Blue Jays Minor League Highlights Thread

[bronson44]

Jojo with 2 homers today. This one was crushed. The other was oppo.

 

[John_Havok]

3 hours ago, bronson44 said:

Jojo with 2 homers today. This one was crushed. The other was oppo.

 

Hard not to get even a little bit excited about Nimmala and Parker manning the IF together in 2028 or so. Jesus in the outfield.

A guy can dream...

[Laika]

2 hours ago, John_Havok said:

Hard not to get even a little bit excited about Nimmala and Parker manning the IF together in 2028 or so. Jesus in the outfield.

A guy can dream...

Hopefully Jesus Sanchez is no longer in town 

[Sorrow]

I’m actually rather excited about Jay Harry now in AAA. 137 combined wRC+ in AA and AAA with 13 bombs. Plays SS/2B and all 3 OF. Doesn’t hit into many double plays at about 3 per season in the minors, not fast but seems like a competent defender.

[Brownie19]

48 minutes ago, Sorrow said:

I’m actually rather excited about Jay Harry now in AAA. 137 combined wRC+ in AA and AAA with 13 bombs. Plays SS/2B and all 3 OF. Doesn’t hit into many double plays at about 3 per season in the minors, not fast but seems like a competent defender.

Certainly feels like we should get a look at him here at some point.  He's had a great season and it would be a really pleasant surprise if he could be a ML utility player.

[sliderguy35]

id be wary of jay harry. hes a disciple of the lenyn sosa school of swinging at literally anything & he's running a crazy high BABIP / way overperforming his expected slug based on the quality of contact he's making at AAA.

 

I would like to see them give mcadoo some more reps late in the season though. the measurable bat speed from his call-up earlier in the season is plus & the amount of contact he makes with + bat speed is intriguing. He's also been keeping the ball off the ground and making good swing decisions at AAA, feels like he could be a real piece moving forward

[Brownie19]

4 minutes ago, sliderguy35 said:

id be wary of jay harry. hes a disciple of the lenyn sosa school of swinging at literally anything & he's running a crazy high BABIP / way overperforming his expected slug based on the quality of contact he's making at AAA.

I would like to see them give mcadoo some more reps late in the season though. the measurable bat speed from his call-up earlier in the season is plus & the amount of contact he makes with + bat speed is intriguing. He's also been keeping the ball off the ground and making good swing decisions at AAA, feels like he could be a real piece moving forward

Yeah - I see that high BABIP.  It's been lower at AAA at least, without a drop in production (wRC+ and ISO remain strong).  BB% is up and K% is down in AAA also - which is positive.  

I think he's earned a look.

[John_Havok]

5 hours ago, Laika said:

Hopefully Jesus Sanchez is no longer in town 

I meant the real Jesus... Juan.

[jmomcc]

The intriguing thing about Jay Harry is the versatility. Like lenyn Sosa but a short stop and cf would be interesting. 

[Olerud363.354]

On 7/28/2026 at 7:32 PM, sliderguy35 said:

He's putting the ball on the ground half the time and even when he gets it in the air, he's popping it up over 20% of the time.

That combination is weird.  Why he is he hitting grounders and pop-ups?  There are guys who are extreme to one or the other, but extreme to both with less than expected optimal launch angles....  That part seems random and I doubt will continue., 

That being said just take his career minor league numbers and knock a bit off, I think .290 .350 .360 in the minors so .260 .320 .350 or so in the majors.   Laika is still right because that line needs really good defense to be worth it. 

[sliderguy35]

26 minutes ago, Olerud363.354 said:

That combination is weird.  Why he is he hitting grounders and pop-ups?  There are guys who are extreme to one or the other, but extreme to both with less than expected optimal launch angles....  That part seems random and I doubt will continue., 

That being said just take his career minor league numbers and knock a bit off, I think .290 .350 .360 in the minors so .260 .320 .350 or so in the majors.   Laika is still right because that line needs really good defense to be worth it. 

I wouldn't call it random, there's been 64 instances in the last 5 years of AA & AAA baseball of a guy having a 50%+ GB rate and a 20%+ pop-up rate.

