Daniel Labude

We're kicking off the season in rare form by publishing our first minor-league recap several days late. This is publishing late due to a certain editor (yours truly) losing this in the shuffle while on vacation. Sorry about that. - Brock Beauchamp - Buffalo Bisons: 1-1 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 0-0 (Season not started) - Vancouver Canadians: 0-0 (Season not started) - Dunedin Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) - FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) - DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS The Blue Jays made the following minor league transactions on 3/30: - LHP Easton Lucas was recalled from Buffalo Bisons. - RHP Bobby Milacki was assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. - LHP Mason Fluharty had his contract selected from Buffalo Bisons. - RHP Bobby Milacki was assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo 6, Rochester 2 - Game 1 Box Score Eric Lauer started the season off for the Bisons and went four strong innings giving up just two hits, two walks, two runs, and struck out four batters. Loperfido scored the first run in the second inning on an Ali Sánchez RBI groundout. The Bisons took the lead for good in the seventh inning on the back of two RBI doubles from Michael Stefanic and Riley Tirotta. Joey Loperfido put the game out of reach with the Bisons’ first home run of the season. A 429 FT home run to right field. Joey Loperfido: 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR Loperfido is back in Triple-A this season after failing to make the big league team out of Spring Training. His home run traveled 429 FT, came off the bat at a 113.2 MPH exit velocity, and a 27° launch angle. Eric Lauer: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Lauer used his experience and command to control the strike zone and get Rochester batters out. His fastball topped out around 92.5 MPH and sat in the 90-91 MPH range. He also used a mid 80s slider and a mid 70s, slow curveball to keep hitters off balanced. Buffalo 3, Rochester 8 (8 innings) Game 2 Box Score In the shortened game loss, Paxton Schultz led the way for the Bisons pitching staff. Firing 3.1 innings pitched, while not giving up a hit, allowed just one walk, and struck out two batters. Trenton Wallace started the game and left the Bisons in a 5-0 hole before the first inning had ended. Barger got the Bisons back some runs in the bottom of the first with a 2-run home run that went 412 FT. The only other run scored by the Bisons came on a wild pitch in the 8th inning. Addison Barger: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR Barger got his first hit of the season and it was a nice looking shot to center field off of a fastball high and away. Traveling 412 FT, with a 111 MPH exit velocity, and a 27° launch angle. Paxton Schultz: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Schultz used a pitch mix that was mainly cutter/slider dominant to contain Rochester. The cutter was in the upper 80s and the slider low to mid 80s. The cutter was especially great today. Buffalo, Rochester Game 3 - PPD New Hampshire Fisher Cats No Games Vancouver Canadians No Games Dunedin Blue Jays No Games FCL Blue Jays No Games DSL Blue Jays No Games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Hitters of the Days RF, Joey Loperfido, Buffalo Bisons: 2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 SB Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Pitcher of the Days RHP, Paxton Schultz, Buffalo Bisons: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Prospect Summary 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - DNP 2. Trey Yesavage (New Hampshire) - DNP 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - DNP 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 2 for 10, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (New Hampshire) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Vancouver) - DNP 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - DNP 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Dunedin) - DNP 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - 4 for 13, 1 R, 2 2B, 0 BB, 4 K 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - DNP 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - DNP 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

I hope so. Its gone from a 2 hand flick, to one hand, to a small flick. Still been sticking with it though

Rainer as much as I loved him as a prospect through the years has his own issue that will be a problem in the major leagues without correction...velocity. He still has been using a hand flick on the bat while the pitcher is throwing the pitch. It really drags him down and he is late on many fastballs of all velocity. I think eliminating that would really see him take off with his high end EVs when he is on time

Being able to cover the whole zone separates him from many prospects. Especially the top of the zone, which has been the huge negative for Schneider, Loperfido, and Barger

That it is

Schneider got wrecked when all we needed was a sac fly. Thankfully Bo hit our 12th single of the game. Gonna set a record sometime this year for most hits without a HR or extra base hit lol

