Daniel Labude

Close to what he is getting this year. Now the team needs to commit to actually building a powerhouse, instead of nickle and diming a 250+M roster somehow

Hell yeah!!!

After today, Jays could have sole possession of fewest home runs on the year by a team. Currently tied for last

The Blue Jays High-A affiliate remains in Vancouver, a long way from Low-A Dunedin and the Jays spring training home. The players at this level are now just three promotions from heading east to Toronto. Could any get there this year? The Vancouver Canadians have released their opening day roster and kick off the 2025 season on Friday, April 4th. The Canadians are the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays and will pack a pretty good group of prospects showcasing their talents this season. The team will be headlined by the Blue Jays’ top prospect in Arjun Nimmala, but also have multiple intriguing and high-ranking prospects in the farm system. Here is the breakdown of the Canadians opening day roster. Prospects to Know Arjun Nimmala is the highlight in the world of prospects for the players on the opening day roster. He had a solid showing in minimal time with the big-league club in spring training. As a 19-year-old, he went 2-for-10 with a home run, double, and four RBI. He will look to continue putting his bat on display for the Canadians. He ended the 2024 season as one of the best hitters in Low-A and smashed 17 home runs on the season in Dunedin. If he limits the strikeouts, his rise could take him as high as a Top 25 overall prospect. Sean Keys isn't as highly touted as Nimmala, but he will start the 2025 season as potentially the next Toronto prospect in the mold of former Blue Jay Spencer Horwitz and current Blue Jays Will Wagner and Alan Roden, who have contact-first hitting profiles. He was drafted out of Bucknell University in the 4th round of the 2024 draft. A third baseman, Keys came into the Blue Jays organization with the reputation as a high-contact hitter with developing power. Much like the names mentioned above, he displayed the contact ability out of the gate in the minor leagues. At Low-A Dunedin he hit .293/.378/.451 in 22 games last season following the draft. He only hit one home run, but added four doubles and three triples. Adding consistent power to his profile to go with his contact abilities should be his goal this season. Victor Arias returns this season to the Canadians after finishing the season north of the border. In his last 11 games for Vancouver, he hit .324 and showed some solid contact skills. He has a smaller frame, but with a softball-like leg kick he can put all of his weight into his swing and has displayed a good amount of power in his young minor-league career. He hit eight home runs and 19 doubles at Low-A Dunedin before being promoted to Vancouver in 2024. On the pitching side, Fernando Perez headlines the starting pitchers to open the season. Perez has had a good deal of success already in the minors and is moving up to Vancouver after starting 17 games for Low-A Dunedin in 2024. He posted an ERA of 4.06 in 82 IP, to go with a strikeout rate of 25.7%, and a walk rate of just 7.6%. He uses a high iVB fastball and a deep pitch mix to get hitters out. Kendry Rojas finished the year strong for the Canadians last season and, after a very good performance in the Blue Jays Spring Breakout game, he was poised to begin the year at Double-A New Hampshire. However, he will begin the 2025 season in Vancouver, and on the injured list. When he returns, he could have a major impact as he rises up minor-league levels this season. Catchers: Hayden Gilliland, Jackson Hornung, Aaron Parker, Alex Stone Infielders: Cutter Coffey, Nick Goodwin, Jay Harry, Sean Keys, Arjun Nimmala, Adrian Pinto Outfielders: Victor Arias, Carter Cunningham, Eddie Micheletti Jr., Brennan Orf, Je'Von Ward, Jacob Wetzel Pitchers: Eliander Alcalde (IL-7), Edinson Batista (Reserve List), Bo Bonds, Irv Carter, Pat Gallagher, Nate Garkow, Chris McElvain (IL-7), Kevin Miranda, Aaron Munson, Connor O'Halloran, Julio Ortiz, Fernando Perez, Kai Peterson, Carson Pierce (IL-60), Grant Rogers, Yondrei Rojas (IL-7), Kendry Rojas (IL-7), JJ Sanchez, Jonathan Todd, Juaron Watts-Brown, Jackson Wentworth, Chay Yeager Jose Mayorga will be in charge of managing the 2025 Canadians. Matt Van Roemer is his Bench Coach. The hitting coach is Ryan Wright. Eric Yardley is the pitching coach with Robelin Bautista as his assistant. Petr Stribrcky is another coach for the team. Which prospects are you most excited about? Will any of these guys have a breakout 2025 season, jumping up the organizational ladder? Discuss and ask questions below. View full article