The reason it seems so odd is because over the same 5 year time period, there's been 0 instances of any qualified 50% GB + 20% PU season in the big leagues.

guys with this batted ball profile are either young for the level & figure it out, or get weeded out / end up as AAAA bench players

[Brownie19]

24 minutes ago, sliderguy35 said:

I wouldn't call it random, there's been 64 instances in the last 5 years of AA & AAA baseball of a guy having a 50%+ GB rate and a 20%+ pop-up rate.

The reason it seems so odd is because over the same 5 year time period, there's been 0 instances of any qualified 50% GB + 20% PU season in the big leagues.

guys with this batted ball profile are either young for the level & figure it out, or get weeded out / end up as AAAA bench players

It certainly seems like a swing path issue.

[Laika]

Another thing you need to always keep in mind is the replacement level player and the opportunity cost.

You might like Kasevich's game in a nutshell but you need to soberly compare him to the guys you can perpetually, freely sub in for him on the 40 man. Like, is he better than Luis Urias? 

[max silver]

1 hour ago, sliderguy35 said:

I wouldn't call it random, there's been 64 instances in the last 5 years of AA & AAA baseball of a guy having a 50%+ GB rate and a 20%+ pop-up rate.

The reason it seems so odd is because over the same 5 year time period, there's been 0 instances of any qualified 50% GB + 20% PU season in the big leagues.

guys with this batted ball profile are either young for the level & figure it out, or get weeded out / end up as AAAA bench players

With Kasevich the impact of the pop up rate wouldn't be particularly high as he only manages to put the ball in the air about 23% of the time leading to a total of 5% of balls in play being popped up. This doesn't excuse the low fly ball rate in any fashion but it does largely reduce the number of automatic outs created by the high pop up rate. 

[Olerud363.354]

28 minutes ago, max silver said:

the ball in the air about 23% of the time leading to a total of 5% of balls in play being popped up.

That would change things a lot.   So his pop-up rate is actually quite low.   20% of 23%.  As opposed to Varsho or someone who has gotten close to 20% of 50%.  

So now we're looking at Kasevich at 27 basically being Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at 27,  hitting some hard ground balls, and beats out a few more choppers (better speed?).  Let's put him at .265 .340 .360 just like Vlad, and with good defense that could play. 

[bronson44]

Dude's just hitting tanks now

 

[Eat My Shatkins]

Time to move JoJo up to High A for the rest of the season maybe?

[Brownie19]

Nirmala hit another bomb today too.

[Spanky__99]

I put so much information in the subforums but it seemed for not, I guess when I clear my head a bit, Ill set us up here, Stressful times with fam.

 

[Spanky__99]

Fyi... Top 100

Parker #27

Nimmalla #43

Perry #92 

King just missed...

We're okay.

 

[John_Havok]

6 hours ago, Spanky__99 said:

Fyi... Top 100

Parker #27

Nimmalla #43

Perry #92 

King just missed...

We're okay.

 

Baseball world must really love Parker's toolset if they rank him higher than a guy who will actually stick at SS defensively and is 2 levels higher while only 9 months older. 

Is Nimmala being underrated here?

[Orgfiller]

5 hours ago, John_Havok said:

Baseball world must really love Parker's toolset if they rank him higher than a guy who will actually stick at SS defensively and is 2 levels higher while only 9 months older. 

Is Nimmala being underrated here?

The Nimmala rankings really don’t add up to me entirely. 20 years old in AA and more than handling his own, seems like he can stick defensively at SS, has legit power, projectable frame, and has cut down his K rate with more reps.

I’m just gonna say it. If his name was Woody Williams there’s no chance he’s ranked below someone like Bryce Rainer.

[Laika]

.235 career hitter 

[Olerud363.354]

1 hour ago, Orgfiller said:

I’m just gonna say it. If his name was Woody Williams there’s no chance he’s ranked below someone like Bryce Rainer.

Both Rainer and Jo Jo Parker have a career on base percentage 50 points higher than Nimmala.  

