DUNEDIN, Fla. – Jordan Groshans was the Blue Jays’ first-round pick out of the Texas high school ranks in 2018. After an injury-shortened first full season and then the pandemic-induced shutdown, the Blue Jays challenged Groshans with a jump to Double-A. We talked about that, his hitting mechanics, his brother in pro ball and his high school teammate, who is also a Blue Jays farmhand.

Jonathan Mayo: Last year was a huge learning curve for you. The way you've talked about it is just how you were able to approach those lessons and take them in. Maybe that’s something you wouldn't have been able to do earlier on in your career?

Jordan Groshans: It was a lot. I worked with a couple of mental guys, getting right back where I need to be mentally and learning to embrace failure, not let it consume me. Learn to bounce back, maintain my routine, stuff like that. It was really beneficial in the last year, now I'm looking forward to carrying it into this year.

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Mayo: It's a hard balance, isn't it? Because you want to be the best of the best and people tell me that you have huge expectations. That's not uncommon here but it's also 500 at-bats, you can't live and die by every at-bat. How do you keep working on finding that balance?

Groshans: Just knowing that it's a game. It's nothing more than what we played when we were younger and doing what we do now is just professional, that's it. So, learning to balance the outside life in baseball has been huge.

Mayo: Let’s talk a little bit about swing mechanics and things like that because that was something that you were reluctant to embrace. And again, I think it's a balance, right? Sometimes you just have to let it rip. Tell me a little bit about how you've changed your swing and brought in the launch angle stuff without losing who you are.

Groshans: My dad's my hitting coach. He's worked with me since day one, knows my swing better than anybody. We just worked on keeping it simple, cutting down the leg kick, not getting big, controlling what I can control, working in the zone, swinging at good pitches. Nothing really huge, mechanically, just toning it down a little bit.

Mayo: When people ask you about when the power is going to come, do you get frustrated by it? Do you understand it? There's the old adage that power is often the last thing to come. Is that something you sort of just learned?

Groshans: The way I view it is, be a hitter before that. If you can have a good foundation, you can be a good hitter, the power will come. Just getting older, more developed, it’ll be there. So, it doesn't frustrate me. It's annoying sometimes to hear because it's just like, I'd rather hit .300 with 10 [home runs] to .200 with 30 [home runs]. But that's just how I am.

Mayo: I remember when you were entering pro ball in the Draft, people said, “Is he going to get too big for shortstop?” You probably were like, “I want to prove to everyone wrong and show you can play short.”

Groshans: Absolutely.

Mayo: So, sliding over to third, it's not a demotion, but talk a little bit about your evolution in thinking about playing both positions.

Groshans: The way I view it is wherever they need me is wherever I'm going to play. They've developed me really well at shortstop, but they're starting to split time [between] short and third. And it's all the same, it's just taking what I know from short and applying it to third and being the best player I can be at that position.

Mayo: Blue Jays farm director Joe Sclafani was saying that you've really taken to a lot of things regarding mobility and flexibility and things like that. How has that impacted you defensively?

Groshans: Huge. I remember my first year I could barely bend over and touch my toes and that was hard. Going through the ups and downs defensively had -- I wouldn't say bad, just kind of a struggle with body positioning and getting to a good spot to field the ball. Being able to be loose now, more mobile has helped me move, helped with my range being able to get down and be more consistent, so it’s huge.

Mayo: I'm sure you get a lot of questions about having a brother [Red Sox prospect Jaxx Groshans] in pro ball, but having a sounding board like that, even if you're not talking about what you do on this backdoor slider, but just the grind and the day-to-day. How much do you guys benefit from each other?

Groshans: A lot. That's my best friend, that’s my brother. I love him to death and he’s a hell of a player too, so we feed off each other and we take notes and work with each other and try and bring the best out. He helps me -- being a catcher -- kind of read pitches, sequences, stuff like that's huge. So, the best of both worlds.

Mayo: Any friendly competition about who's going to get to the big leagues first?

Groshans: Oh, absolutely. He had a really good year last year so he might beat me there, you never know. It's always good competition going up and seeing who’s going to get there first.

Mayo: In terms of that sort of support, to have a high school teammate in your organization with Adam Kloffenstein -- obviously it's apples to oranges because he’s a pitcher -- but what has that been like, coming from the same place and going through the same process.

Groshans: It's been good. Having your best friend with you is huge. We help each other, we helped [make] the transition a lot smoother. Getting here as high school guys, it's hard being around older guys that have been through it, so having him with me has been really good. We feed off each other and work with each other.

Mayo: What is the best MLB comp that you've heard about yourself?

Groshans: Probably [Troy] Tulowitzki, I think that's one of the better ones. I liked the way he played and when he was here, he took a young kid, took me aside and worked with me and took time out of his day for me, and I'll be grateful for that forever. Being able to play like him, he was a leader, he could really play. I mean, it's Tulo, you know. Being able to be compared to that is huge. I really like it.