TORONTO — Between graduating players to the majors and trading prospects for immediate big-league help, the Toronto Blue Jays‘ farm system was due for an inevitable dip in overall talent.
Consider that in the last five years, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, Cavan Biggio, Santiago Espinal, Alek Manoah, Jordan Romano and Tim Mayza emerged as regulars, while three first-round picks (Jordan Groshans, Austin Martin and Gunnar Hoglund) plus Gabriel Moreno (who reached No. 1 last summer in Baseball America’s rankings of the game’s best prospects), among others, were used in deals.
It’s understandable, then, that the system went from seventh in BA’s organizational rankings in 2018 to third the next year, to sixth in 2020, back to third in 2021 then down to 19th last year over that span, checking in at No. 17 as the 2023 season begins to unfold.
Lefty Ricky Tiedemann is now the organization’s clear crown jewel, with 21-year-old slugger Orelvis Martinez looking to regain some lost lustre after a mixed-bag year at double-A New Hampshire in 2022. Both begin the new minor-league season back with the Fisher Cats (with Tiedemann delayed by three or four starts after experiencing mild shoulder soreness during spring training) and while their progress will be crucial for the Blue Jays to rebuild the strength of their system, so will the emergence of others around them to deepen the talent pool.
“It’s a different look now but for all the right reasons,” said Joe Sclafani, the Blue Jays’ director of player development. “We’re adding talent to the big-league club, both internally and through trades, it’s been giving other guys opportunities and it’s been cool to see some of those guys kind of step up and stand out for all the right reasons.”
To that end, the Blue Jays have intriguing prospects at every level capable of ensuring the system remains on an upward trajectory.
At triple-A Buffalo, hard-throwing righties Yosver Zulueta, Nate Pearson and Hayden Juenger, plus infielders Addison Barger and Otto Lopez offer near-term potential. Along with Tiedemann and Martinez at double-A are emerging young starters Sem Robberse and Jimmy Robbins. At advanced-A Vancouver, infielders Cade Doughty and Josh Kasevich — part of last year’s draft haul — lefty Adam Macko — part of the return from Seattle for Teoscar Hernandez — and outfielders Dasan Brown and Gabby Martinez are pushing upwards.
At low-A Dunedin, there’s infielder Tucker Toman, the big arms of lefty Kendry Rojas and righty Yondrei Rojas, and small but dynamic infielder/outfielder Adrian Pinto.
To help maintain and extend the current competitive window, the onus will be on the Blue Jays’ player development to push players beyond their projections and produce a painless restock of the farm.
“Catching is an area of opportunity — there are plenty of interesting players and it’s just a matter of who’s going to stand out amongst that group,” Sclafani said while assessing the system’s strengths, weaknesses and areas of depth. “Still feel like we’re really strong infield-wise, up the middle but also in the corners now. We have some really interesting third-base guys and first-basemen. Then the outfield, historically since I’ve been here it has been a little lighter, we have some interesting names at a lot of levels and especially some young guys who have a chance to really explode on the scene this year. And the pitching is probably the best it’s ever been.”
Here’s a team-by-team look at the organization (all player rankings are based on Baseball America’s pre-season top 30):
Triple-A Buffalo Bisons
Top-10 Prospects – RHP Yosver Zulueta (No. 2); SS/3B Addison Barger (No. 4); RHP Hayden Juenger (No. 8); RHP Nate Pearson (No. 9)
Other Notable Prospects – INF Otto Lopez (No. 15); RHP Hagen Danner (No. 17); 1B/LF Spencer Horwitz (No. 18)
Depth Options – RHP Zach Thompson; RHP Trent Thornton; RHP Casey Lawrence; RHP Thomas Hatch; RHP Jay Jackson; INF/OF Vinny Capra; OF Wynton Bernard; OF Jordan Luplow
Outlook – This is one of the deeper Bisons teams in recent memory, with both important near-term prospects like Zulueta, Barger, Lopez, Juenger and Pearson plus a host of big-league experienced veterans set for up-and-down coverage, if not larger roles. Zulueta and Juenger will be treated more as bulk arms than straight starters, capable of quick transitions to relief roles, while Pearson begins the season with clarity as a bullpen piece. Barger, who flashed big power at his first big-league camp, is still trying to refine his approach to reduce the amount of swing-and-miss in his game and build more defensive consistency.
Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Top-10 Prospects – LHP Ricky Tiedemann (No. 1); SS/3B Orelvis Martinez (No. 5)
Other Notable Prospects – RHP Sem Robberse (No. 16); SS Leo Jimenez (No. 19); RHP Alejandro Melean (No. 22); OF Zach Britton (No. 24); 3B Damiano Palmegiani (No. 25)
Don’t Sleep On – LHP Jimmy Robbins; OF Steward Berroa; RH Adrian Hernandez
Outlook – Tiedemann, Robberse and Robbins, a 25-year-old lefty who lost 2020 to the pandemic and 2021 to Tommy John surgery, will all be developed as traditional starters. For the early part of the season, Tiedemann will be limited to shorter outings to keep him fresh into the summer, when he could potentially fill a need at the big-league level. Both Robberse, whose fastball velocity ticked up into the 93 m.p.h. range with the ability to touch 95 at camp, and Robbins opened up eyes and will get some runway to develop as guys who can haul big innings. A focal point for Martinez will be his swing decisions, something he worked on during the off-season, as he hits the ball with incredible authority when he locks in on his hot zones.
Advanced-A Vancouver Canadians
Top-10 Prospects – INF Cade Doughty (No. 7); LHP Adam Macko (No. 10)
Other Notable Prospects – SS Josh Kasevich (No. 11); RHP Dahian Santos (No. 12); OF Dasan Brown (No. 13); OF Gabby Martinez (No. 14); 1B Rainer Nunez (No. 26)
Don’t Sleep On – RHP Eric Pardinho; RHP Connor Cooke
Outlook – Doughty may be the most advanced of the 2022 draft class infielders and his focal points are improving his pitch selection to better tap into his power and making defensive gains at second base. Kasevich is an elite defender at shortstop, perhaps even big-league-ready with the glove now, but needs his bat to catch up. Macko, coming off elbow issues with the Mariners, will be treated as a traditional starter although he may get some shorter stints out of the gate as the Blue Jays manage his workload and try to get him wire-to-wire healthy. Pardinho was making strong progress in 2019 before the elbow issues that eventually led to Tommy John surgery essentially cost him two-and-a-half years. He’s thrown well in a relief role and that may be where he stays moving forward.
Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays
Top-10 Prospects – SS/3B Tucker Toman (No. 6)
Other Notable Prospects – LHP Kendry Rojas (No. 20); SS Manuel Beltre (No. 21) INF/OF Adrian Pinto (No. 23); RHP Yondrei Rojas (No. 28)
Don’t Sleep On – OF Jaden Rudd
Outlook – Toman, a switch-hitter, is working on his right-handed swing and continues to push for gains defensively. Beltre is a strong defender with good bat-to-ball skills, had a strong spring camp and could be poised to make a jump forward. Kendry Rojas struck out 43 batters in 39.2 innings as a teenager in Dunedin three years below the league’s average age last year. Pinto, part of the return from Colorado for Randal Grichuk, will get a bit more run at shortstop although he may end up more at second base and centre field. A high-contact hitter with disruptive speed, he plays “with his hair on fire,” says Sclafani. Depite being 20, Rudd impressed with Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic, collecting a single off Adam Wainwright versus the United States and a pivotal two-run double in the win over Colombia.
Rookie Level/Recovering From Injury
Top-10 Prospects – LHP Brandon Barriera (No. 3)
Other Notable Prospects – OF Enmanuel Bonilla (No. 27); RHP C.J. Van Eyk (No. 29); RHP Trent Palmer (No. 30)
Outlook – Such is Barriera’s upside that the 2022 first-rounder, taken 23rd overall, is already the club’s No. 3 prospect. But a bout of arm soreness slowed him in the spring and he’ll likely end up in a controlled build-up akin to the one Tiedemann was on last season. The Blue Jays want to keep him pitching for the whole season, health permitting. Both Van Eyk, Palmer and Joey Murray are coming off Tommy John surgery, the former already appearing in some minor-league games during the spring. The Blue Jays are trying to pull the reins on Van Eyk, trying to avoid too much, too fast for him. Palmer is unlikely to be ready until the end of the season.
Murray, who lost 2021 to elbow issues and 2022 to the surgery after rising three levels in 2019, suffered a setback in the spring and isn’t likely to be ready until May/June.