Blue Jays Prospect Turns Strong 2025 Into Red-Hot Start in 2026
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Baseball America has recently came out with a minor league hot sheet ranking the hottest start among MLB prospects. Among those names was one of the most underrated prospects within the Toronto Blue Jays system: Sean Keys.
A top-20 prospect in the Blue Jays system by MLB Pipeline, the 22-year-old infielder has gotten off to a fantastic start for Double-A New Hampshire. In his first 56 plate appearances, Keys slashed .356/.482/.756, for an OPS of 1.238 (4th among all qualified hitters in Double-A).
He's been an on-base machine for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to start the year. He's walked at a 14.3% rate, along with the .482 on-base percentage previously mentioned. He's kept the strikeout rate at 25%. For a powerful hitter, that's a solid clip to have as a foundation for the rest of the season.
Sean Keys over the last 7 days:
— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) April 20, 2026
18 AB
.500 AVG
1.682 OPS
3 HR
2 2B
9 RBI
3/4 BB/K
He currently has a 204 wRC+ in Double-A, with a 14.3% BB%. He's continuing to show the power in the upper levels of the minor leagues.
A reminder he hit 19 HR in 2025 at High-A Vancouver... pic.twitter.com/4zEARjl6od
Considering the low contact rates and high swing-and-miss to start the year, it's not surprising that the strikeouts are a bit elevated at the moment. Based on last season, however, there's more reason to believe it will improve than get worse.
Keys kept his swing-and-miss well under control last season and struck out just 22.1% of the time. He made more consistent contact as well, and it's very possible that the jump to even more talented Double-A arms is one that's going to take a little more getting used to.
What's even more encouraging despite the jump, is seeing that walk rate maintain its efficiency. At a 16.3% clip last year, a dip by just two points is not bad at all for what's considered by many to be the hardest level in minor league baseball.
As previously mentioned, Keys has become a powerful hitter in the Toronto system. In his two seasons of professional baseball, he's hit 20 home runs. 19 of those however, came over the course of his 119 game season in 2025.
After making the jump from Low-A to High-A, Keys would not only walk more often, but go on a power surge that cemented his 2025 breakout season.
According to FanGraphs, he was one of just seven minor leaguers to hit 15 or more homers, walk 16% of the time or more, and keep their SwStr% under 9%. He showed to be a well disciplined hitter that minimized swing-and-miss while capitalizing on the power.
If he can find that same approach he kept at High-A, his strikeouts should level out. He's already hit five homers in his first 12 games, making it feel safe to assume the power will stick in Double-A. To many prospect outlets, he's turning heads already to start 2026.
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Tobey Schulman is a freelance writer currently covering baseball in the South Florida area, independently on X and SubStack. Prior to freelancing, Tobey was a writer for The Skippers View, covering both Major and Minor League Baseball. Over the past year, he has grown a following of almost 10,000 on X, while covering all things across the sport, both professional and amateur. In his free time he produces and live streams a podcast ‘Inside The Diamond’, where he co-hosts player interviews, breakdowns, and game watch parties.