Logan Warmoth Drawing MLB Attention After 17 Months Away

Logan Warmoth didn’t wait for a second pitch.

He planted his left foot and hammered a fastball into deep centrefield. The opposing outfielder slowed to a jog as he watched the Warmoth homer bounce off the batter's eye. It was his third home run of the season and raised his batting average above .330.

The last time we saw Warmoth he was hitting .200 in Double-A. The North Carolina product was Toronto’s first round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft and has fallen in Blue Jay prospect rankings every year since his selection. When Warmoth didn’t receive an invite to Toronto’s 2020 alternate site it forced him to reevaluate his mental approach — to worry less about results and more about routine.

Just 14 games into 2021, Warmoth has already matched his home run total from 2019. He is hitting over .290, adapting to new defensive positions, and drawing the attention of decision makers. In Warmoth, the Blue Jays are now seeing that 22nd overall pick, the guy who rose to number four in Toronto’s prospect rankings and ranked ahead of Nate Pearson.

Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins identified Warmoth as a minor league standout early this year, noting the entire Triple-A outfield as a strength of the organization. Warmoth isn’t currently on Toronto's 40-man roster, presenting an uphill climb to the majors. But the 25-year-old knows he can get to the big leagues, and in the meantime is focusing only on what he can control.

“I don't think there's much holding me back from the next jump,” Warmoth said. “I mean, I know I can play on the same field as those guys, because I have.”

In 2021 MLB Spring Training Warmoth hit .364 in 22 at bats and posted one of the highest spring OPS on the team. It was the first camp where Warmoth felt comfortable, he said, and the first organized baseball he’d played in 17 months.

Toronto invited 60 upper-minors talent and top prospects to Rochester to train at an alternate site in 2020, but Warmoth returned home, buying a house with his brother in Orlando. Every day, Warmoth woke up, worked out, and went to a local high school field where he set up a pitching machine. Matt Young, one of Toronto’s minor league hitting coaches, or Warmoth’s brother, a scouting analyst for the Mariners, would sometimes show up and help him with adjustments, but most days it was just Warmoth and the machine.

“There was no excuse not to come into camp in the best shape that I can be in,” he said.

Warmoth’s first two full seasons were each cut short with hamstring injuries as he alternated between success and struggle throughout the minors. A .302 batting average in 2017 was followed by .249 in 2018, and a mid-season promotion in 2019 slowed what started as a great year.

“It was my first time being promoted in season,” Warmoth said. “New locker room, new coaches, and I don't think I handled the adjustment as quick as I should have.”

Assigned to Triple-A Trenton/Buffalo after 2021 Spring Training, the Blue Jays asked Warmoth to become comfortable playing every position on the field. Toronto has six outfielders on their 40-man roster and Forrest Wall is probably still ahead of Warmoth on the depth chart, but the former first round pick’s versatility could provide multiple paths to the MLB. Drafted a shortstop, he’s currently playing every day outfield and continues to take groundballs across the infield.

“When he was here, he played infield and outfield,” Warmoth’s high school coach Eric Entrekin told the Toronto Observer. “His biggest asset was he was just an athlete. I could put him anywhere.”

In the fourth inning on May 11, Warmoth charged in from right field on a Yasmany Tomas pop up. The ball bounced ahead of him, but in one smooth motion Warmoth stepped left, snatched the ball, and fired a rope to second base. The first step and lack of hesitation — as if he'd played the position his entire life — stole an out, as his throw beat the runner for the force.

Warmoth has played an errorless outfield in 2021, but what's new is performance at the plate. In 2018 and 2019, Warmoth pulled the ball over half of the time and hit line drives on less than 20% of contact. In 2021, the outfielder is spreading his contact evenly across the diamond and hitting over 30% line drives. While Warmoth still shows ample swing and miss in his approach, the newfound balance and power are showing up on the box score.

Triple-A manager Casey Candaele told the Trentonian Warmoth has matured as a hitter and has made adjustments that are paying off.

"He's been more consistent with barrel to the ball," Candaele said. "He's always had the power and talent to be a very good player."

One of Warmoth's early career issues was trying to make too many tweaks, he said. But at AAA he’s learning to maximize and solidify his routine. He’s working with Wall, Josh Palacios, and the rest of the Bisons outfield daily in the cage, and is picking up from Buffalo’s veterans — a clubhouse with three World Series champions — faith in his daily work.

“No matter the past result, just take each day as a new day,” Warmoth said. “No letting things snow pile and control what I can control. Keep having good at bats and if balls fall, they fall. If not, get it tomorrow.”

For now, the balls are falling often for Warmoth, and sometimes landing over the fence. He knows the decision for an MLB callup falls on those above him, but with a calibrated routine and confidence in his approach, Warmoth is helping make that decision for them.