Blue Jays farm report: Canadian slugger Piasentin embracing pro ball life

DENVER — Draft news for Tim Piasentin arrived at his hotel room in Pullman, Wash., where the previous day he had helped the Okotoks Dawgs win the Palouse Summer Series baseball tournament.

As the hard-hitting third baseman and parents Anne and Robert were gearing up for a long drive home, his agent called with a heads up: The Toronto Blue Jays planned to select him in the fifth round, 143^rd overall.

Once their turn came up, the pick was made and “it felt amazing,” said Piasentin.

“That’s the dream right there,” the native of Coquitlam, B.C., continued. “The Blue Jays have been my team because, I mean, they’re Canada’s team. I know guys on the team. I’m comfortable being at the facility because I’ve been to the complex multiple times with Team Canada. Overall, it was the best organization I could have been drafted by.”

There was little time to celebrate in the moment.

Soon after the pick was in, the family piled into the car for an eight-hour drive back to Okotoks, Alberta, so Piasentin could collect his stuff from his billet family’s home. Another 10-hour drive home to Vancouver followed soon after, with just enough time to pack for the trip to Dunedin, Fla., where he signed his contract and immediately jumped into an orientation camp for the 2025 draft class. 

That made for a packed five days, with barely enough time for a family dinner to recognize the achievement.

“We stopped for lunch at East Side Mario’s” on the drive back, said Piasentin. “I don’t know if that counts, but it was pretty good.”

Also pretty good is what Piasentin, already six-foot-three and 200 pounds at 18, brings to the Blue Jays system. A left-handed hitter, his power impressed throughout his draft year, using what Baseball America in its scouting report described as “a ready-made swing to drive the ball with authority in the air, leaving open the potential for double-plus raw power one day.”

A plus arm gives him a chance to stick at third as he climbs the ladder, too, but having already reached exit velocities of 110 m.p.h. with a wood bat, offence will be his carrying tool, driven by how much contact he makes.

“He’s a big dude and you can’t make up those exit velocities,” said Joe Sclafani, the Blue Jays director of player development. “The ability is there and it’s an exciting foundation to work off of. He’s obviously super raw but, man, it comes off his bat pretty good. Pretty exciting.”

That also encapsulates how Piasentin feels about the opportunity before him.

He grew up watching Blue Jays games and was transfixed by the post-season runs of 2015-16. In 2019, he helped his Coquitlam team reach the Little League World Series, which was “a crazy experience for a 12-year-old kid,” he said. “I already loved the game, but that really made me know that this is what I want to do the rest of my life, because that was really fun and if I could make a job out of this, that’s exactly what I want to do.”

The trip to Williamsport, Penn., also served as an encouraging measuring stick.

“I knew I was pretty good at baseball compared to the guys that played back home,” he said. “But when I saw all these guys from the United States and around the world, I was like, ‘I’m right up there with these guys, they aren’t better than me, I can definitely compete with them, so I really have a shot at this.’”

Four years later, Piasentin left home for Okotoks to keep chasing the goal, impressed by the coaching offered by the Dawgs and a facility where he could play baseball year-round. He also thought being forced to take care for himself — with some support from his billet family — would help prepare him for the transition to pro ball he’s making now.

“I made the move so that I could get used to living without my parents and not being dependent on them so it’d be an easier switch,” said Piasentin, who also had building-block experiences with the Canadian junior national team. “All that stuff, I feel, has helped me a lot and has helped me become comfortable in an environment like this.”

Piasentin and the other 2025 draft picks not assigned to an affiliate team — first-rounder JoJo Parker included — will spend the summer in Dunedin diving into foundational prep work that will set them up for full-season ball next year. They’ll play two games a week against similar players from other organizations in what’s being dubbed the Bridge League and will eventually transition into various fall camps for physical development, eating habits and skill development, among other focuses.

As he dives into the pro life he sought, Piasentin intends to rely on the experiences he’s already had to get him through the challenges ahead.

“The primary thing they’ve taught me is that I’m good enough to compete at that level, I just need to trust what I can do, no matter what,” he said. “Even if I’m slumping, even if I’m not seeing the ball well, I still have a really good swing and I’m able to get in there and compete.”

