Surprise, surprise, Blue Jays prospect Sean Keys hits his ninth home run of the season

Sean Keys probably won’t be playing in Double-A for much longer.

After hitting two home runs on Thursday evening, the Toronto Blue Jays’ third base prospect was right back at it, driving a 1-1 pitch to right centre field for his ninth home run of the season. That leads the organization, and it isn’t particularly close either.

Last season, Keys’ 19 home runs led the organization, so that aspect isn’t new territory for the third baseman. Keys played half his games at Nat Bailey Stadium, the Vancouver Canadians home stadium, last season. It doesn’t see a lot of power from left-handed hitters thanks to a high right field walk. Despite that, he hit 10 of his home runs in Vancouver.

His power surge isn’t all that surprising given Delta Dental Stadium is a left-handed hitter friendly park. Still, those 19 home runs last season came in 529 plate appearances. Keys has hit nearly half that in only 74 plate appearances. It seems like sooner rather than later, the Jays have to test Keys in Triple-A.

Because of Keys’ performance to start the season, Jace Bohrofen’s season has gone under the radar. In Friday’s 9-0 win, the left-handed batting outfielder hit a bases clearing double. That was only Bohrofen’s second double of the season, but he’s second in the organization with six home runs and also has two triples. His 30.8 K% is still a concern, but the power has always been tantalizing.

Jay Harry, the prospect acquired from the Minnesota Twins for Trevor Richards, went 3-4 with a bases clearing triple. Those three players accounted for all six of the Fisher Cats’ hits. That also unfortunately means that Jackson Hornung’s hitting streak was snapped at 15 games, as he went 0-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and hit by pitch.

Only two pitchers were used on the Fisher Cats’ side. Richard Gallardo made another start, throwing five scoreless innings with five hits allowed and three strikeouts. The minor league Rule 5 draftee in 2024 now has a 1.06 ERA. Alex Amalfi picked up the save, throwing four scoreless innings with a hit, two walks, and two strikeouts.

The Fisher Cats were set to play on Saturday, but rain postponed it.

Other notes from Friday’s games…

The Dunedin Blue Jays fell 5-4 to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. They’ve now lost three consecutive games. Moreover, both the Buffalo Bisons and Vancouver Canadians lost their games, with the Bisons falling 12-6 and the Canadians’ 3-0 in extra innings.

Let’s start with the C’s, who played their second Nooner at the Nat. Johnny King made the start, throwing three hitless innings and striking out four, but issuing three walks. His season ERA now sits at 0.87. Holden Wilkerson threw the next four innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts. Jay Schueler hurled two clean innings with a strikeout. Trace Baker was tagged with the loss, giving up three runs, two earned, in the top of the 10th.

The Tri-City Dust Devils shut down Carter Cunningham in this game, with the first baseman going 0-4 with a strikeout. Arjun Nimmala continued to hit well, going 2-3 with a walk and the C’s only extra-base hit, his seventh double of the season. J.R. Freethy also had two hits, while Brennan Orf had a single.

Next up for the C’s, they’ll have a chance to win the series on Saturday afternoon. Austin Cates is expected to start.

While the D-Jays fell 5-4 to the Mighty Mussels, there were some positives to take away from the game, namely Blaine Bullard. Coming into the game, he was batting .173, after four hits, including a triple and his fourth home run, Bullard is now batting .228. Adrian Pinto had the D-Jays’ other extra-base hit, a double. David Beckles, Enmanuel Bonilla, Eric Snow, and Yorman Licourt all hit singles.

Dayne Pengelly made the start, striking out two in three and two-thirds scoreless innings. Luis Victorino was tagged with the loss, giving up five runs (four earned), including two home runs in his inning of work. Mason Davenport struck out two in an inning and a third, while Jack Eshelman struck out four in two scoreless innings.

Brandon Barriera gets the ball for his fourth start of the season. The D-Jays game starts at 6:05 PM ET on Saturday.

Lastly, Chad Dallas started the Bisons’ game and surrendered six earned runs over three innings. His ERA jumped from 1.35 to 4.41 thanks to his struggles. Pat Gallagher threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout, Chase Lee struck out and walked two in an inning and a third, and Michael Plassmeyer threw a clean inning and a third with two strikeouts.

Every player on the Bisons had at least one hit. Charles McAdoo hit a solo home run to get the Bisons on the board, his fourth of the season. Josh Rivera hit two doubles and Josh Kasevich was the other player with a two-hit game, including his eighth double of the season. Riley Tirotta, Will SImoneit, Je’Von Ward, and Yohendrick Piñango also hit doubles.

Like the Fisher Cats, the Bisons’ game on Saturday was postponed, with the team playing a doubleheader on Sunday.

Other notes from Friday’s games…

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