When Marcus Stroman was dealt from the Blue Jays, most of the fan base was left scratching their heads. Questions began to fly about the return not being enough, on how the team would crumble, and who would they find to pitch the rest of 2019?  Almost a month later,  Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson have reminded everyone surrounding the Toronto Blue Jays – get your popcorn ready.

Let’s start with Kay. He’s a ‘smallish’ lefty who can let it fly sometimes, touching 96 on the radar gun, however, the knock on him, is that Kay doesn’t have a quality enough third pitch to remain a starter. If you want to start and be successful in the big leagues, you must have 3 quality pitches. How’s that change up coming along Anthony?

https://twitter.com/RyanDifrancesco/status/1162515474237837314?s=20

https://twitter.com/RyanDifrancesco/status/1162518686797828096?s=20

Friday night for the Bisons, Kay finished with 8 punch-outs over 5 innings, while scattering only 4 hits. It was another great showing for Kay, who is on the radar to get called up in September. Kay’s first outing for his new club was a touch rough, however, the last 3 times he’s taken the rubber has been fun to watch:

5 innings pitched, 4 hits, 6 k’s – 6 innings pitched, 1 hit, 8 k’s – 5 innings pitched, 4 hits, 8 k’s

Kay needs to be more consistent with first-pitch strikes, and limit his free passes. He has surrendered 14 walks in 19.2 innings. Once he figures out how to find the strike zone more times than not, Kay’s going to get himself a look in Charlie Montoyo’s rotation. Not bad for a ‘throw in’ eh…

Switching arm slots, we move our attention to righty Simeon Woods Richardson. When the news broke about this trade, everybody and their mothers were complaining the Blue Jays didn’t receive a Top 100 prospect in return. Well, newsflash, they did, he’s just not ranked, as no 18-year-old pitchers are ranked in the top 100.

SWR has found himself to be one of the youngest players in whichever league he’s asked to throw in, and since he’s made his way to advanced A ball in Dunedin, he’s dominated. Don’t worry so much about the wins, and focus on a few things. Is he making people swing and miss? How many walks is he handing out? Can he build enough arm strength to go late in games and be able to handle starting long-term?

SWR finds himself ranked #7 in the Blue Jays system, and with numbers like these, he’s turning heads around the organization:

13.2 innings pitched, 18 punch outs, only allowing 6 hits

Another look at how SWR is tall and lanky, and able to stay on top of hitters:

SWR ended up retiring 14 of the last 15 batters he faced, after giving up a hit. Impressive.

Marcus Stroman will succeed in New York, and that’s ok. Stroman was an alpha-male in a clubhouse that was turned over to the collection of ‘kids’, who approach the game with a ‘us vs them’ mentality, not a ‘me against the world’ mentality, which Stroman lives by.

The Toronto Blue Jays are in a better position to succeed long term with Marcus Stroman off their roster, while Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson give the team two prospects at different points of their careers, who both with be given an opportunity to show what they can do.

So far, so good.