Jordan Groshans

A future third baseman totaling seven home runs and a .158 ISO in 75 games is hardly ideal, but there are reasons to think Groshans' future is still bright. Of the eight qualified hitters who were under 22 and at least 20 percent better than league average at Double-A, Groshans trailed only Triston Casas, Miguel Vargas and Alek Thomas in BB/K (0.56). Consistently getting to his plus raw power is a weakness, but he has excellent plate skills and youth is on his side. Groshans has the look of a power hitter, measuring in at a chiseled 6-foot-3, 205 pounds. He also finished the season particularly strong, hitting .405 and slugging .643 with two home runs, five strikeouts and three walks over his final 11 games. As with most third base prospects, speed is not a part of his game. He will head to Triple-A for his age-22 season intent on checking that last box of his development: getting to enough power to profile comfortably as an everyday option at the hot corner.

A foot injury limited Groshans to 23 games in 2019 and he spent all of last summer at Toronto's alternate training site, so he hasn't faced as much quality pitching as a typical 21-year-old position player who came from the prep ranks (No. 12 overall pick in 2018). That said, he led all Jays hitters in home runs at the alternate site and was exceptional at Low-A (167 wRC+) prior to the injury. He still has the potential to develop into a plus hitter with plus power to all fields, so while other prospects have graduated or shown flaws, Groshans remains a highly ranked prospect because his only known flaw is a lack of game reps. That could end up being a big deal, or it might not -- we really don't know how much his experience at the alternate site helped him to prepare for what's ahead. Defensively, Groshans has the arm for shortstop, but at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, most evaluators peg him as a third baseman.

Through the first month, Groshans was the best hitter in the Midwest League (167 wRC+) despite being one of the youngest hitters on the circuit. He injured his left foot and re-injured it after returning for four games in May. Groshans would miss the rest of the season, but his first tour of the MWL left quite an impression. It was only 96 PA, but the 12th-overall pick from the 2018 draft had a 31.0 LD%, 37.1 Oppo% and 21:13 K:BB. His all-fields approach has been evident at every stop, and for now it is a hit-over-power profile. However, at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, the expectation is that he will have plus game power by the time he reaches the majors. Groshans plays shortstop, but will likely end up at third base, where he could be a plus defender. He is an above-average runner, but speed probably won't be a big part of his game in the majors. The sample is not large, but his skills seem legitimate.

The Blue Jays gave Groshans, a third base prospect with the potential to be a plus hitter with plus power, an under-slot $3.4 million bonus after selecting him with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Throw out his 11-game, .194 BABIP performance in the Appy League to close out the season. He lived up to his pre-draft billing and then some in the GCL, where he was 50 percent better than league average despite being one of the youngest players in the league. Groshans is an above-average athlete at third base and an average runner, so while he didn't attempt any steals in his debut season, it's possible he could develop into a double-digit steal threat in the coming years. His ability to square up premium velocity, make contact at a high clip (17.9 K%) and hit the ball to all fields gives him a high floor relative to most of the other top prep hitters in his draft class. He also has the upside to someday hit .300 with 30 home runs.