to Buffalo by the Minnesota affiliate, which joined the IL last season.
