Jays reassign Bichette to Minors

Bo Bichette might not be in big league camp anymore, but he certainly made the most of his opportunity. 
The Blue Jays reassigned their No. 2 prospect to Minor League camp Monday. Bichette impressed during his second Major League Spring Training, batting .417/.485/.833 with four home runs, eight runs scored, five RBIs and a pair of stolen bases over 18 Grapefruit League games. 

The 21-year-old achieved all that despite not yet playing above Double-A. Last season with New Hampshire, MLB.com's No. 11 overall prospect led the Eastern League in hits (154) en route to hitting .286 with 11 jacks, 43 doubles and 74 RBIs. 
Perhaps the most encouraging part of his season was Bichette's second-half turnaround, as he batted .326/.383/.505 following the All-Star break.

"I think maybe I gave pitchers too much credit, thinking they'd exploit [my athleticism in the box]," he told MiLB.com in July. "People tell me all the time my swing's too noisy and stuff. I think just a combination of everything kind of made me feel like I needed to quiet things down. Recently, I just kind of realized that's what made me special; I do things a little bit differently. ... I decided to start going back to my old self and just kind of having fun up there and swinging as hard as I can. It's pretty immediately made some impact."
The 2016 second-round pick is expected to begin this season with Triple-A Buffalo, where top overall prospect and Blue Jays No. 1 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will likely join him once he is fully recovered from a Grade 1 strain of his left oblique. 
Toronto No. 9 Cavan Biggio was also reassigned. The 23-year-old hit .243 with a .750 OPS and two home runs this spring. He is also expected to start this year with the Bisons. 

Hayes sent down 

Ke'Bryan Hayes broke out in 2018, putting together his best season in the Minors since the Pirates selected him in the first round of the 2015 Draft. 
Pittsburgh rewarded its second-ranked prospect by inviting him to Spring Training, where he went 9-for-26 with a 1.165 OPS, two home runs, nine RBIs, five runs scored and a stolen base. But like Bichette, Hayes was reassigned Monday.

Baseball's 46th overall prospect clubbed both home runs in the same game against the Marlins on Feb. 24 -- the latter being a walk-off grand slam. 

Hayes, the son of former Major Leaguer Charlie Hayes, posted a .293/.375/.444 slash line -- setting career highs in all three categories -- with seven home runs and 47 RBIs for Double-A Altoona last season. The 60-grade fielder also brings a dynamic presence to the hot corner, where he shows off his 60-grade arm. Hayes made six errors in 1,003 2/3 innings at third base last year (.978 fielding percentage). 
The Pirates also reassigned No. 8 prospect Bryan Reynolds, No. 15 Will Craig, Nick Franklin, Arden Pabst, Geoff Hartlieb, Christian Kelley and Brandon Waddell to Minor League camp. They optioned sixth-ranked Kevin Kramer to Triple-A Indianapolis.