Volpe's 91 MPH EV HR was the evidence that brought it to light

Everyone: The ball is flying out of parks this year Jays Front Office: You know what we need more of, defense. Can't ever have too much defense. Gonna have a lot of 2-1 games. Thats the path to the playoffs

Vlad and Roden just missed HRs getting under it. But in positive news we had 2 sac flys in 1 inning, which I can't ever remember lmao

Our pitchers are doing a great job hitting that center center square

MLBTV being down is crap as usual lol

This

Welcome back to the Jays Centre Top 20 Prospect reveal and breakdown. Today, we will look at one of the most unknown prospects in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system. This prospect's minor league career has not started yet, but they still come in at number two overall for Blue Jays prospects, as the Jays Centre community voted on. It is quite the lofty expectation for Trey Yesavage, one that he will attempt to live up to when he finally makes his Blue Jays debut this year. Let's take a look at what makes him so popular. #2: Trey Yesavage, SP, 21 Yesavage was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024 as a 1st round pick, 20th overall. He signed for roughly the pick's slot value, just over $4 million. He spent his college career at East Carolina University (ECU), alternating between being a relief pitcher and starting pitcher. Ultimately, he settled into a starting pitching role his sophomore year and continued with it the rest of the way at ECU. As a freshman, he displayed a knack for striking out batters, with a strikeout rate of 37.5%. In his sophomore season, he continued the strikeout barrage as a starting pitcher with a 33.9% strikeout rate. This also came with a very good 7.4% walk rate as he started commanding the strike zone, posting a sparkling 2.84 ERA in 76 innings pitched. Yesavage would take things up a notch as a junior, finishing with a 2.03 ERA in 93.1 innings pitched. The strikeouts jumped to a mind-boggling 40.4% rate, as he became one of the best strikeout pitchers in college baseball. A collapsed lung slowed him down at the end of his junior year, but not before capping off his college career by throwing one game following the injury, where he pitched 7.1 innings and struck out six batters on his way to beating future number two overall pick Chase Burns. Given the collapsed lung, the Blue Jays took it easy after drafting Yesavage and did not have him appear in any official games. What to Like Yesavage, a big-bodied pitcher at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, has the whole toolbox to work with in terms of pitch mix. That is his biggest takeaway: he can beat hitters with many pitches, speeds, and locations. He pitches from a very over-the-top arm slot, which helps his mid-90s fastball play well up in the zone. He pairs that with a sharp breaking splitter and a good moving slider. These three pitches all grade out as plus already, and he has a developing curveball he can also mix in. He can already command his pitches and control the strike zone very well, so there shouldn't be an issue with walks compared to some newly drafted pitchers. The second thing to like about Yesavage's pitch mix is he can miss bats at the top of the zone with his fastball, bottom of the zone with the splitter, and both sides of the plate with the splitter and slider. This will help him as he progresses through the minor leagues, especially versus left-handed hitters, who can be a challenge to some right-handed pitchers. What Needs Work Yesavage will need to work on continuing to develop a fourth pitch. Having three plus pitches is enough to become a capable MLB starter, but to jump up another level he could use a fourth pitch to keep hitters even more off balance. If he can develop the curveball enough to use for a first pitch strike every now and then, he could progress quickly through the minors. As a new Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect, Yesavage should also work on staying healthy. It has been a plague over the last few years with Blue Jays pitching prospects ending up injured and missing significant time. If he can stay healthy, he will be a quick riser heading towards Toronto. This potential to move through the farm system quickly has much needed extra value for him and could help the Blue Jays tremendously, adding a depth starting pitcher that can help out in case of injury. What is Next Yesavage is set to make his debut on March 15th in the Spring Breakout game for the Toronto Blue Jays. Following that, he should move quickly up minor league levels and be pushed aggressively in his assignment. He could start at High-A Vancouver or possibly Double-A New Hampshire. If all goes well for him, he could see the major leagues at the end of the 2025 season or sometime in 2026. He is definitely looking like the next big thing for Blue Jays pitching prospects. View full article

