By Ryan MacEachern

DUNEDIN, Fla – Hagen Danner had a rough start to his professional career, but with a new season just around the corner the 20-year-old is taking a different approach to life in the minor leagues.

The former second-round pick joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization after thriving as both a pitcher and a catcher while playing at Huntington Beach High School in California.

With various scouts considering him an elite talent at both positions, he entered the 2017 MLB Draft blind to what his future would hold.

“That was a stressful day. One of the worst days of my life, one of the best days of my life,” Danner said, at the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor league complex. “I had a few teams talking with me, some that wanted me to pitch and some who wanted to see what I could do as a catcher.”

Nearly two years later, Danner is thriving behind the plate.

“They told me that they wanted me to catch right away,” Danner said. “It was like a giant weight off my shoulders.”

And now, with his third professional season just around the corner, he has adopted a more cerebral approach to his game, one that he hopes can lead to more success at the next level.

“I just want to be aggressive with everything this year. Aggressive with hitting, aggressive with throwing, aggressive with catching, and really just have some fun.”

As for Danner’s pitching career, the Blue Jays’ prospect is focused on becoming one of the game’s premier signal-callers but if the Blue Jays decide to shift him back to the mound, he understands it’s for the best.

Danner hit just .160 with two home runs and 20 RBIs in 34 games for the Bluefield Blue Jays in 2017 before seeing an improvement last season, slashing .279 with two home runs and 19 RBIs in 32 games.

“I don’t want to have a back-up plan with pitching. I want to go full throttle as a catcher and become as good as I can and be great,” Danner said. “But if I’m working my hardest and still something is just not going right, then if the team wants me to be a pitcher, I’ll be a pitcher.”