Next Guys Up: Anthony Kay

Anthony Kay is one of the newer Jays prospects who was acquired in the largely disliked Stroman trade at the 2019 trade deadline. Kay, along with Simeon Woods Richardson, was the return for Toronto’s long time beloved ace.

Kay — age 25 — is a left handed starting pitcher who is currently ranked as Toronto’s tenth overall prospect. Prior to the trade, the former first round pick was the number four prospect for the Mets. At the time of the trade, many were outraged with the return for Stroman, as the front office failed to yield even a single top 100 prospect, despite many expecting two of them. Since Kay and Woods Richardson have joined Toronto, the trade has looked much better. Kay made his debut for the team last September allowing four hits and two runs in 5.2 innings pitched, while striking out eight. It was a solid debut, but he struggled to maintain this form through the rest of the season, finishing the year with a bloated 5.79 ERA and a 1.429 WHIP over three games, two of which were starts.

In AAA Buffalo, Kay began to prove why his acquisition was a good one with dominant start after dominant start. In AAA Syracuse with the Mets prior to the trade, Kay struggled to get anything going with a 6.61 ERA over 31.1 innings in seven games. After the trade is when Kay began to shine, pitching to a 2.50 ERA over 36 innings in the same number of games. Although his high 5.5 BB/9 could be a concern, his other numbers looked great, clearly proving why he was a part of the Major league club come September.

In 2020 Kay will likely start the year again in AAA Buffalo, but is very likely to see some time in the MLB throughout the season once injuries occur. He is likely the seventh option on the depth chart right behind Trent Thornton, but might also be used out of the bullpen considering the lack of left handed options on the 40 man roster. With the new 26 man rosters in 2020, he has a chance to break camp with the team once the season starts up again.