Aaron Parker is a catcher by trade, but the Blue Jays prospect is learning left field in the Arizona Fall League. The move echoes the Daulton Varsho path.

Parker was one of three Jays prospects named AFL All-Stars, along with pitcher Jake Bloss and outfielder Jake Cook.

He's earned it. He's hitting .351/.479/.459 across 48 plate appearances with the Mesa Solar Sox.

On Wednesday, he crushed a 451-foot home run, tied for the fourth-longest in the AFL this season.

The position switch is the bigger story. Nearly all of his 1,062.2 career innings since the 2024 draft came behind the plate, but he's logged 45 innings in left field this fall.

“Flyball goes up, your heart races a little bit, but you try to keep your wits about you,” Parker said.

Alejandro Kirk and Brandon Valenzuela block Aaron Parker's catching path

Why move him at all? Because the catching depth chart is full.

Alejandro Kirk is locked in through 2030, and Brandon Valenzuela became a Gold Glove finalist this year. The Jays want the prospect's bat in the lineup somewhere.

That bat is real. He hit 19 homers in 87 games at Double-A New Hampshire, and his 90th percentile exit velocity ranked in the top 1% of the minors.

He's also a perfect 8-for-8 stealing bases. “If the transition to the outfield is a little bit more permanent, I think it would be really important to steal more bases,” he said.

Varsho made the same leap. He started 61 games at catcher over his first three seasons in Arizona before becoming one of the best defensive outfielders in the game in Toronto.

The move is smart. Parker's power is too good to waste behind Kirk, and a lineup starved for thump can't afford to bury a bat like his.

It's like a pastry chef learning the grill. The tools are different, but the instincts and ambition travel.

Bloss is building innings with 11 strikeouts over 10.1 frames, while Cook ranks second in the league with 14 steals. Joe Sclafani said 50 or 60 steals a year from Cook would leave the club “thrilled.”

Parker could be the most intriguing of the three. If the outfield switch sticks, Toronto may have found a homegrown power bat hiding behind the mask.