Blue Jays land pair of strikeout artists for Stroman

LHP Anthony Kay, a former first-round pick of the New York Mets, isn’t waiting for the Gilette Traac-II blades to come in …. he is one of two arms acquired for RHP Marcus Stroman.

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Coming over from the New York Mets to the Blue Jays for RHP Marcus Stroman are two strikeout artists: Baseball America’s No. 4 ranked prospect in the Mets’ system Anthony Kay, of Stoney Brook, NY and their No. 6 ranked Simeon Woods-Richardson of Sugar Land, Tex. The Jays obtained the Mets’ top two pitching prospects according to the highly-respected Baseball America.

LHP Anthony Kay

Drafted in the 1st round (31st overall) by the New York Mets in 2016 (signed for $1,100,000)from UConn.

Ht: 6’0”/Wt.: 218 lbs.

At double-A Binghamton and triple-A Syracuse combined: 8-6 with 3.13 ERA in 19 starts walking 34 and fanning 96 in 97 2/3 innings.

Baseball America scouting report: A 29th round pick of the Mets out of high school, Kay was one of three promising Long Island prep arms, with Stephen Woods and Matt Vogel also showing promise. All three chose to go to college, and Kay has emerged as the best of the group. The ace of UConn’s staff, Kay throws three pitches for strikes. His fastball works in the low 90s and touches 95 early in his starts. Scouts see his change up is an above-average or plus pitch; it shows both fade and tumble and generates swings and misses from right-handed hitters regularly. Kay has a tendency to throw his changeup from a slightly lower arm slot, giving scouts concerns that elite hitters will be able to see the pitch coming. He throws a breaking ball with slurvy shape. Kay usually throws the pitch against right-handed hitters, and has not thrown it with conviction this spring. Kay is on the shorter side, standing at 6-foot, but he has a wide, sturdy build.

Simeon Woods-Richardson glowed with the Columbia Fireflies.

RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson

Drafted: by the New York Mets in the second round of the 2018 draft from Kempner HS (Sugar Land, TX) and given a $1,850,000 signing bonus.

Ht.: 6’3”/Wt.: 210 lb.

At class-A Columbia in 2019: 3-8, 4.25 ERA in 20 starts with 17 walks and 97 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings.

Baseball America pre-draft scouting report: One of the youngest players in the 2018 draft class, Woods-Richardson is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound righthander out of Texas who impressed scouts at multiple summer showcase events last year. At both the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., and Perfect Game’s World Wood Bat Association world championships in Jupiter, Fla., during the fall, Woods-Richardson pitched with a low-90s fastball that touched 93 mph at times. He features both a four-seam and two-seam fastball, as well as two breaking balls -- one a sweeping slider in the upper 70s and the other a mid-70s curve ball with an 11-to-5 shape. He showed the makings of a plus breaking ball at the Area Code Games and even flashed a potential plus change up during the Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C. After all the flashes of upside over the summer, Woods-Richardson has continued to trend up this spring, with his fastball velocity ticking up. Scouts have noted, however, that he doesn’t always hold his velocity into starts as long as they would like to see. As a younger, athletic righthander out of Texas who has trended in the right direction this spring, Woods-Richardson has checked enough boxes on his scouting report to get him drafted quickly in June. If he did make it to campus at Texas, he would be a two-way talent with some impressive raw power with the bat as well. The 2018 second-rounder out of high school has premium stuff and mound demeanor to spare. Still just 18, he had carved up South Atlantic League competition but had fallen victim to shaky defense. Better days are ahead.