Welcome back to the Jays Centre Top 20 Prospect reveal and breakdown. We will be taking a look at one of the most polarizing prospects in baseball. This prospect's minor league career has been equal parts potential, worry, dread, figuring it out, putting it together, success, and then heartache off the field once he reached the major leagues. Today, we break down Orelvis Martinez. #4: Orelvis Martinez, 2B/3B, 23, Toronto Blue Jays/Buffalo Bisons The Toronto Blue Jays signed Martinez in July of 2018 out of the Dominican Republic. Billed as one of the top international free agents that cycle, he signed for $3.5M, with the intrigue and hype starting shortly after he entered the organization. He would begin his pro career in rookie ball in the Gulf Coast league. He hit .275 with seven home runs to help build the hype. A year break in the minor leagues for COVID-19 fueled the excitement for Martinez as a prospect. In 2021, he would smash Low-A ball with a slash line of .279/.369/.572. As a 19-year-old, he also launched 19 home runs, showing the mammoth power potential he has always displayed. He finished 2021 adding nine home runs at High-A Vancouver, but it would come with a low batting average, prolonging a backward trend in the star potential path he was on. 2022 and 2023 were a long road to fixing a swing-happy nature that led to some struggles at Double-A New Hampshire. Despite the surface struggles, he would still put up a huge power display, crushing 47 home runs across Double-A over the season and a half. Ultimately, he would get promoted to Triple-A Buffalo, where his newfound swing decisions propelled him to a 114 wRC+ to close 2023 and a 120 wRC+ in 2024. What To Like There are many things to like on the surface of Martinez’s profile. The standout production on the field, which has star potential, is his power. He has hit 110 home runs in his minor league career, coming across 455 games. This includes three seasons of 28 or more home runs, and last year would have been his 4th straight if it was not for the failed PED test in the major leagues. Do not be fooled by the failed drug test either. Power has always been a part of his profile and will remain. In Triple-A last season, he was in the 98th percentile in max exit velocity (115.2 MPH) and 96th percentile in 90th percentile exit velocity (107.2 MPH). His hard-hit rate (87th percentile), xwOBA (93rd percentile), xwOBAcon (94th percentile), and xSLG (97th percentile) were all at the top of Triple-A as well. In the graphic from Donald Stricklin above, we can also see that Martinez does a magnificent job of hitting the ball in the air and at optimal launch angles. From inside the strike zone on the inner third, to the top of the zone, to the outer third of the zone, and even out of the zone everywhere, he hits the ball in the air. Combine the high rate of hitting the ball hard at top-end exit velocities with optimal launch angles, and you have a bat that will launch home runs with the best major league hitters. What is also to like about Martinez is his excellent bat speed. During his major league debut, he generated a bat speed of 76.2 MPH in a very small sample size. This bat speed would have ranked in the top 10 in the major leagues, right behind some of the game’s best hitters like Julio Rodriguez, Shohei Ohtani, and Gunnar Henderson. It would have ranked just ahead of players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Juan