TORONTO — Math and science always came naturally to Sean Keys, which is why he chose to major in mechanical engineering at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Penn. One of his assignments involved building and programming a robot that could follow a jagged line on the ground.

“I know it was a lot of work,” he said, “but looking back, some of the labs that we did, some of the projects that we did were really cool. Got to be thankful for that.”

Keys enjoyed robotics but would likely have ended up in one of the automative, aeronautic or locomotive industries if he wasn’t crushing baseballs right now in the Toronto Blue Jays system. 

The 22-year-old corner infielder from Huntington, N.Y., a fourth-round pick in 2024, is “definitely all in on” building a career on the diamond, adding that “it's nice having my degree behind me so that I can put everything into it.”

Since signing with the Blue Jays, he’s done precisely that, following up a short 22-game stint in low-A Dunedin after he was drafted with a .217/.365/.408 season with 19 homers and 72 RBIs at high-A Vancouver last year.

The underlying numbers around his exit velocities and swing decisions had player-development staff excited by his progression — and that’s showed up in a strong start at double-A New Hampshire, where he pounded a Fisher Cats record nine homers in April.

He’s also posted a .310/.429/.667 line across 24 outings, springboarding from his first big-league camp and 19 Grapefruit League games backfilling for World Baseball Classic absences.

"Obviously coming off the World Series, just being there was a dream come true,” said Keys, who went 6-for-31 with a homer and two doubles in 19 Grapefruit League games. “I leaned on stuff I worked on in the off-season with my swing, being in my legs, not needing to jump at the ball, letting the ball come to me and putting barrel on the ball.”

The way he did that opened some eyes, with manager John Schneider noting that hitting coach David Popkins “was pretty encouraged with this dude” alongside his own positive impression.

“He grew on me, big........

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