Toronto Blue Jays: Pitching prospects too enticing in exchange for Stroman

The Toronto Blue Jays sent the ace of the rotation in Marcus Stroman to the New York Mets in exchange for two pitching prospects.

With his name on trade rumors for over the past year, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman will officially be calling New York home.

The 5’8 right-hander has been in the midst of a career year, and with the Toronto Blue Jays smack dab in the middle of a rebuild, it made sense that the team and pitcher were going to part ways.

Stroman has been dominant on the mound this year.

With a 2.96 ERA and 99 strikeouts, Marcus has been the shining star in a rotation that has been beaten to death with injuries and poor performance.

Heading to the Blue Jays are two pitching prospects in Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson.

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Anthony Kay is the top-ranked pitcher and 4th overall player on the New York Mets prospect charts. While dominating in AA this season with a 7-3 record and 1.49 ERA, he has struggled since being promoted to the AAA rotation.

In 7 starts, Kay has authored a 1-3 record with a 6.61 ERA, along with 23 earned runs on just 26 strikeouts.

Drafted in the 1st round of the 2016 amateur draft, Kay has been a consistent pitcher throughout his minor league career. He hovers around the 3.00-4.00 ERA mark and one of the best pitches in his arsenal is the curveball, with its exceptional spin rate and downward motion.

Combined with a 92-94 MPH fastball and sinking changeup, Kay is on the verge of making the majors. Having already gone through Tommy John surgery, Anthony Kay will need to improve in AAA before seeing himself in the Rogers Centre, but with the Blue Jays in the midst of a rebuild, they could call upon him sooner rather than later.

Lots to be excited about, but lots to be nervous about with this left-handed pitcher.

Simeon Woods-Richardson is the third-ranked pitcher and 6th overall prospect in the New York Mets prospect pool.

Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2018 amateur draft, Woods-Richardson made his pro debut as a 17-year-old in rookie league ball.

He would go on to the pitch to a 1.56 ERA through 17.1 innings pitched, racking up 3 earned runs, 4 walks, and 26 strikeouts during 2018.

In 2019, Woods-Richardson would start the season in A-ball, where he has gotten off to a bit of a rough start to the year.

He has started 20 games this season, collecting a 3-8 record to go along with a 4.25 ERA and 97 strikeouts. While there is obviously lots of room for growth and improvement, Simeon is an interesting prospect because his fastball can reach 95-97 MPH with a plus curveball, but scouts question his stamina and ability to pitch deep into games.

Look for Woods-Richardson to possibly turn into a bullpen kind of arm further down his career.

In the end, I think many Blue Jays fans and many players in the game did not expect Stroman to be dealt to the Mets (maybe the Yankees, but not the Mets).

Many fans will not be happy to see Stroman go, but baseball is not a fair game, and sometimes fan favorites are sent packing during the rough rebuilding years.

Only time will tell who won this trade, but if we look back on past swaps between the Mets and Blue Jays, I am not optimistic that the birds from the North will end up winners.

So long Marcus.