BISCUITS FAVE: Qsar enjoys brief time at Triple-A and brings the joy back to Montgomery
As one of the older players in the clubhouse, Jordan Qsar is one of the more popular guys on the Biscuits roster. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Jordan Qsar is sort of like a travel agent, the guy that took the popular trip that everyone wants to know about.
Qsar spent more than a month with the Triple-A Durham Bulls and as soon as he returned to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits in early July, he was the most popular player in the clubhouse.
“Guys have asked how it is,” Qsar said. “For me, the biggest thing I learned is to keep sticking with it every day and when it feels like you’re far away from the big leagues, you’re really not. You’re really that close. We’re almost there.”
Like everyone else on the team, Qsar dreams of making that Tampa Bay roster. Like everyone else, he has overcome a lot to get to this point. Getting to the Triple-A level, even when the promotion comes because of injuries to other players, brings the future a little closer to the present.
“I think it just shows you how close we are,” he said. “Sometimes, especially last year when I was in high A, you feel kind of far from the big leagues. Just being up there a month, I saw about 10 guys get called up. It kind of puts in perspective how close you are.”
Qsar, the third oldest in the Montgomery dugout among a group of six 26-year-olds, had been waiting for that moment for a while.
He was a standout outfielder (and pitcher) at Valhalla High in El Cajon, Calif., in 2014, hitting .342 in his career with seven homers, 32 doubles and 34 stolen bases (along with a 2.40 earned run average on the mound). He was the team’s most valuable player in basketball as well and was named the scholar-athlete of the year for his 4.0-plus grade-point average.
At Pepperdine, he made the West Coast Conference all-freshman team after batting a team-best .313 with the Waves, but a back injury sidelined him for all but 13 games in 2016. He earned all-WCC honorable mention selection as a redshirt sophomore in 2017, then was selected to Collegiate Baseball’s All-America team in 2018 after slugging 13 homes runs, driving in 63 runs and being selected as the West Coast Conference Player of the Year.
He was drafted by the Rays in the 25th round of the 2018 draft and earned the John Scolinos Award, presented to a Pepperdine alumnus who best demonstrates strong character traits, including humility, resourcefulness, loyalty, honesty, work ethic, Christian behavior and sportsmanship.
He has spent his first four years at the Single-A level, losing one year to the coronavirus pandemic and battling a high number of strikeouts (305 entering this year in 750 at-bats) but earning a promotion to Double-A after recording 19 doubles and 23 home runs last season.
Injuries to Tampa Bay’s Manuel Margot and Durham’s Ruben Cardenas -- along with sending Nico Hulsizer from Durham to Montgomery a week earlier -- left the Bulls needing an outfielder and on May 26 he was promoted to Durham.
In 24 games, he batted .205 with four home runs, earning some valuable experience in the process.
“It’s a higher caliber of ball,” Montgomery manager Morgan Ensberg noted. “They’re playing with more big leaguers. They get to see how they handle themselves, how they work. It’s a little more advanced game so they come back with a little more experience.”
He returned to the Biscuits on July 6 and went hitless in his first six at-bats before going 3 for 8 in a pair of weekend games against Biloxi prior to a road trip to Birmingham. While every player dreams of being called up, Qsar knew he would return as soon as the injured players returned to the lineup.
“I was fortunate to get called up because of some injuries at the big league level and at the Triple A level, so I got put in an interesting spot, an opportunity to experience Triple A a little prematurely to when I would have gone,” he said. “So just coming back here was an opportunity to have more of a role here and get at-bats because at the end of the day it’s about getting better.”
After watching his Durham teammates for a month, he’s convinced his dream is still within his reach.
“You’ve got some guys that have had some big league time, so they might be on a little more of their own regimen,” Qsar said. “Down here, there’s a little more of a schedule to it, but when the clock strikes 7 and it’s game time, first pitch, the game is the same. You’ve got your plans up there against the pitcher, you’ve got your approach, but the game is the game.”
The Biscuits continue a short series with Mississippi this weekend before hitting the road for six games at Biloxi.