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Josh Kasevich’s strong Spring Training positions him to be the first Blue Jays’ call-up

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Josh Kasevich’s strong Spring Training positions him to be the first Blue Jays’ call-up

Josh Kasevich’s strong Spring Training positions him to be the first Blue Jays’ call-up

There were a handful of Toronto Blue Jay prospects that positioned themselves to make the team at some point in 2026.
On the pitching side of things, Adam Macko pitched well, especially in the World Baseball Classic, and could be called up if they need some length. Catcher Brandon Valenzuela will be the first catcher up if either Alejandro Kirk or Tyler Heineman go down with an injury. However, no prospect impressed quite like Josh Kasevich.

Over 40 plate appearances with the Jays, the 2022 second-rounder slashed .306/.375/.500 with a home run and four doubles for a 129 wRC+. Kasevich also walked (7.5 BB%) more than he struck out (5 K%), one of the best showings for any Blue Jays player during Spring Training.

With strong defence and shortstop and the ability to play both second base and third base, Kasevich has now positioned himself to be one of the first prospects called up, especially if the Blue Jays choose Davis Schenider over Leo Jiménez for the final bench spot.

The thing is, the 2025 season was supposed to be the year Kasevich made his big league debut. In 2024, he slashed .296/.348/.385 with six home runs in 566 plate appearances for a 107 wRC+, impressing at both the Double-A and Triple-A level. Kasevich had some real helium heading into the 2025 season, but a back injury in Spring Training and several injuries during rehab assignments derailed his season.

When healthy, Kasevich slashed just .173/.272/.184 in 114 Triple-A plate appearances, a far cry from someone widely considered one of the best hitters in the Blue Jays system. To get him some extra at-bats, the Jays sent him to the Arizona Fall League, where he drew 17 walks over 74 plate appearances, but batted just .255 with all 14 of his hits being singles.

Because of Kasevich’s strong 2026 Spring Training, he not only rose his stock back up to what it was heading into the 2025 season, but will more than likely find himself on the Blue Jays 26-man roster at some point this season. If someone like Andrés Giménez, who missed a large chunk of the 2025 season, goes down, Kasevich is the first on the pecking order to be called up.

Hopefully, he can take the opportunity and run with it, because there’s a lot to like about the 25-year-old’s bat and glove.

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