Despite being just 56-63, the major league Toronto Blue Jays are still just 3.5 games back in the battle for the third and final wild card spot in the American League.

And while that's theoretically exciting, it might not be as exciting as what's going down on the farm right now, where the Jays just promoted top prospect JoJo Parker from Single-A Dunedin to High-A Vancouver on Sunday night.

A first-round pick of the Jays in 2025 out of the Mississippi high school ranks, Parker is just 20 years old. He hit .258 at Dunedin with a .388 on-base percentage, popping 13 home runs and bringing in 66 RBIs. He also has 22 stolen bases.

In his last 35 games at Dunedin though? He hit .299 with nine home runs and a 1.032 OPS, proving he was ready for the promotion.

This is his first professional season.

With Vancouver, he'll be playing alongside Tyler Southisene, who was just acquired from the Chicago Cubs in the deal that sent Kevin Gausman to Chicago. Southisene has excellent bat-to-ball skills and just hit his first professional home run on Sunday.

While much can happen over the next few years, it's fair to wonder if fans will be getting an early look at an eventual double-play combo for the Jays.

Just keep this in the back of your minds:

While everyone is expecting a lockout this winter, it's obviously unclear how long a lockout would go and if major league games would be missed as a result.

But if major league games are missed, minor league games still happen. The only caveat is that players on the 40-man roster cannot play in them, because they are part of the MLB Players Union at that point.

Parker will not be on the 40-man roster at the beginning of next season, meaning that he can continue to play games and develop through 2027. That will be crucial as he grows.

MLB Pipeline has his estimated MLB debut as 2029. He's ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Blue Jays organization and the No. 27 prospect in the sport as a whole. He represented Toronto in the recent MLB Futures Game.

The Blue Jays traded former top prospect Arjun Nimmala to the Los Angeles Angels in the deal for Jose Soriano at the trade deadline. Nimmala is also a shortstop, and with him gone, the runway is clear for Parker to become the shortstop of the future.