With the 60th overall draft of the 2022 MLB Draft, the Blue Jays selected shortstop Josh Kasevich of the University of Oregon in the second round. In Oregon he hit .303 / .374 / .424 against some of the top PAC-12 college competitions.
Kasevich’s business card is his one-on-one contact ability, as he has only put up 40 shots in 529 appearances on the board in the last two years, a parsimonious 8% that dropped further to 6% this year. with only 16 poses. A flat, compact swing allows you to be punctual in squaring balls for quality contact.
This propensity for low contact does not allow much power, as it does not raise the ball much, and although some think it could grow / fill a little more, a more fundamental swing change would probably be needed. In addition to the collegiate record, last summer in the Northwoods League, he hit an impressive .374 / .403 / .450 while hitting just 7 times at 186 PA (4%). The Jays are known to have selected NWL performers in recent years, so Kasevich fits his mold.
Prior to taking up the position of director of exploration in Toronto, Shane Farrell explored the west coast for the Cubs and during his tenure selected Nico Hoerner (24th overall, 2018) and Chase Stumpf (2nd round, 2019) d ‘hour, both got the first PAC- 12 central field players. Kasevich fits well into this demographic profile / mold.
Defensively, Keith Law calls Kasevich a “true short stop” despite being a margin runner, while Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs opines that “he doesn’t really have the rank to play. [SS] at the level of big leagues ”despite making more successful plays and projects at third base. Interestingly, despite this dichotomy, Fangraphs is much more optimistic by placing it in 36th place overall, compared to 67th in Law (and also in Pipeline).
While pure tools can be a bit short for the position, reports on Kasevich universally praise his instincts that allow them to play. Law notes some parallels in profile with David Fletcher, though that would be on the far right of possible results. A more reasonable base case would be a solid utility midfield player.