Soto. When you combine Martinez’s ability to hit the ball hard, often, and at great launch angles, you get a profile that should excel in the major leagues, especially at the Toronto Blue Jays home stadium of the Rogers Centre. As seen in the image below, Martinez does an excellent job doing damage on all types of pitches and in all parts of the strike zone. When combining this type of damage with a pull-happy approach (47.1%) and frequent balls in the air (66.2%), Martinez should see a high increase in home run numbers at the Rogers Centre. Below, you can see where approximately 29 of his batted balls from 2024 in Triple-A would have been home runs at the Rogers Centre. That could be a big boost for a Blue Jays offense that has routinely lacked power in recent years. What Needs Work Martinez needs to work on his contact ability. Specifically, his whiff rate was 33.7% in Triple-A last season. This swing and miss has been prevalent most seasons in the upper minor leagues for him. He has run contact rates of 66.3% (Triple-A), 65.2% (Triple-A), 69.4% (Double-A), and 67.2% (Double-A). He must continue making better swing decisions to reduce the swing and miss, as seen in his 29.5% chase rate at Triple-A in 2024. He needs to bring that number down, resulting in more damage done with the bat. He still had a solid in-zone contact rate of 80.2% last season and 82.9% in 2023, both at Triple-A. Looking at specific pitches, it is also clear Martinez needs to work on hitting and breaking balls. It is by far his worst pitch against them, and he doesn't do well overall versus them. He hit just .219/.272/.439 against all types of breaking balls at Triple-A in 2024. He had six home runs and nine barrels, but the whiff rate was 45%. It is not all bad, and these numbers can be overcome, but if he wants to be a great hitter, he has to make more contact and better contact versus breaking balls. Players like Juan Soto, Michael Toglia, Mark Vientos, and Corbin Carroll also struggled against breaking balls in 2024. Many other big names also had whiff rates above 40%, so it isn't the end of the world. The good thing is Martinez smashes fastballs, hitting .344/.430/.656 against 4-seam fastballs, sinkers, and cutters. The most glaring part of Martinez's game that needs work might be his defense. He has roamed from shortstop to third base, to second base, and back to third base over the years. The issue usually is a unique throwing motion that isn't very conducive to making consistently good throws to first base. He has a very strong arm, but he needs to iron out the consistency to get everyday looks in the field. What is Next Martinez is working hard this spring training to make the big league team start the 2025 baseball season. He is making a good showing by hitting 3-10, including a home run. He continues to work on lowering his chase rate and making better swing decisions. If he doesn't make it to the big league club to start the season, he will begin the year at Triple-A Buffalo again. He must continue to show good power and improved plate discipline to go with better swing decisions. He could hit his way into a major league role by May, given the state of the Blue Jays’ lack of offensive power over much of their projected big league lineup. Whether with the major league club or starting in Buffalo, expect phenomenal power numbers to go with an improving all-around game. View full article

