Brock Beauchamp

Sean Keys was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 draft by the Blue Jays out of Bucknell. In his first stint in Single-A Dunedin, he showed an advanced approach, with a 134 wRC+ in 98 plate appearances. The Jays then sent him up to Vancouver the following year, where Keys performed solidly but didn’t have numbers that jumped off the page, hitting .217/.365/.408 for a 119 wRC+ in 529 plate appearances. Vancouver is one of the toughest parks in which to hit in the minor leagues, however, and Keys showed underlying metrics that signified he had a much better season than his results showed, with strong barrel rates and plate discipline. Keys is strong bodied, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 232 pounds, and when he made contact, he had strong exit velocities that translated to above-average raw power, as he was adept at turning on pitches at optimal launch angles, leading to a Vancouver Canadians record 19 homers in a single season. Defensively, Keys is most suited to first base. Although he has the arm for third, the range can be a little stretched thin at the position. He’s still new at first, and it shows a bit, but he’s a smart player and has taken to it pretty well. His glove is secondary to his bat, which is where he will derive most, if not all of his value. He’ll most likely get a chance to see more advanced pitching soon, as he’s on track to start the season off with Double-A New Hampshire.

Owen Hill and Jesse Burril go LIVE immediately following the MLB Trade Deadline to break down all of the Blue Jays' moves, including trading away Jeff Hoffman, Daulton Varsho, and franchise legend Kevin Gausman, as well as acquiring José Soriano and Josh Smith. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre

Victor Arias was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Venezuela in 2019. It has been a long and winding path for him through the minor leagues, as he pushes toward the majors. It started with an above-average showing as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) in 2021. He had a 118 wRC+ to go with a slash line of .248/.388/.339, two home runs, and an elite walk rate of 17.9%. Sticking out as a negative would be his groundball rate of 52.1%, and that hasn't improved much over the years. In 2022, Arias repeated the DSL for a short 19-game stint. He got the ball in the air more, and his numbers jumped up, with him seeing his batting average rise to .315 and his on-base rate to .448. The next year saw a shortened season for him; he only played in 41 games at Rookie ball and three each at Single A and Double A. Despite being young, he still had a 109 wRC+ over those 47 games and a walk rate of 17.6%. 2024 would see Arias get a mostly full season, this time at Single A for 76 games. He really stepped up his game with a 146 wRC+ and earned a short 11-game stretch at High A to end the year. There, he stood out over the small sample, hitting .324/.425/.353 with a 150 wRC+. In 2025, he played the most games in one season of his minor league career, 102 between High-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire. Combined, he would slash .272/.353/.403, with a 114 wRC+, launching seven home runs and seven triples and swiping 18 bags. What To Like Arias doesn't have a big frame, listed at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds, but he puts everything he has into his swings. At one point in 2025, he was sporting a very good average exit velocity and 90th percentile exit velocity, 93 mph and 110.1 mph, respectively, according to Baseball America. His swing speeds are exceptional, and he transfers his weight well with his leg kick. This helped him to hit seven home runs, seven triples (98th percentile), and 19 doubles (80th percentile) last season. The young outfielder pairs his great exit velocities with above-average speed on the bases. He swiped 18 bags in 2025, which was good enough for the 80th percentile in the minor leagues. It appears he is well on his way to having an above-average profile with the bat, especially when it comes to extra-base hits, along with above-average potential on the bases. What To Work On The thing Arias needs to work on most is also the reason his elite raw power hasn't translated into more in-game power: his launch angles. He routinely has been a hitter who pounds the ball into the ground. He is also rather consistent with his groundball rates, hovering around 50-54% for his minor league career. Aside from his short sample in his second year at the DSL level, he has hit groundballs at a feverish pace (52%, 52%, 53%, 51%, 54%). If nothing changes, it will definitely be expected for those numbers to continue to climb as he moves up levels and faces tougher pitching. If he can drop that number down to the upper 30s or lower 40s, he would see a dramatic jump in his home run total. Pull-side power is how Arias will make a name for himself, if he can keep the ball in the air more than he has in the past, but he also needs to use the middle of the field more. He only hit 24.6% of his batted balls up the middle this past year. When he is facing tougher lefty-on-lefty matchups, he will need to hit the ball back up the middle or to the opposite field more. In 2025, he hit just .242/.301/.305 versus left-handed pitchers and didn't hit any home runs. As he continues to move up levels, he will need to improve those numbers against lefties, or he may ultimately fall into a utility role or drop back into a fourth outfielder type of potential outcome. What's Next? Arias will likely begin 2026 at Double-A New Hampshire and look to keep hitting his way up levels. If he can improve his groundball rates and keep the ball in the air more, he will see his raw power and elite swing speed translate to more home run power. This should see him unlock his true dual-threat potential as a hitter. The Blue Jays lack power/speed outfielders in the upper minors, so if Arias can keep improving and fix some of his launch angle issues, he may make it up to Triple-A Buffalo by the end of the season and push for some major league at-bats come 2027, when the Blue Jays' outfield should be less crowded.

