JUST IN: Get to know your 40-man Blue Jays better: Hagen Danner……..

In two weeks, pitchers and catchers will report!

In 2017, the Blue Jays selected Hagen Danner in the second round. He was selected as a catcher in the draft, but since he wasn’t

hitting well, they opted to try him on the mound in 2019. In order to shield him from a Rule Five draft that never took place, he was

added to the 40-man roster in 2022.

Right-handed pitcher Danner, 25, ranked #19 on our ranking of the top 40 prospects the previous season. Matt composed:

After the season, he was an easy inclusion to the 40-man roster, looking like he was headed straight to the big league bullpen after a

few strong spring training appearances. Nevertheless, Danner had four rough April games for New Hampshire and failed to find the

plate. He ended up missing the remainder of the season due to a sprained UCL but was able to avoid Tommy John surgery.

Unfortunately, he’s been sidelined by forearm irritation after a few outings this spring. This is now a persistent problem that poses a

serious risk to realizing the apparent potential.

With mid-90s gas that may reach the high 90s, Danner is a true power pitcher when on the mound. He combines that with a keen,

erratic hammer slider. In reality, he possesses two distinct breaking balls: a curve in the low 70s and a slider in the mid 80s. They have

extremely similar shapes; their velocity bands are merely different. With two simple plus pitches, it has the potential to be a true high-

end reliever (role 45, ~70 ERA-) in the late innings.

In order to do that, in addition to proving that he can maintain his health, Danner has to improve on his command. Because of a lack

of placement, a lot of mediocre relievers with good stuff get hit about, which is a dangerous conclusion. Additionally, he occasionally

loses the zone, with perhaps

This year, the injury issue reared its ugly head once more. When Alek Manoah was sent down for the second time in August, Hagen

was called up to the Jays. When he initially appeared:

After pitching and getting an out, Hagen Danner grabbed at the batter’s back during the following at-bat. He left the field of play. I

hope the injury is not serious, but I don’t want to speculate.

He was sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a left oblique strain, which was eventually diagnosed.

Danner played in 33 games in the minor leagues, mostly at Triple-A, with a 3.66 ERA. Just 11 walks and 56 strikeouts in 39.1 innings

was his total. The eight home runs was a concerning figure.

Unfortunately, he started as a catcher, suffered various injuries, and missed a minor league season due to Covid, thus he has only

thrown 79 professional innings (plus 7.2 Fall League innings). He misses bats, though, and he’s talented. I’ve seen references to him as

a “high-upside, high risk” reliever quite a bit.

It would be beneficial if he established himself as a major leaguer this year, given he only has one more option year remaining. To

make the squad out of spring training, though, will be a tough task for him. Romano, Swanson, Mayza, Green, Garcia, Rodriguez, and

Cabrera appear to be in the bullpen. One seat remains for Pearson, Richards, White, or six other candidates.

Hagen is predicted by PECOTA to receive 11 innings.

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