May 18, 2023
Prospect Hagen Danner is officially on the Toronto Blue Jays’ 40-man roster after a long minor league career that has seen Danner transition from a catcher to a right-handed relief pitcher.
“The transition was pretty easy,” said Danner. “Catching is probably the hardest thing I could’ve done in baseball – I’d say. So changing to pitching where you can focus on one thing was pretty easy. I pitched a lot in high school so missing three years was just a break for my arm.”
Using a three-pitch mix of: a 4-seam fastball, a slider, and a curveball; is working well for Danner in pro ball.
With a high-90s fastball that can occasionally hit triple digits – there’s little doubt why Danner is fond of his heater.
“High fastballs are really in play for me,” explained Danner. “I like to throw a curveball off a high fastball. Every now and then I like the fastball down. I’m bringing it back a little bit as the game of baseball has changed and the fastball up is the thing lately. I like the fastball down because it gets a lot of takes. I get pretty good spin on it – where it looks like it’s going to go down but it stays up.”
His fastball is currently graded a 65 on the 20-80 scale and his slider is considered his second-best offering.
Danner added the slider in pro ball, “I threw a make me up slider in 2021,” said Danner. “I went to Instructs after that season and sat down with the development staff. We kind of figured out that a nice hard slider would be the best option for me.”
And Danner is working exclusively out of the bullpen in pro ball, “I like knowing that most of the days I’m hot.” he said.
Be sure to follow Hagen Danner this season, as he continues to be a great bullpen option moving forward.