The Bisons are overflowing with prospects you might be seeing in Toronto sooner rather than later. With the 2025 season already underway for the Buffalo Bisons, here is a quick breakdown of their opening-day roster. The team is full of good prospects, former prospects, and players trying to make their way to the major leagues — all just one step away from the ultimate goal of a minor leaguer. Players to Know: Joey Loperfido has as much potential as anyone on the Bisons roster to begin the 2025 season. He was acquired last year in a deal that sent Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros, coming along with Jake Bloss and Will Wagner (who is currently on the major league team). Loperfido has some true impactful talents on the field. He can hit for power (17 home runs between Triple-A and the majors last season) and he has speed (88th percentile MLB sprint speed). What he needs to improve on is his ability to hit the baseball and make consistent contact. He had a 36.3% strikeout rate in the majors last season. That must improve dramatically for him to get another shot at the big leagues. Addison Barger has worked his way up each level of the minor leagues for the Blue Jays and was rewarded with a few chances for the big league team. In 2024, he hit .197/.250/.351, with seven home runs for the Blue Jays major league team. He made a few changes this offseason and had a good Spring Training, as he hit .367 over 30 at-bats. He smashed three home runs and two doubles as well. It wasn't good enough for a roster spot with the major league team, so he will begin the year trying to build on those improvements he made. Prospects to Know: Orelvis Martinez is also back at Triple-A Buffalo after not making the Blue Jays roster following a good spring training. He hit .320 over 25 at-bats, with a home run, and a double. He will need to keep working on his plate discipline, swing decisions, and making contact more than in the past. He made a conscious effort to use all fields in spring training and that might be the next evolution of hitting he is working on to start this year. If he can make better swing decisions and use all fields, his power, swing speed, and exit velocities will get him back to the Blue Jays major league roster quickly. He also needs to show the team he can play either third base or second base consistently without making errors left and right. Jonatan Clase was acquired last season in a trade with the Seattle Mariners. He is a big speed threat and will steal bases at will if he is given the opportunity. He has a big bat as well with some sneaky power. He hit 12 home runs and stole 38 bases just at Triple-A last season in 94 games. If he can improve his hit tool, he is very close to making an impact for the big league team in the near future. Rainer Nunez is still working his way to making his major league debut, step by step. The 24-year-old keeps moving up levels each year and does so with a very good hit tool. There are some flaws in his swing that need to be ironed out, but if his timing is on point, he has some of the best exit velocities of any hitter in the Blue Jays organization. Injured Players to Know: Ricky Tiedemann, Josh Kasevich, and Leo Jimenez are all poised to make an impact with the Bisons at some point this season when they are healthy. Jimenez had a solid showing for the Blue Jays last season, hitting .229 with four home runs in 63 games for the big league club. Kasevich is another prospect in the mold of a contact first hitter who is solid in all aspects. His in-zone contact rate last season was 96.4%. He doesn't strike out but needs to be more impactful when he makes contact. Ricky Tiedemann is one of the Blue Jays’ top prospects. Coming off of Tommy John surgery last season, he is looking to make an impact late in 2025. He has an elite three pitch mix, which includes a plus fastball, plus slider, and a plus changeup. If his health and command come back quickly, he could get to the major leagues at the end of this season to help the big league club in a potential playoff push. Catcher: Christian Bethancourt, Ali Sanchez, Matt Whatley Infielders: Addison Barger, Orelvis Martinez, Rainer Nunez, Damiano Palmegiani, Michael Stefanic, Riley Tirotta, Michael Turconi, Outfielders: Steward Berroa, Jonatan Clase, Joey Loperfido, Will Robertson Pitchers: Andrew Bash, Jake Bloss, Justin Bruihl, Lazaro Estrada, Brayden Fisher, Mason Fluharty, Kevin Gowdy, Hayden Juenger, Eric Lauer, Easton Lucas, Eric Pardinho, Paxton Schultz, Dillon Tate, Josh Walker, Trenton Wallace View full article

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