He's under-rated only if you believe he's the 1 our 100 that is going to hit 20 points higher in the majors then the minors.   It's been debated here a lot, and there are some arguments in his favor.   There is also the chance he loses some average in the majors (like everyone) and hits .220.  

So the range of outcomes are cooked into the ranking and he's where he should be.  Not like he's 150th.  Not like the outcome where he hits .250 .350 .450 in the majors, while possible is so likely he should be top 10. 

[Orgfiller]

34 minutes ago, Olerud363.354 said:

Both Rainer and Jo Jo Parker have a career on base percentage 50 points higher than Nimmala.  

He's under-rated only if you believe he's the 1 our 100 that is going to hit 20 points higher in the majors then the minors.   It's been debated here a lot, and there are some arguments in his favor.   There is also the chance he loses some average in the majors (like everyone) and hits .220.  

So the range of outcomes are cooked into the ranking and he's where he should be.  Not like he's 150th.  Not like the outcome where he hits .250 .350 .450 in the majors, while possible is so likely he should be top 10. 

Nimmala is more advanced than both at the same ages. Rainer spent his age 19 season in A ball, and has a 35% K rate in A+ as a 20 year old. Parker is 19 (turns 20 in a week) and is tracking for a cup of coffee in A+. Nimmala has been pushed more aggressively than both - a sign of a more advanced prospect - and has both performed and improved in certain facets like K rate and contact rate.

I'd argue he's closer to tracking like Bo Bichette (full season AA ball at 20 years old) than he is to Bryce Rainer. I'm not saying he'll have an outcome like Bichette and the tools aren't equivalent, but to me he's closer to that 55 FV/60 FV ish tier and wouldn't trade him for Rainer 1 for 1 with the information I have.

[Laika]

47 minutes ago, Orgfiller said:

Nimmala is more advanced than both at the same ages. Rainer spent his age 19 season in A ball, and has a 35% K rate in A+ as a 20 year old. Parker is 19 (turns 20 in a week) and is tracking for a cup of coffee in A+. Nimmala has been pushed more aggressively than both - a sign of a more advanced prospect - and has both performed and improved in certain facets like K rate and contact rate.

I'd argue he's closer to tracking like Bo Bichette (full season AA ball at 20 years old) than he is to Bryce Rainer. I'm not saying he'll have an outcome like Bichette and the tools aren't equivalent, but to me he's closer to that 55 FV/60 FV ish tier and wouldn't trade him for Rainer 1 for 1 with the information I have.

I dunno. My sense is that his hit tool risk is still immense. 

Carter Kieboom possibility. 

But if he's a legit MLB SS glove it will be fine. He will be something 

 

[Olerud363.354]

35 minutes ago, Orgfiller said:

I'd argue he's closer to tracking like Bo Bichette (full season AA ball at 20 years old)

But Bichette hit .360 as a 19 year old across 2 levels and had a career minor league average of .320. There AA stats are pretty close actually, but Nimmala's is only 117 at bats and their career minor league battings average are 90 points apart. 

There is noise year to year and but career minor numbers are usually pretty reliable.   

[Olerud363.354]

2 minutes ago, Laika said:

But if he's a legit MLB SS glove it will be fine. He will be something 

He'll be the next Andres Giminez but with a bit more pop but a bit less batting average and speed. 

[Laika]

1 minute ago, Olerud363.354 said:

He'll be the next Andres Giminez but with a bit more pop but a bit less batting average and speed. 

JJ Hardy 

[Olerud363.354]

2 minutes ago, Laika said:

JJ Hardy 

Hardy .271 .336 .402 minors, .256 .305 .408 majors

Giminez .280 .354 .416 minors .251` .312 .378 majors

Will Adames .270 .365 .415 minors .242 .318 .438 majors

The trend for lots of guys is they lose about 20-30 points of batting average but slugging stays the same so that puts Nimalla at .215 .300 .430 or so, which could actually play if his defense is good. 

He is going to be the next Daulton Varsho I bet.  I think he is a big pop-up guy like Varsho.