On July 2nd the Dodgers raided the Toronto Blue Jays farm system poaching shortstop Tim Locastro and right-handed pitcher Chase De Jong. In return the Blue Jays received three international signing slots from the Dodgers allowing Toronto to sign Vladimer Guerrero Junior.

In essence both teams got what they wanted. The Jays picked up the international signing they most coveted. The Dodgers acquired Locastro and De Jong who may well be only a couple of years away from major league baseball. The Dodgers obviously did not acquire the two prospects simply as organizational depth. That is, merely to fill out a minor league roster. There are a number of other ways to do that. A definite suspicion is that former Blue Jay coordinator of instruction and present Dodger minor league field coordinator Clayton McCullough was party to the hand picking of Locastro and De Jong.

Chase De Jong was born in Long Beach, CA and attended Woodrow Wilson High School. As a senior at Wilson, he posted a minuscule 0.82 ERA over 76.2 innings pitched, giving up only 35 hits and striking out 103 batters. During his three seasons as a Bruin he pitched a total of 199 innings with a 1.80 ERA while striking out 240 batters.

De Jong was projected to be drafted in the first round so he naturally was disappointed that he was not a first round choice on Monday. There was never any doubt in his mind that he would be selected in the draft as all 30 major league teams has talked with him and 28 of those teams made a visit to meet him along with his parents. He described the waiting as nerve wracking as his selection would then be delayed until Tuesday.

He had a feeling it might be the Blue Jays calling his name as the Jays had seven of the first 81 selections in the 2012 draft. Chase De Jong was chosen with that 81st pick. Although he had committed to the USC Trojans he knew he was going to be a Blue Jay as soon as he heard his name called.

Following his final exams at Woodrow Wilson and after participating in his graduation ceremony on June 14th he headed off to the rookie level Gulf Coast Blue Jays in Dunedin Florida. In 12 innings pitched in 2012 De Jong found immediate success posting a 1.50 ERA and a WHIP of 0.67 while striking out 15. He walked but one hitter in his 12 innings.

In his first start in the 2013 season with the Bluefield Blue Jays of the rookie level Appalachian League De Jong pitched five shutout innings on June 6th against the Greeneville Astros. Over 13 starts during the season he pitched 56 innings with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP while striking out 66 and walking 10.

With two successful seasons under his belt it was expected by the Blue Jays and by De Jong himself that he would continue his rise smoothly through the Blue Jay farm system He was assigned to the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League for the 2014 season. However baseball is a tough task master and it might be safe to say that things unraveled for him during his season in Lansing. His ERA ballooned to 4.82 over 21 starts and his WHIP rose to just a shade under 1.40. He was plagued by the long ball and surrendered 12 home runs in in 97 innings pitched. His season at the Class A level did not go as anticipated.

In his two seasons with the Lansing Lugnuts, De Jong was 8-10 with a 4.03 ERA. He struck out 150 while walking 40 in his 183.1 innings of work. (Photo credit – Kyle Castle)

The off-season was no doubt a time of reflection for Chase De Jong. He realized that he has always “been a little robotic on the mound.” That is, he was being somewhat predictable for hitters and they were feasting on his mechanical style. His plan for the upcoming 2015 season was to develop his “own style and rhythm” to his game in the hopes of increasing the various presentations he can throw. His solution to the home run derby was simply: “Got to get the ball down.”

De Jong was willing to do whatever it took to put his career back on track. He knows the meaning of hard work and the rewards that come with it. “I have a work ethic that’s second to none”, he said, “and I want that to be synonymous with my name where if you got Chase De Jong on your team, that means he’s gonna bust his butt for you, and there’s no shortcuts in his game.”

De Jong returned to the Lugnuts for the 2015 season and in short order put his career back on track allowing only three earned runs in his first 15 innings of the season. In 14 starts with the Lansing squad this season he posted a 3.13 ERA along with a 1.08 WHIP and 77 strikeouts.

The highlight of his 2015 season came on June 18th when he pitched a nine inning compete game that launched the Lugnuts into a post-season playoff berth. He allowed only one run on four hits while striking out 10.

I asked Lansing Lugnuts play-by-play announcer Jesse Goldberg-Strassler about Chase De Jong’s transformation and how he might compare to former Blue Jays pitching prospects Noah Syndergaard, Anthony DeScalfani and Justin Nicolini.

Goldberg-Strassler who has watched De Jong for two seasons has witnessed the make over of the 6’4” 205 lb right-hander: “The big word on Chase De Jong is that after getting hit around last year, he changed his windup (starting to bring the ball over his head) to deny batters a good look at the ball; added a 2-8 slider to supplement (and perhaps supplant) his 12-6 curve; and added a two-seam fastball to supplement (and perhaps supplant) his four-seam fastball. He remade himself as a pitcher, and the results bear that out beautifully. This is, I think, fairly important. He is not the same pitcher as in his high school scouting report.”

“He’s not the same pitcher as Syndergaard (pure power), DeSclafani (fantastic movement and command on his mid-90s fastball) or Nicolino (intellectual, with command and off-speed stuff). He doesn’t throw hard enough to be Noah, doesn’t have the fastball movement of Anthony, and strikes out far more batters than Justin. Personality-wise, he’s far closer to Nicolino in mind/intellect, than the other two. In talent… heck, he might not be Syndergaard, but he certainly could be in DeSclafani or Nicolino’s class.”

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler concluded: “I hold Chase’s character in high regard (as I do Tim Locastro). Superb human beings.”

After he was acquired in the trade Chase De Jong was assigned to the High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League. The 21-year-old is now about an hour’s drive from home in Long Beach which is a run he might make periodically in his 2013 Dodge Challenger.

As a youngster Chase De Jong had been to Dodger Stadium having watched his cousin Jordan De Jong pitch against the Dodgers as a Blue Jay on June 10, 2007. Jordan pitched one inning giving up two earned runs.

Chase De Jong credits his cousin who is 15 years his senior with always having been there when advice was needed. Perhaps in the not too distant future Jordan might get the opportunity to watch his younger cousin pitch in Dodger Stadium.

De Jong made his Rancho Cucamonga debut on Saturday and it didn’t go quite as he had hoped. He allowed two runs on three hits including a home run while striking out three and walking one through 2.1 innings of work. And although the Quakes made a late-innings comeback attempt, they fell short in a 6-4 loss to their archrival Inland Empire 66ers, with De Jong suffering the loss in spite of allowing only two earned runs.