Here’s a look elsewhere around the Blue Jays farm system:

Josh Kasevich’s star-crossed season resumed Tuesday when he went 2-for-3 with single-A Dunedin. The shortstop prospect missed the start of the season with a stress reaction in his back and then, in his final tuneup with Dunedin before he was to join Buffalo, fractured his right wrist in a collision. Assuming all goes to play, he’ll finally join the Bisons next week. … Outfielder R.J. Schreck has hits in nine of 12 games since returning from a deep bone bruise to his hand after being hit twice in the same spot in the span of a week in June. … Lefty Ricky Tiedemann and Chad Dallas are throwing bullpens while reliever Connor Cooke should get off the mound next week. All three are working their way back from reconstructive elbow surgery. Tiedemann and Dallas have an outside chance of getting into a game before the season ends, but only if there are no hiccups in their progression.

Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Trey Yesavage starts Friday for the third time since the all-star break, and his bizarre experience at the Futures Game is responsible for that. The top pitching prospect was supposed to pitch the whole third inning in the July 12 contest but was mistakenly pulled after a four-pitch strikeout of Cardinals prospect J.J. Wetherholt. That disrupted the workload plan mapped out for him, leading to a pair of four-inning outings on July 26 (48 pitches) and Aug. 1 (68 pitches) since. The aim will be for five innings and up to 80-85 pitches Friday, then six innings at 90-95 next time out before the reins are let loose afterward. Either way, his workload was mapped out to take him wire-to-wire in the minor-league season, with the capacity for some innings at the big-league level, should the Blue Jays have a need and deem him ready. … Outfielder Victor Arias’ four-game hit streak ended Wednesday night but a 7-for-15 run with two homers and two doubles marked his best stretch since being promoted from high-A Vancouver after the all-star break. His play continues to draw rave reviews from Blue Jays player-development staff. … Charles McAdoo batted .283/.377/.525 in his first 27 games after a brief stint on the development list at the end of June.

High-A Vancouver Canadians

Arjun Nimmala’s strong April and May (.289/.372/.528 in 45 games) gave way to a much cooler June and July (.171/.275/.276 in 45 games), but the Blue Jays like the way he’s handled the two months of struggle. The Northwest League is unique in that it’s a six-team circuit, so clubs become very familiar with one another, allowing holes to be picked apart. Still, the 19-year-old continues to take regular reps, seeking solutions. An interesting point of context: Nimmala is only 10 months older than this year’s first-round pick, JoJo Parker, but is already most of the way through a second pro season. Regardless, his progress over the final month will be closely watched. … Righty Fernando Perez didn’t have a strong off-season and paid for it with a rough start, but he’s seemingly turned the corner over his past eight outings, posting a 1.55 ERA in 40.2 innings with 40 strikeouts and just one homer allowed over that span. A bump to double-A before the season ends isn’t out of the question. … Righty Gage Stanifer, who started the season at low-A Dunedin, continues to pitch well at Vancouver and appears likely to finish the year there. … Canadian Connor O’Halloran underwent ligament-repair surgery on his left elbow last week after dealing with soreness in the joint all season.

Lefty Johnny King has struck out an astonishing 40 batters in 21 innings over six outings since being promoted from the Florida Complex League, impressing with the fearlessness with which he attacks opponents. For the time being, the Blue Jays are letting him focus on locking down command of his fastball and breaking ball, which is slurvy with a curveball lean. There’s an opportunity for him to add a third pitch, be it a cutter, changeup or splitter, but for now his developmental priority is getting in the strike zone more. … Righty Landen Maroudis, another of the organization’s post reconstructive elbow surgery prospects, threw only an inning Wednesday in his eighth start with Dunedin, allowing three runs while throwing 44 pitches. He’s walked 26 in 23.2 innings, but the Blue Jays have told him to not worry about the results, believing the current bumps are simply part of his recovery process. … Righty Silvano Hechavarria has opened eyes since being promoted from the FCL, pitching to a 1.81 ERA in 10 games, six starts, with only nine walks and 47 strikeouts in 44.2 innings. His stuff has ticked up and he’s adapted well to the ABS strike zone.

After a 36-23 regular season that featured 24 different position players and 40 different pitchers, the rookie-level club ended up beating the FCL Twins to win the Complex League championship. And it did it despite another down season from outfielder Enmanual Bonilla (.542 OPS in 55 games), whose skills have yet to transfer to the field, and lefty Brandon Barriera, who after the internal-brace procedure on his left elbow last year struggled in five outings, logging just 5.2 innings before a mini-fracture of his ulna (one of the two forearm bones) ended his season.