Blue Jays hire minor league hitting instructor
The Toronto Blue Jays have hired Jacob Caples as a minor league hitting instructor.
While the team has not officially announced the deal, Caples himself posted it to social media.
Caples' comes to the Jays from Southern Arkansas University (SAU), in Magnolia, where he was an assistant coach with their Muleriders Baseball team.
Caples' reputation precedes him. In his first season in Magnolia, he helped the Muleriders go on an historic run as they reached the Division II World Series.
Prior to his stint with the Muleriders, he served three years as an assistant coach in Little Rock, working with predominantly catchers, including working with Kale Emshoff, who ended up getting signed by the Kansas City Royals.
Even before his stint in Little Rock, Caples was helping hitters. In 2018, while an assistant with the University of Arkansas-Monticello, he helped lead one of the country's best offences which ranked 8th nationally in home runs, 8th nationally in slugging percentage, and 16th nationally in batting average.
He also spent that year as an assistant coach and recruitment coordinator at Tarleton State University.
In 2016, Caples was the coach of Corey Wood, who received the Josh Willingham Award, which is given to the most valuable player in NCAA Division II.
Beyond that, Caples worked in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he worked with two catchers, Austin Wells and Carson Taylor. Wells was drafted in the 1st round by the New York Yankees and made his debut in 2023, and Taylor was a 4th round pick by the Dodgers.
While the exact nature ofCaples role with the Blue Jays is unknown, the franchise clearly values and recognizes his skill in the development of younger players.
Caples is an alumnus of West Texas A&M.
