Is Riley Tirotta the Solution to the Blue Jays' Power Problem?

[Simon Li]

The Blue Jays have struggled all season with their power output, hitting only 22 homers on the season, which is good for second-last in the league. They’re also sixth worst in barrel percentage at 7.2%, and eighth worst in xSLG as of May 2. Obviously, some of this is due to the slow start from Anthony Santander, Bo Bichette, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the home run department, but the Jays are tailored more to a contact-heavy approach, which trades off whiffs for weak contact, as detailed by JaysCentre editor Leo Morgenstern.

Enter Riley Tirotta. The 26-year old corner infielder has been one of the most productive bats in the Jays' minor league system over the past two years and has sneakily improved year over year to little fanfare. Tirotta was a late bloomer, getting drafted by the Blue Jays as a college senior out of Dayton in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft with a signing bonus of $125,000. He bounced around from Low-A ball to Double-A from 2021-2023 before going on a ridiculous hot streak in 2024 where he went from Low-A all the way to Triple-A Buffalo, slashing .302/.464/.591 for a 185 wRC+ in 196 PAs from April 13th to June 29th. He slowed down as the season progressed, but still ended up with a 126 wRC+ on the season in 444 plate appearances and was a cool developmental story for the Blue Jays last season.

Tirotta got 26 PAs in spring training and did not perform well at all, striking out 50% of the time while hitting under the Mendoza line, which resulted in a wRC+ of -3. However, one thing stood out: he swings the bat really hard. According to the limited data available in spring, Tirotta was one of the top 15 hitters in bat speed, just 0.4 mph slower than some dude called Aaron Judge, and slightly above top prospect Orelvis Martinez. The Jays are currently the team with the slowest bat speed according to Baseball Savant, so Tirotta could immediately help change that outlook.

(Via Eno Sarris)

Once the regular season started, though, Tirotta carried over his success from 2024 and has been one of the hottest hitters for the Buffalo Bisons, slashing .278/.391/.519 with a 15.6 BB% to a 32.8 K%. He’s been so impressive that beat writers Keegan Matheson and Ben Nicholson-Smith have both discussed Tirotta as a potential call-up to the majors to help with the lack of power from their infielders, especially as Orelvis Martinez, Will Wagner, and Davis Schneider have struggled to start the season.

Tirotta’s Statcast data is one of the most red pages you’ll see down in Triple-A (courtesy of TJStats), showcasing an extremely patient approach despite a lot of whiffs and strikeouts, though his batted ball metrics are outstanding.

Tirotta’s approach varies heavily from the Jays' current approach, and he would be a welcome addition in order to inject some power into the lineup. Some things that are preventing Tirotta from getting the call as of now are that he isn’t on the 40-man roster, and his best defensive home is likely first base, despite starting more games at the hot corner in Triple-A. Obviously, that position is fully occupied by Vladdy, who plays practically every day. Still with seven outfielders currently on the Jays 26-man roster, Tirotta could be utilized as a backup to Ernie Clement and Guerrero Jr., and could maybe add some juice to the lineup with swings like this one.

Obviously, a fast-rising, post-hype older prospect isn't going to solve all that woes Toronto. But as a means to getting better in-house production, the Blue Jays could take a chance on the 26-year-old slugger.

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[Orgfiller]

So he's like the opposite of Ernie Clement. Lots of Ks, walks and good raw power with iffy at best defense. Ernie hasn't bought himself much rope with his offensive ability, but is lucky in that he's one of the best 3B defenders in the league to make up for it.

In Tirotta's case, the main questions aside from "can he make contact often enough" is going to be, can he hit lefties really well? And can he play a passable 3B/LF? We're desperately missing a good platoon bat against lefties with the aforementioned Clement struggling, and the other RHH on the bench being Myles Straw.

[Simon Li]

3 hours ago, Orgfiller said:

So he's like the opposite of Ernie Clement. Lots of Ks, walks and good raw power with iffy at best defense. Ernie hasn't bought himself much rope with his offensive ability, but is lucky in that he's one of the best 3B defenders in the league to make up for it.

In Tirotta's case, the main questions aside from "can he make contact often enough" is going to be, can he hit lefties really well? And can he play a passable 3B/LF? We're desperately missing a good platoon bat against lefties with the aforementioned Clement struggling, and the other RHH on the bench being Myles Straw.

He can definitely play left and third but he's not the best there. If we do call him up, he could probably be serviceable there in a more limited role, but I think they'd probably run a bit more Ernie at third than anything against lefties.

[Laika]

Worth a shot IMO.

Since Lukes has more or less stolen Roden's job (deservedly) and Roden needs full playing time to develop, I'd make the Roden for Tirotta swap yesterday. 

Ernie has contributed nothing with the stick. 

Roden and Tirotta are both old but Tirotta is still about 1.5 years past him and almost 27. There is a fringe prospect argument for Roden (development remaining) but not for Tirotta. He also seems to be a better fit now on the MLB team since you could give him some starts at 3B then sub him out for defensive reasons if there is a small lead. Since he can play the OF too he completely replaces Roden's utility