Can't rule out the 5 year 80M extension offers you are correct. I meant realistic ones

Remind me again all who wanted to cut him years ago lmao

Goes both ways. The people hating on Vlad now is more mind numbingly dumb. He should have been extended years ago, but the FO never wants to take chances far out. At the same time they never make the correct trade decisions, so they missed that opportunity as well. Would have been better to have a new FO controlling the outcome, but we are stuck with what they are doing which will likely be not trading Vlad or Bo and not extending either as well. The FO didn't have good reasons though, just reasons. They are cheap yet spend money unwisely, thats a fact

Welcome back to the Jays Centre Top 20 Prospect reveal and breakdown. Today, we will look into Kendry Rojas as we keep inching toward the magical top five. We will be deep diving into another Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect, one with a lot of promise if he can stay healthy and avoid the injury issues many others have fallen victim to. Let us take the plunge and see what our #8 prospect looks like. Top 20 Prospects: #16-20 Top 20 Prospects: #11-15 #10: Charles McAdoo #9: Khal Stephen 8. Kendry Rojas, LHP, 22, Vancouver Canadians The Toronto Blue Jays signed Rojas as an international free agent out of Cuba in 2020 for $215,000. He started his Blue Jays career in good fashion at the Complex League as an 18-year-old in 2021. It was only eight games and 23.2 innings pitched, but it came with a pristine ERA of 2.28 and some sparkling strikeout numbers. He struck out 44.8% of the batters he faced and only had a walk rate of 5.7%. In 2022, he received a well-earned promotion up to Low-A Dunedin. There, he showed similar promise for getting hitters out and limiting runs for someone younger than almost every batter he faced. What slowed his progress the most in 2022 was an injury that took out the majority of his summer. However, following a few months of rehab, he finished the year strong, only giving up three runs in his last four outings for Low-A Dunedin. In 2023, he would repeat the level and put together a complete season. Showing an extreme improvement in swing-and-miss stuff, he would get a promotion one more time to High-A Vancouver for the 2024 season. Like many Blue Jays pitchers, an injury once again limited him to just 13 games and 62.2 IP. To finish 2024, he was healthy again and made some noise, going deep into games and striking hitters out, setting himself up for the upcoming 2025 season to be a big one. What's To Like The first thing that stands out when you see Rojas is his size and improving body. Currently, he is listed at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds. He has grown noticeably stronger and now really fills out his frame compared to a more slender nature the previous few years. This has naturally helped him increase his fastball velocity from an average of 90.8 MPH in 2022 to 92.9 MPH in 2023. The increase in max velocity from those years was even more noticeable; he went from a max fastball of 94.3 MPH to 97.3 MPH. This past season, he was routinely sitting 94-96 MPH on his fastballs, which, as a left-handed pitcher, will play up even more than from the right side. This increase and sustainability of his velocity greatly improve the possible outcomes he could have as a starting pitcher in the major leagues. Rojas’ repertoire is a key to his success on the mound. He now features a plus 4-seam fastball sitting between 94 and 97 MPH. The pitch has a natural cutting action and works well up in the zone, where he used it often, with excellent command. In 2023, his four-seam fastball had very good iVB, routinely in the range of 18 inches. This also came with good extension on the pitch. The combination of iVB and extension will cause the fastball to work much better up in the zone, and when paired with his command, it results in a plus pitch. From 2023, you can see exactly how well he uses his four-seam fastball up in the strike zone. Rojas has a sinker, slider, and changeup to complete his pitch mix. He also pitches from an abbreviated stretch position and can use a hesitation delivery and a quick pitch. The slider comes in at 83 MPH but has had a wider range of velocities than most. The shape can vary a lot, but still misses bats frequently. The changeup averages around 85 MPH and can range from the low to upper 80s. The pitch has improved a lot over the years and flashed plus more frequently this past season. Rojas also has a sinker, which he can use to mix in a different look from time to time. Rojas can get a lot of swing and miss from the four-seam fastball, slider, and changeup, usually in different areas of the strike zone. This improves the deception of the pitch mix when all of the pitches are working simultaneously. The fastballs are used up in the zone, the slider down to the glove side of the plate, and the changeup mostly down and to his arm side. Here are his strikeout pitches from 2023 (catcher's view, the middle box is the strike zone). Following his return from injury in 2024, Rojas racked up swinging strikes with an improved changeup, which was added to his already good fastball/slider combo. He finished the year averaging 14 swings and misses per game over his last ten games. This helped him to a strikeout rate of 27.9%. What To Work On The main areas that Rojas needs to work on are his consistency overall and pitch quality for his slider and changeup. He has made big strides with his changeup, but now is the time to improve the consistency. Being able to throw a changeup for strikes and off the plate to get a swing and miss will go a long way, helping to move him up levels and towards the major leagues. Also, he needs to have more consistent pitch shapes with the slider and changeup. This will help with the control and command and lower his already great walk rate even more. He needs to work on his health and pitching deeper into games for an entire season. We saw Rojas pitch more innings per start at the end of the 2024 season, and that is the next step in his evolution as a starting pitcher. What's Next Rojas should begin 2025 at Double-A New Hampshire. If he can routinely stay healthy and pitch five innings or more, he could reach Triple-A Buffalo by the end of the season. Improvements in his command of the slider and changeup can propel him up levels even faster. If everything comes together, he has the makings of a mid-rotation major league starting pitcher who should debut at the end of 2025 or early 2026. There are some promising times ahead for him if he can remain healthy and continue progressing. View full article

Well at least this front office is done after this season. Possibly no playoffs, no Vlad, no Bo, minor league system crippled by injured pitchers. Some bad contracts and a very old SP staff

