The Toronto Blue Jays were busy at the 2024 trade deadline, and not in a good way.
At that point in the season, it was clear that the team wasn’t going to make the postseason, forcing them to trade away quite a few roster players in a bid to help their farm system. There were some notable trades; the one that sticks out saw them move Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros for Joey Loperfido, Will Wagner, and Jake Bloss.
One of the last moves they made that day saw the Jays trade Trevor Richards to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Jay Harry, who’ll be today’s feature in this edition of the Under the Radar Blue Jays prospect.
Harry was selected in the sixth round of the 2023 draft out of Penn State and signed for a bonus of $175,000. He had a good start to his professional career immediately following the draft, slashing .339/.434/.468 with one home run in 129 plate appearances between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A.
Unfortunately, the 2024 season wasn’t as kind to Harry as the season before. Starting the year in High-A, the then 21-year-old slashed .214/.306/.349 with eight home runs in 340 plate appearances for a 92 wRC+. Shortly after Harry’s 22nd birthday, the Jays moved Richards for the middle infielder.
Post trade, Harry was assigned to the High-A Vancouver Canadians and slashed .210/.259/.420 with four home runs in 108 plate appearances, with a high K% of 29.6% and a career-worst BB% of 5.6%. He helped the Canadians make the Northwest League Championship Series for the third consecutive season.
Seven games are an incredibly small sample size, but Harry is off to a good start in 2025. In 31 plate appearances, the 22-year-old is slashing .370/.452/.741 with two home runs, while his K% has dropped to 19.4% and his BB% has risen to 12.9%. He’s strong defensively as well. Check out this play from Tuesday’s game.
Pretty nice play by Jay Harry and Carter Cunningham to record the out. pic.twitter.com/f0FsxlUan6
— Ryley Delaney🏳️⚧️ (@Ryley__Delaney) April 16, 2025
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It’s High-A and early, but he’s a prospect to keep an eye on through the season. The Jays added him as a lottery prospect, and the early goings of the 2025 season are encouraging from Harry.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.