Ryan Sprock made sure his first big splash in the Blue Jays system was impossible to miss.
The catching prospect, acquired from the Minnesota Twins in the Tommy Nance trade, delivered a rare inside-the-park home run on Wednesday for High-A Vancouver against Hillsboro, and it helped flip the game on its head. Toronto’s newest prospect was just assigned to the Canadians the previous week, and he wasted no time making noise.
The key moment came in the ninth inning with Vancouver trailing 6-4. Sprock stepped in against Hillsboro closer Sawyer Hawks and got a 3-0 pitch he could drive.
He sent it to left-center, where the Hops outfielders believed the ball had bounced out of play for a ground-rule double. Sprock never bought that version of events.
He kept charging around the bases while the defenders threw their hands up, and he eventually raced home for the inside-the-park shot.
That one swing sparked a four-run rally and carried the Canadians to an 8-6 comeback win.
The 21-year-old catcher has already started to look comfortable in his new surroundings. In five games with Vancouver, he’s hit .250 with a .933 OPS, along with three runs scored, one double, two home runs and three RBIs.
Zoom out a little further, and the year has been strong overall. Across 72 total games this season between the Twins’ minor league system and his time with Toronto’s organization, Sprock has put together a .293/.420/.442 line with an .862 OPS, plus 49 runs scored, 14 doubles, seven home runs, 41 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.
If he keeps swinging it this way, a move to Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats wouldn’t be a shock. And with the Blue Jays short on catching prospects at the upper levels - a need they also targeted in this year’s MLB Draft - Sprock is already giving Toronto a promising look at what could be coming behind the plate.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Fans Are Saying Goodbye To A Rogers Centre Tradition
For 17 seasons, fans arriving at Rogers Centre could count on hearing Tessi Perrier, better known as Saxy Sady, setting the tone outside the ballpark on Blue Jays home dates. Her saxophone became part of the game-day scene in Toronto, a familiar pregame soundtrack for supporters who made the trip downtown and a small but steady piece of the clubs identity around the stadium.
Perrier has now stepped away from that role after a final performance following a Blue Jays win, closing the book on a run that stretched across generations of home games. Her retirement comes not long after another longtime gameday fixture, Rockin' Rick Donaldson, also moved on, leaving a noticeable gap in the unofficial cast that has long helped give Blue Jays nights around the Rogers Centre their own character. [Read more 🡒]
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The shirt-waving did not stay tucked into one corner of the stadium, either, as it spread across the park and gave the place a full-throated, almost chaotic look from the Toronto side of things. St. Louis has already leaned into the trend with a dedicated high-energy section at Busch Stadium, and Fenways latest burst of it is another reminder that the Blue Jays can run into a road environment where the crowd is as much a storyline as the baseball. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Give Buck Martinez The Honor He Deserves
Buck Martinez is getting another fitting chapter in a Blue Jays story that already spans generations. The club will induct him into its newly renamed Hall of Excellence next August, and the honor comes with a special bobblehead that nods to the many ways he has shaped the franchise, from behind the plate to the dugout to the broadcast booth. After retiring in February following Torontos 2025 World Series run, Martinez will join a select group as the 12th member of the Hall.
For Blue Jays fans, the tribute feels especially right because Martinez has never been just one thing to this organization. He was a player, a manager and, for years, one of the most familiar voices around the team, which is why the club chose to capture all of those eras in one keepsake. The celebration will add another layer to a career already woven deeply into the franchises identity, even as the full scope of the days recognition is still to come. [Read more 🡒]