Could Dasan Brown be the Blue Jays future CF?

The Blue Jays might need significant re-tooling after the 2023 season. One internal outfield prospect provides an interesting option.

The Blue Jays have been in “win now” mode for the last couple of seasons. In 2021 they went 91-71 and missed the playoffs by one game. In 2022 they went 92-70 and earned the first AL wild card spot. However the way they blew a 8-1 lead in game 2 of the wild card series, only to lose the game 10-9 and the series will sting the Jays and their fans for a long time to come.

In 2023 they will no doubt look for ways to do more than just make the playoffs. They want a deep run in October. I’m expecting the front office to augment the team but the majority of the players to be 2022 hold overs.

2024 could be a different story. Several current Jays are eligible for free agency after the 2023 season and as I wrote about not long ago, they might not be able to retain them all (and considering they are an aging group by MLB standards, they might even prefer to cut ties with a few of them in favour of some younger options)

Barring a contract extension, some of the Jays players who will be FA eligible in a year are outfielders Teoscar Hernandez, Raimel Tapia and (reportedly) Lourdes Gurriel Jr. This has been cause for concern, especially since there doesn’t appear to be much high ceiling outfield talent in the Jays’ high minor leagues.

Maybe the situation isn’t as dire as it might appear.

A recent article by Keegan Matheson who covers the Jays for MLB, caught my attention. In “5 Blue Jays prospects on the rise” one of the prospects in question is 20 year old Canadian OF Dasan Brown. In the article, Matheson says “Brown’s speed is downright ridiculous. This makes him a tremendous defender too…” The question regarding Brown is will he produce enough on the offensive end to be a good everyday MLB player.

Drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 2019 draft, then 17 year old Brown played 14 games at rookie ball where he posted a respectable .800 OPS. As we all know, there was no MiLB baseball in 2020 due to the pandemic. Brown’s professional career resumed in 2021 and unfortunately his development appeared to take a step backwards. He played 51 games at A ball but could only manage a .633 OPS. 2022 was much better for Brown who made stops at rookie ball, low A and high A. In a total of 84 games, Brown had an OPS of .803. His .283 average and .383 OBP, together with his speed, could make him a valuable weapon offensively for the Jays. Assuming, of course, that he could do anything close to that in Major League Baseball.

Also, while I NEVER want the Jays to carry a player on their roster only because he is Canadian, if they assemble a team with talented players who help them win games and hopefully a championship, the fact that some of those players are Canadian is  icing on the cake.

People who know about my beliefs, likes and dislikes around the Jays probably already know how much I like Lourdes Gurriel Jr.and Teoscar Hernandez. I always believed in their talent and I had the pleasure of watching them grow as MLB players over their years with the Jays. Hernandez has two silver slugger awards and one all star appearance. Gurriel, though he can be inconsistent, is one of MLB’s best hitters when he gets hot.

Hernandez is 29, Gurriel 28. Whenever and wherever they sign their next contracts, they won’t come cheaply. The Jays already have close to $300 million in payroll committed in multi year contracts with George Springer, Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios. Their young star players, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bo Bichette and Alek Manoah will get expensive before too long. And they need to pay good players around the stars to keep the team contending. The Jays would benefit by finding places to save money while finding value in younger players who would be less expensive, for the first few seasons anyway.

While it breaks my heart to have to admit it, I think it very possible, probable even, that at least one of Gurriel and Hernandez will play elsewhere after the 2023 season.

This would likely mean the team will look different. Not necessarily worse, but different. Circling back around to Dasan Brown, MLB Pipeline estimates his major league ETA to be 2024. This could work very well with the Jays timeline, if this is how it works out.

Two strengths of the Jays in 2022 were their overall team offence, and their defence in the infield and at catcher. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.and 3B Matt Chapman were both finalists for the AL Gold Glove. 2B Santiago Espinal and C Alejandro Kirk could have been as well.

Outfield defence unfortunately wasn’t as strong. Of the every day players, only Springer had a positive score for outs above average (+ 1). Gurriel ( -2), Hernandez ( -4) and Raimel Tapia ( -5) were all negative. So let’s say that the Jays deem Brown to be MLB ready in 2024. He could take over as everyday CF, moving an aging and oft injured Springer to the somewhat less demanding RF (which he has played plenty of in the past). Maybe the Blue Jays keep one or Gurriel or Hernandez for LF (assuming they can come to terms), and let the other one leave. You might lose some offence but gain a great deal on defence. As I often say, a run saved is just as good as a run scored.

It will be very interesting to monitor Brown’s progress in 2023, assuming he will see some time at AA and maybe AAA. If all goes well, Canadian Brown could have a significant role in the Jays future.