Welcome to the Jays Centre 2025 Top 20 prospect rankings. Although the Toronto Blue Jays farm system has been much maligned in recent years, it has some blossoming talent and definitely a few prospects who can help the big league team sooner rather than later. Here is the first segment of the Top 20 prospects. Prospects 20-16 will start us out based on the voting from the Jays Centre community. #20: Dahian Santos, RHP, 21, Double-A, New Hampshire Fisher Cats The Toronto Blue Jays signed Dahian Santos out of Acarigua, Venezuela, in July 2019. It was a very slow progress through the minor leagues following his signing and he would not pitch in a minor league game until 2021 as an 18-year-old. When he was finally on the mound, he started most of the games he would play and showed a high propensity for striking out batters. In his first two seasons across the Complex League, Low-A, and High-A, he put up strikeout rates of 33.1% and 38.5%. He was beginning to show the potential to become a major league starting pitcher. Then the classic Blue Jays issue took hold: injuries. Through the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Santos was hampered by injuries, cutting his time and development on the mound over crucial periods. He pitched only 12 games in 2023, with that number rising to 20 games this past season. Unfortunately, almost all those 20 games came out of the bullpen (18), as he managed only 35.2 innings pitched. The biggest positive from last season was he moved on up to Double-A New Hampshire, where he continued having some measure of success striking out mostly older hitters to the tune of a 25.6% strikeout rate. The biggest issue on the mound for him in 2024 and much of his minor league career has come from a high walk rate, topping out at 17% at Double-A. Where Santos is routinely succeeding in the minors has been his ability to limit hits. This past season, he was in the 82nd percentile at Double-A, giving up a batting average of only .175. Santos does not have the best fastball, but what truly stands out is his breaking ball and changeup. His repertoire is unique, consisting of a fastball routinely sitting in the 93 MPH range and can top out at 96 MPH. His dominant pitch is a slider in the 81-84 MPH range, which he can throw at times more than his fastball. The slider is the big whiff-inducing pitch with a sharp break. To cap things off, he throws a very solid changeup that can flash as a plus pitch at times, coming in at 83 MPH. Where Santos goes from here should be clearer in 2025. At the end of 2024, he started a few games again. This coming season, he could get back into the mix as a starting pitcher at Double-A and potentially become more of a factor as a prospect if he remains healthy, adds strength and increases his fastball velocity. #19 Eddinson Paulino, INF, 22, Double-A, New Hampshire Fisher Cats The Boston Red Sox signed Eddinson Paulino 2018 out of the Dominican Republic. Over the next four seasons, he would move up one level each year, ultimately finishing 2023 at High-A and starting this past season at Double-A. Midseason, the Toronto Blue Jays traded for Paulino in a deal that saw Danny Jansen go to the Red Sox. Paulino is an infielder who can play second base, shortstop, and third base while currently listed at 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds. That size wasn't much of a negative in the lower minors, as he would hit 25 home runs and swipe 53 bases combined over the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Red Sox minor league affiliates. This past year, however, saw him struggle in both areas, with him only hitting three home runs and swiping 11 bases combined between the Red Sox and Blue Jays Double-A teams. The two areas of his profile that saw the biggest change in 2024 were a nearly 10% increase in his whiff rate and a 12% drop in his swing rate. He was swinging less and missing a lot more in Double-A. Fixing those two issues going into 2025 could see him return to the prospect he was before this past season. The 2025 season could be an interesting one for Paulino. If he can add muscle to his small frame, he could see more power and better overall hitting numbers. He has a good approach at the plate, usually around 10% walk and 20% strikeout rates. That approach should lead to better contact rates than the 70.6% we saw in 2024. Given the Blue Jays' current log jam of infielders, we could see him back at Double-A to start 2025. This could give him the time he needs to get back on track and develop more in-game power. #18 Juaron Watts-Brown, RHP, 22, High-A, Vancouver Canadians Juaron Watts-Brown was drafted out of Oklahoma State