David Lennon: Centerport's Sean Keys showing Blue Jays what he's made of during spring training

NORTH PORT, Fla. — The starting first baseman for the defending American League champions on Thursday afternoon was Centerport’s own Sean Keys, whose regular placement there by the Blue Jays in spring training feels both ahead of schedule (thanks to the WBC loaners) and yet right on time for those monitoring the early career of the former Harborfields High School star.

Keys was drafted in 2024 shortly after being named Patriot League Player of the Year at Bucknell University — not exactly a household name for producing major-leaguers — and then raking for the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod League. When the conversation turns to colleges in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse, Keys usually has to do more explaining than most.

“It’s in Pennsylvania,” he tells them. “We play Army and Navy. That’s kind of how I describe it. But I loved it there.”

Right now is all about the destination for Keys, however, and Thursday had him digging in against two of Atlanta’s elite starters — 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale along with Spencer Strider, a 2023 All-Star looking to regain his ace credentials. Not the easiest of assignments for a hitter with only 141 minor-league games on his pro resume, none above High-A Vancouver.

But the lefthanded-hitting Keys already had dented Tigers lefthander Tarik Skubal three days earlier, smacking a 108-mph double over the rightfielder’s head in Lakeland. The reigning back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner rifled a first-pitch, 96-mph fastball down-and-in to the 6-1, 232-pound Keys, but his quick bat beat him to the spot.

On Thursday, Keys — true to the aggressive, contact-driven mentality that got the Blue Jays to Game 7 of last October’s World Series — tried the same approach with Sale in the third inning. He jumped a first-pitch changeup but fouled it off, and then Sale kept him off balance with sliders and fastballs.

The one Keys wanted back was the 96-mph heater that was just a bit too inside, forcing him to pull the pitch foul. The next, No. 6, was a 79-mph slider that split the plate, freezing him for the strikeout.

Two innings later, with Strider on the mound, Keys took a first-pitch curve for a strike, watched a changeup in the dirt and then dropped the barrel on a low fastball, hammering a 105-mph double to rightfield.

The plate discipline, the loud contact, the big exit velo — all have been hallmarks of Keys’ rise since he became the Blue Jays’ fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft (125th overall). And now he’s storing away all of the mental notes from these exhibition showdowns, which will serve him well in the future.

“I think it’s making it more normal for sure,” said Keys, who is batting .222 (4-for-18) with a homer and an .800 OPS in nine Grapefruit League games. “You show up here and your eyes are wide open and you see the guys you’ve been watching your whole life. But it’s still baseball, and I’m getting more comfortable facing those guys.”

At this stage, it’s all about the adjustments. Last year, Keys spent his first full minor-league season with High-A Vancouver, so visits were sparse from Long Island family and friends. But for the people who did see him in the Northwest League, he put on quite a show with an affiliate-record 19 homers (119 games) that led all levels of the Jays’ farm system. Based on firsthand accounts, some of them are still in orbit.

“Sean has insane power,” said shortstop Arjun Nimmala, his Vancouver teammate, his current spring training roommate and the Jays’ No. 3 prospect. “He hits the ball harder and farther than a lot of people I know. Especially late in the year, he was absolutely destroying some of those baseballs.”

Keys currently sits at No. 17 on the Jays’ prospect list, according to MLB Pipeline. He was drafted as a third baseman but made 30 starts at first base last season at High-A and is being used almost exclusively there in spring training.

The Jays are locked up at the corners for a while with five-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the newly signed Kazuma Okamoto — both are away at the WBC with the rest of the infield — but Toronto evidently feels confident in pushing Keys quickly to this spot.

“First and foremost, he’s earned it,” general manager Ross Adkins said. “We don’t take that lightly. I think what we want to see is the ability to impact a major-league team, the talent to do so, the foundation to do so on both sides of the ball, and then we want it to align with our values. So his process, his routines, his work ethic made all of those boxes easily checked with Sean, so it made sense.”

Keys, a non-roster invitee, instantly rewarded that faith by homering in his very first at-bat during the Blue Jays’ Grapefruit League opener. He pretty much arrived in Dunedin as advertised, and now the job has been trying to soak up the big-league experience before likely moving on to Double-A New Hampshire, about 3,000 miles closer to home than his previous stop.

“I’m obviously humbled and really grateful for the opportunity,” Keys said. “I’ve just had a blast so far.”

He’s also been delivering them, as Keys did again Thursday off Strider. While the glove remains a work in progress, his loud bat and selective eye seem to have him going places in a hurry.

“Getting into this environment was important for him,” manager John Schneider said.

And Keys keeps making the most of his chances, wherever they may be.