It’s rare that an organization is happy about one of its top pitching prospects missing part of the Minor League season, but Simeon Woods Richardson has a good excuse.

The Blue Jays' No. 4 prospect has been named to the United States Olympic baseball roster, which was announced Friday. Woods Richardson was also part of the U.S. team for the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier, which ran in early June. The United States opens Olympic play in Tokyo against Israel on July 30 at 6 a.m. ET, fielding a roster that includes 14 MLB veterans and four former All-Stars.

This is a nod to Woods Richardson’s maturity as much as his talent, at just 20 years old and already pitching in Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The right-hander has posted a 4.13 ERA over eight starts this season, looking very sharp outside of a rough outing on June 26. If he makes it into Olympic action, it's a spotlight the Blue Jays are confident he’ll thrive in.

“Simeon is the type of pitcher who, when you throw challenges at him, he typically rises to it,” said Gil Kim, the Blue Jays’ director of player development. “With the assignment to Double-A and the opportunity to pitch for his country in a high-stakes tournament, we felt like these are all opportunities that would challenge him. He’s been very successful. He’s been able to command his stuff, utilize his strengths with that fastball and changeup and continue honing that breaking ball. We’re encouraged.”

Toronto’s Double-A roster is stacked, with prospects Austin Martin (No. 2), Jordan Groshans (No. 3), Gabriel Moreno (No. 6), Otto Lopez (No. 11) and others.

“That Double-A team specifically, it has a mix of prospects that are under the league average age and prospects who are around that age,” Kim said. “It’s been a good mix of players to have there.”

Once Woods Richardson rounds out his Olympic experience and returns to the Minor Leagues, a healthy finish to the season should set him up to be one of the stories of Spring Training in 2022. He’ll be just 21 then, but he has always pitched against older competition, which his advanced arsenal and feel for pitching allow. Acquired as an 18-year-old from the Mets in the Marcus Stroman deal in July 2019, Woods Richardson is ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 68 prospect in baseball.

Jansen activated, but catching questions persist
Catcher Danny Jansen was activated from the injured list on Saturday after dealing with a right groin strain. Riley Adams was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, leaving Jansen to compete for playing time with Reese McGuire, who entered the weekend hitting .302.

“McGuire has done a good job. I see him continuing to catch a lot, and then we’ll see where Danny gets in,” said Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo. “They’re both going to get a chance, but Reese has done a really good job.”

Matchups will come into play, and Jansen will surely be used to help get Hyun Jin Ryu back on track after an uncharacteristic rough stretch of late, but it’s clear that McGuire has the inside track on reps. This still doesn’t answer the question of Alejandro Kirk, though, who’s rounding out a rehab assignment at Triple-A Buffalo after working his way back from a left flexor strain. As hot as McGuire is and as much as the organization believes in Jansen, Kirk’s offensive upside is the best of the group.

Some more reps in Triple-A won’t hurt Kirk, especially defensively, so the club might not rush him back. Jansen will need to perform at the plate, though, and this is officially turning into a competition for playing time.

Springer finds a new home in the cleanup spot
Expected to be the Blue Jays’ everyday leadoff man before his quad injuries, George Springer batted fifth in his return but was moved into the cleanup spot on Friday, right between Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernández. There’s a strategy to this, but regardless of how they’re lined up, this has to be a nightmare for opposing pitchers.

“If you don’t want to pitch to Vladdy, you’re going to have to pitch to Springer,” Montoyo explained. “If you don’t want to pitch to Springer, now you’ve got Teoscar behind. It was more about protecting guys. Teoscar did a nice job behind Vladdy, but now with Springer in the middle of those two guys, Teoscar is going to get more chances for more RBIs. It felt like it was the right time to make that move [Friday].”