by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023. He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. When drafted, he was billed as a strikeout pitcher and didn't disappoint this past season on his way up to High-A. He began the year in Low-A and was pretty successful overall, as he managed a 3.43 ERA and a 3.60x FIP. His numbers were backed by a strikeout rate of 30.3% and a batting average against of .209. After 12 starts, he had shown enough to move up to High-A. High-A was where some issues crept in and caused his numbers to balloon over his final nine starts of the season. His strikeout rate remained solid at 27.3%, but unfortunately, his walk rate jumped to 14.8%. His ERA rose to 6.35, which didn't tell the whole story. His xFIP was much lower at 4.56, meaning he pitched better than the results. Ultimately, he finished the 2024 season as one of the best Blue Jays minor league pitchers in swinging strike rate, at 16.8%. This past season, the four pitches Watts-Brown relied on the most were a four-seam fastball, cutter, changeup, and slider. The four-seam fastball doesn't have the best velocity but comes with an iVB of 18 inches and an above-average release extension of 6.8 feet. Both numbers let the fastball play up much more than the lower velocity. He did have a max fastball velocity of 96.1 MPH at Low-A, so there may still be room for improving the pitch with added strength. His cutter and slider are the strikeout pitches right now, and the changeup is developing into a usable pitch versus left-handed hitters. The cutter had a whiff rate at Low-A of 46%, the slider at 55.6%, and the changeup at 50.9%. The deep pitch mix, including a curveball, allows him to stay less predictable on the mound. The Blue Jays will look for Watts-Brown to continue developing his control and command while improving his pitch mix and getting stronger. Added velocity to his fastball could be a game changer given his iVB and release extension; however, it doesn't mean much if he continues to throw just 61% of his pitches for strikes. He should get another crack at High-A to start 2025, and where he goes from there will probably depend on his ability to throw strikes consistently, as he should continue striking batters out at a good rate. #17 Enmanuel Bonilla, OF, 19, Complex League Enmanuel Bonilla was signed out of the Dominican Republic in January of 2023 for one of the top bonuses of the international J15 signing class, $4.1 million. This was larger than Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Orelvis Martinez. He was billed as having one of the top power-hitting potentials of the class with a projectable frame. Everything started very well, as he played in the Dominican Summer League in 2023 and was a very solid hitter. He hit .307/.407/.429 and reached base consistently in almost every game he played. He showed good exit velocities and came away with three home runs, three triples, and eight doubles. Things went backward, though, in 2024. Last season, Bonilla struggled after a blazing hot start to the Complex League. He only hit .186/.257/.299, with four home runs. The biggest issue bringing down his results was strikeouts. He struck out 35.5% of the time, and his walk rate evaporated to 6.1%. 2025, most assuredly, will be another go-around at the Complex League for Bonilla. He is still very young, and improvements could come quickly and overnight, even in the future. His contact rates and lowering his strikeout rate are the biggest things he needs to improve. The raw tools are there for a top prospect if he puts it together and starts rising levels again. #16 Brandon Barriera, LHP, 20, Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays drafted Brandon Barriera in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft. Injuries have completely derailed his 2.5 years with the team. He pitched just 20.1 innings in 2023, and after just 1.1 innings this past season, he needed Tommy John surgery like many in the system ended up having. In the grand total of 21.2 innings pitched over the two seasons, he did show the ability to minimize damage, limit contact, and strike batters out. Barriera's fastball should be in the mid-90s and reach up to 97 MPH when healthy. He also has a big breaking slider and a changeup that is a work in progress. He is a very confident pitcher, but his pitches still have room for more projection. If Barriera pitches this season, expect his innings to be significantly controlled. When he is back, continued work on his command will be important. He showed a great ability to strike batters out to the tune of 31.3% in 2023. That strikeout ability should give him a good base on which to build if he can remain on the field consistently. View full article