Baseball Bloodlines Run Deep in Blue Jays System

The Toronto Blue Jays clearly see a lot of value in baseball bloodlines.

The club selected Kacy Clemens 249th overall during the eighth round of the 2017 MLB draft on Tuesday, almost two decades after his father Roger won his second straight AL Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays in what was the most dominant two-year pitching run in club history.

The 22-year-old left-handed hitting first baseman just finished his collegiate career with the Texas Longhorns, where he hit .305 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI in 62 games during his senior season. In 214 career games with Texas, Clemens slashed .267/.384/.400 with 101 RBI and 18 jacks in 662 at-bats. He becomes the second Clemens son to join the Blue Jays system, as Roger's eldest son, Koby, had brief stints with Class A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire during the 2012 season.

The Clemens bloodline isn't the only one flowing through the Blue Jays' organization, either. Toronto has a number of prospects whose fathers had great and, in some cases, Hall of Fame careers.

Two of Toronto's most high-profile prospects are Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, the sons of Vladdy and Dante. Cavan Biggio, son of Hall of Famer Craig, is also in the system, as they've all joined the Blue Jays organization in the past few years and are developing at various levels in the minors.

Guerrero Jr. is the team's top-rated prospect and is ranked No. 16 overall according to Baseball America's most recent top-100 list. The 18-year-old is lighting it up at Class A Lansing so far this season, slashing .332/.423/.486 with 18 doubles, four home runs and 36 RBI in 246 plate appearances. His father Vlad Sr. played for the Expos, Angels, Rangers, and Orioles during a decorated 16-year MLB career, where he was a nine-time All-Star and won the 2004 AL MVP award.

Bichette is another top-100 ranked prospect and was the Blue Jays' second-round selection (No. 66 overall) in 2016. Like Guerrero, Bichette is tearing it up at Lansing this season, slashing an absurd .382/.454/.613 with 25 doubles, six home runs and 38 RBI in 294 at-bats. His father Dante was a monster for the majority of his 14-year MLB career, especially with the Colorado Rockies, where he was a four-time All-Star and finished second in NL MVP voting in 1995 when he hit .340/.364/.620 with a league-high 40 homers and 128 RBI.

Biggio was first drafted by the Phillies in 2013, but didn't sign with the club and was later selected by Toronto in 2016 after re-entering the draft. The 22-year-old has slashed .261/.358./.357 with four jacks and 26 extra-base hits with Class A Dunedin this season. His seven-time All-Star father, Craig, spent his full 20-season MLB career with the Houston Astros, where he posted a .363 career OBP, collected over 3000 hits, and added four Gold Glove's during his Hall of Fame career.

The Blue Jays appear to be hoping that tapping into successful baseball bloodlines will mitigate the risks that come along with drafting prospects in an increasingly unpredictable development landscape. With the recent selection of Clemens, and Guerrero, Biggio and Bichette having strong showings in the minors, that strategy just may pay off for the big club in the not-too-distant future.