Mar 3, 2016; Bradenton, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Richard Urena (78) looks on in the dugout against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Blue Jays are seeing an offensive component continue to develop alongside Richard Urena’s strong defensive game

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop prospect Richard Urena burst onto the scene in 2015 with 16 home runs.

This season may not see him approach that same home run total, but Urena’s offensive game had steadily grown and despite his relatively low profile, the 20-year-old Dominican is developing into a legitimate top-tier prospect for the Blue Jays.

Standing six feet tall, 185 pounds, Urena provided very little power in his first two years after signing out of the Dominican in 2012. For a strong defensive shortstop with a thin frame, that wasn’t a surprise. Building on his 2015 campaign, though, Urena has grown his OPS each month this season. And don’t forget: he’s very new to switch-hitting.

Stretching back to the beginning of June with the Dunedin Blue Jays, Urena is hitting .352 in 176 plate appearances. Shorten that to the month of July, and Urena has hit .412 with a 1.025 OPS in his last 72 plate appearances.

Perhaps the most impressive factor involved is Urena’s age. Turning 20 this past February, he has made just four plate appearances against pitchers that are younger than him.

This also represents a calming of the waters for Urena, who last year was bumped from Lansing up to Dunedin and eventually back down after his first stint with the D-Jays did not go as planned. Between July 3rd and August 7th, Urena produced a .582 OPS with just one of his 16 home runs coming in those 30 games.

Urena got a taste of the big league club this year in Spring Training, dazzling management with some plays in the field and showing the raw potential he holds in his bat.

“He looks like the future,” John Gibbons told MLB.com. “He’ll probably be the heir apparent to [Troy] Tulowitzki someday. He’s very calm. He carries himself like a big leaguer. He hits from both sides of the plate, and he’s a good defender. So he’s got everything. It’s just that he’s such a youngster, and he’s got to pay his dues.”

Confidence in Urena’s projection could very well have been a factor in the club’s willingness to part with Franklin Barreto (signed the day before Urena in 2012) in the Josh Donaldson deal. Barreto is now the Athletics’ top prospect and sits in the top-40 of many league-wide lists, but in Urena and 2016 draftee Bo Bichette, who is currently putting up video game numbers in the Gulf Coast League, the Blue Jays have a pair of deeply talented pieces.

Behind Tulowitzki and the young Devon Travis at the major league level, not to mention Andy Burns and his ability to provide quadruple-A depth at multiple infield spots, the Blue Jays have positioned themselves rather well at a position that had typically been an organizational weakness.

Twitter: @KeeganMatheson

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