![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2242478931-e1768312873711.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Blue Jays outfielder could be a surprise this season.<\/p>\n
The Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>\u2018 26-man roster is practically set, but there could be some surprises.<\/p>\n Spring training is a time for some prospects or fringe players to earn a roster spot or put themselves in a position to get called up if there\u2019s an injury. Last season, it was Alen Roden who cracked Toronto\u2019s Opening Day roster. This year, another outfielder could earn playing time.<\/p>\n Although the Blue Jays outfield seems crowded, analyst Mitch Bannon of The Athletic believes 25-year-old prospect RJ Schreck could be someone to watch in spring training.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d say RJ Schreck is the position player to watch in spring training,\u201d Bannon wrote<\/a> of a surprise player who could crack the roster. \u201cBarring a trade or injury, he will play big league games for the Jays this year, it\u2019s just a question of when. The 25-year-old did nothing but hit last year, posting a .395 on-base percentage and .854 OPS across four levels.<\/p>\n \u201cSchreck has the best plate discipline in the system, swinging at just 21.7 percent of pitches outside the zone in Triple-A last year. For context, Roden, who was also lauded for his vision, chased 31.3 percent of pitches last year. That zone talent, alone, should give Schreck a path onto the 40-man.\u201d<\/p>\n Schreck played in four levels last season, from Rookie Ball to Triple-A, and hit the ball well. The 25-year-old hit .249 with 18 home runs and 53 RBIs<\/a> last season between the four levels.<\/p>\n Schreck is a Top Blue Jays Prospect<\/p>\n Toronto acquired Schreck from the Seattle Mariners<\/a> at the trade deadline in 2024 for Justin Turner. The deal has worked out well for the Blue Jays.<\/p>\n Schreck has continued to develop well and is considered a \u2018Blue Jays hitter\u2019 by MLB<\/a> Pipeline.<\/p>\n \u201cSchreck is a heady hitter who puts together excellent game plans. Which shows in his advanced plate approach from the left side,\u201d the article wrote<\/a>. \u201c\u2026 Consider Schreck another very \u201cBlue Jays-style\u201d hitter, adding to a long line of hitting prospects with advanced plate approaches. He hit right-handed pitching very well in \u201924, which would represent a path to the big leagues.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Schreck still has some things to work on, his defense and contact are solid, which will lead him to eventually earn an MLB call-up.<\/p>\n \u201cSchreck is a fundamentally sound outfielder who won\u2019t be a problem defensively and is a fine athlete, so he\u2019s working with a strong baseline skill set if one or more of his tools can truly pop,\u201d the article added.<\/p>\n Schreck was selected in the ninth round of the 2023 MLB Draft by Seattle.<\/p>\n Toronto Still in on Tucker<\/p>\n One reason why Schreck may not get MLB time this season is if Toronto signs Kyle Tucker.<\/p>\n The Blue Jays\u2019 outfield is already crowded, and if the team signs Tucker, it would only add to it. But, Toronto remains heavily interested in bringing in the star hitter.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Blue Jays remain among the favorites for Tucker. With the Yankees<\/a>, Mets, and Dodgers also in the mix,\u201d MLB.com\u2019s Mark Feinsand wrote<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n Tucker hit .266 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs<\/a> last season.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tCole Shelton<\/a> Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Blue Jays\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Blue Jays outfielder could be a surprise this season. The Toronto Blue Jays\u2018 26-man roster is practically…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-410221","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}