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TORONTO — As Toronto Blue Jays prospects gather in Dunedin for the start of minor league camp, Kevin Smith is staying ready in Nashville.

The reason Smith — the No. 9 prospect on my 2022 top 50 list last month — isn’t there is because he’s now part of the Major League Baseball Players Association after his 18-game MLB debut last season.

Thanks to the ongoing lockout, Smith, who picked up just three hits in his tiny sample size of 36 trips to the plate last season, hasn’t been able to use the club’s facilities or have any contact with the coaching staff about his off-season progress due to his status as a member of the 40-man roster.

With the potential for a key utilityman role in the big leagues at some point this season, depending on what the Jays front office does with the infield depth chart coming out of this lockout, the 25-year-old faces an important personal campaign that’s likely to get off to a late and uncertain start.

“You’re almost trying to transition into spring training mode when you’re not at spring training,” Smith said this week from Nashville, where he’s training at The Bledsoe Agency facility as he normally does in the off-season with a handful of other young players.

“I try to get down to spring training early a lot and try to hang out with the guys and hang out with the coaches and try to get into that mode a week or two before everything ramps up. That aspect of it is a little weird, still being at home here at the end of February, but as far as training goes, everything here in Nashville is top notch and I haven’t missed out on too much.”

Uncertainty is something Smith should probably get used to.

With the Jays in win-now mode, he’s going to be expected to perform when called upon, whether that’s as spot starter, a pinch-hit role off the bench or as a defensive replacement.

Not getting regular at-bats while breaking into the majors is one of the toughest adjustments young players on good teams face.

“Everyone kind of calls that position where you’re floating and you’re up there for a few games maybe getting a couple at-bats a week and you’re up and down to Triple-A, that’s kind of the hardest position to be in as a player,” Smith said. “You’re used to playing every day your whole life and you finally make it to the big leagues, and you’ve got all this new stuff you have to learn and a new lifestyle off the field. Then on top of that you’re only getting to play a couple times a week. It was all new and fun, but that experience is going to help me.

“You’ve got to be able to play well in those situations to earn more time, so it’s all about getting off to a good start and being confident even when you’re only playing a couple times a week.”

While his debut didn’t go quite as planned in Toronto, Smith’s overall season was a huge success.

Coming off his only poor statistical performance in 2019, Smith’s stock was down heading into 2020 and the pandemic kept his progress away from prying eyes.

When he re-emerged in 2021, Smith was back to his 2018 ways, finishing with an impressive .285/.370/.561 slash line with 21 homers and 18 steals at Triple-A, which earned him his first call-up in August.

“I set some goals for myself, and I did pretty well with those, but it was kind of what I expected,” Smith said. “In 2019, we tried some stuff that didn’t work. We thought it would make me a better hitter and obviously it did not, so we reverted back to what worked and tried to stay consistent with it.”

His defensive portfolio also expanded, as he added first base and left field, in addition to the shortstop, third base and second base spots he’s worked at previously.

While many believe Smith could turn into an everyday player with the bat — handling MLB-quality velocity day-in and day-out will be the test in the opinion of many — he knows his path to contributing right away is via a Swiss Army knife role.

“Tweak a few things here and there and try to get better,” he said. “Whether it’s in the outfield with my footwork — I’ve only played about 30 games there — or working all over the infield instead of just short like I normally do in the off-season, just little things like that I feel like will help me going into the season so I can contribute in many ways.”

As of today, Smith is in line for a bench role, with Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal penciled in as the starters at second base and third base, respectively.

But that will change.

The Jays are on the hunt for at least one impact bat to play one of those spots, and another versatile depth option in addition to that might be smart, too.

If that happens, Smith likely starts the season back at Triple-A, joining fellow 40-man member Otto Lopez and 2018 12th overall pick Jordan Groshans in the Buffalo Bisons’ infield on most days.

“I think everyone looks at it the same way,” Smith said of how he views his depth chart situation. “Whether you’re someone who’s been around the league for a while or someone who’s just coming up, you’re obviously going to look at who the team has, where you could be an option to get into the lineup, where you could play, here or there. But ultimately, it still doesn’t change what you’re doing in the off-season. You still want to be able to go attack things that will make you better and stay consistent with the things you’re good at that got you to that position.”

He also knows things can change quickly in the oftentimes nomadic sport of baseball.

“The off-season seems like it’s almost coming to a close and it could be a crazy week,” Smith said. “They could make a deal and you could be on a totally different team in two days. You have no idea what’s going happen. Baseball is kind of crazy like that. One day you have five guys ahead of you and the next you’re stepping to the plate.”

For now, Smith will simply focus on staying ready for the day he’s cleared to head back to Blue Jays headquarters in Dunedin.

“At least we know that we’re ready for when that deal gets done and we go to Florida, and now it’s just kind of maintaining that and staying in that mode as long as you can and, hopefully, it’s not too long,” Smith said.

“I think the PA and our player reps have done a great job. We get updates from Ross Stripling, and he’s done a great job keeping us aware of what’s going on. For me, we kind of know what’s going on and I’m kind of proud to be a part of this player group. We’re on the same page and they’re fighting for things that we deserve. I don’t think it’s anxious or anything like that. Everyone wants to play and everyone’s as ready as they can be heading into spring.”