87 hitters have taken 100 PA so far in AA leagues so far this season. The best batting line among them belongs to the Blue Jays’ 2024 fourth round draft pick, Sean Keys. Keys played his college ball at Bucknell, putting up ridiculous numbers against pretty pedestrian Patriot League competition. He popped a bit with excellent showings in summer wood bat leagues, particularly a brief cameo in the top tier Cape Cod League the summer before his draft season. After turning pro, he put up good-not-great surface level numbers in Dunedin and Vancouver. His advanced approach allowed him to wait out wild low minors pitchers, leading to big walk totals, but his power production was just solid. Underlying metrics suggested he was doing a lot of things right, though, and so far in 2025 a move up to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ lefty-power friendly Delta Dental Stadium has allowed the top line stats to catch up. Keys is hitting .310/.429/.667 with nine home runs in 24 games.
Keys’ offensive calling card is his power. His raw strength is solid average or a little better, but he has an uppercut swing that’s geared to pull balls hard in the air and might allow his game power production to come out as plus. Keys is a solidly built guy at 6’2” and 230lbs and can generate that power without selling out. It’s a simple swing, with just a small toe tap and a pretty direct path to the ball. This season, it looks like he’s quieted down his pre-swing movement in the box and opened his stance just a little. He can look a bit stiff, particularly in his two-handed follow-through, but he’s shown decent ability to get the bat on the ball. Last year his 78% contact rate was a bit above average. It’s fallen to 72% this year, partly because he’s gotten more aggressive but probably also because of better competition. He doesn’t have top tier bat speed, and good fastballs at the top of the zone can beat him. It’s possible the swing tweaks are an attempt to adjust to that. Whether he can reliably catch up to MLB calibre heat will be the biggest question on his offensive upside. If he can, he profiles as a low-ish average but solid OBP hitter who could produce 20-something home runs a season. He didn’t show a marked platoon split last year, but as a lefty he has the advantage of being the big side of a platoon if that ends up being his role.
Defensively, Keys’ only real long term home is at first base. He’s still mostly playing third, and his hands and arm actually look solid there, but he’s got a first base build and is a 30 grade runner. At some point probably just won’t have the range to stick at the hot corner. He has a reputation as a hard worker, and can probably be an above average glove at first with reps. He could probably also stand in left field, but again his speed would be a liability.
Keys is off to one of the most intriguing starts in the Jays’ system, and he has real tools to back it up. His 1.096 OPS is a bit of a caricature, but he’s also clearly better than the .773 he put up last season. Given his defensive limitations he’s unlikely to be a star, but he has everything he needs to be a dangerous bench bat in the near future, and everyday upside if he continues to regularly get to his power against higher level pitching.