JoJo Parker was selected in the most recent major league draft by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round, eighth overall. He is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound shortstop, and he oozes potential. Coming into the draft, he was billed as one of the safer high school bats. He wasn't necessarily a player who stood out in one area or another, but was consistently average or above average in all areas. He put on weight in the offseason after not getting into a minor league game following the draft. This year, he looks noticeably stronger and began the year at Dunedin, after playing in the Spring Breakout game. Over 61 PA in Single A this year, he is hitting .298/.459/.553, with two home runs, six doubles, and six stolen bases. His first home run came off the bat at 108.3 mph, showing his power potential already as a 19-year-old. He also has an average exit velocity of 96.1 mph on the season so far. He is even displaying solid plate discipline, with 13 strikeouts to 12 walks. Parker will look to continue putting up big swings and honing his all-around game in Single A. If he maintains his plate discipline and shows more in-game power, he could get a jump up to High A by the summer and will be making his way into industry-wide top 50 or even top 25 rankings if things go well. It has been a good start to the 2026 season for him, and Blue Jays fans will be following his progress closely, hoping he is the next Bo Bichette or Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

In what will be the final episode before the trade deadline, Owen Hill and Jesse Burrill discuss what if the Blue Jays aren't sellers after all? What if they hold on to some key pieces and make a push? What does this mean for 2026 and beyond? They then talk about Shane Bieber and his dreadful six-walk performance. Plus, some notes on George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s hamstring injury, ponder another Louis Varland trade idea, and wrap things up with some thoughts about a potential Vancouver MLB team and what it means for the Blue Jays. All that and more! Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jays-centre-podcast/id1846108462 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bi7SzfpcqMo5xYWnbCeoL Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-jays-centre-podcast-300304824/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/2qk9wqxd Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayscentre

How To Install On iPhone or iPad How To Install On Android Device Developing a pure, native app for either Android or iOS is a breathtakingly expensive endeavor, which is why we haven’t done it, despite so many requests over the years. Thankfully, technology has met us halfway, and PWAs (Progressive Web Applications) have reached maturity in the marketplace. What is a PWA? It’s effectively a pseudo-app that works much like a native application but doesn’t require tens of thousands of dollars in development to produce. It creates a single browser instance and maintains it as if it were an application. It’s basically a standalone browser tab, dedicated specifically to Jays Centre. From this app instance, you can receive notifications; the typical browser interface is removed, and the site is presented clearly, using as much screen real estate as possible, all without sacrificing any functionality. The site is faster, more reliable, and offers more mobile functionality than a standard web browser. Additionally, a newer, completely updated Jays Centre is coming later this year, and that will add even more app-like features, making PWA usage even better for all our users. With that said, here’s how you turn Jays Centre into an app on your mobile device. How To “Install” Jays Centre on iPhone or iPad Using Safari First, go to the home page of Jays Centre at https://jayscentre.com/. 1. Tap on the ellipses (…) at bottom right of screen. 2. Tap “Share” in pop-up menu. 3. Tap “View More”. 4. Tap “Add To Home Screen”. 5. Tap “Add”. That takes you to your home screen on iOS, where you can move the Jays Centre app around, just as you would any other app. Additionally, you can turn on notifications for them. Just go to the following link while logged into the site: https://jayscentre.com/notifications/options/. How To “Install” Jays Centre on an Android Device Using Chrome First, go to the home page of Jays Centre at https://jayscentre.com/. 1. Tap on the vertical ellipses (…) at top right of screen. 2. Tap “Share…” in pop-up menu. 3. Tap “Add to Home Screen”. 4. Tap “Install”. That takes you to your home screen on Android, where you can move the Jays Centre app around, just as you would any other app. Additionally, you can turn on notifications for the site. Just go to the following link while logged into the site: https://jayscentre.com/notifications/options/.