Cory Sparks

Jesús Sánchez is one of the most interesting players in baseball because he’s quietly one of the most violent hitters in the game. The Toronto Blue Jays’ outfielder checks off a lot of boxes, and with the right adjustments, he could turn from a promising talent into one of the best power hitters in MLB. Stats updated prior to first pitch on August 7. Jesús Sánchez’s Background Sánchez is a seven-year MLB veteran, and up until 2025, he spent every one of those seasons with the Miami Marlins. The 28-year-old outfielder has gained a reputation as a slugger, being someone who is willing to sacrifice his walk and strikeout numbers for more power. This is his first season with the Jays, and so far, the corner fielder is slashing .268/.310/.434 with eight homers and 32 runs batted in. Sánchez has only played in 78 games, yet he finds himself fourth on the team in long balls behind only Kazuma Okamoto (24), George Springer (12) and Ernie Clement (9). Toronto could desperately use a power surge from someone, and Sánchez has the profile to play that role. A Model of Consistency For one, he’s been consistent. Between 2021 and '25, Sánchez hit anywhere from 13 to 18 home runs each season. This includes a 13-homer season with the Marlins in which he played just 98 games; he was on pace for 21 long balls over 162 games that year (this would’ve been a career best). The real question is this: Does Sánchez have what it takes to take that next step? His advanced analytics certainly imply that he can be the bruiser in a lineup. Violent Underlying Metrics Looking under the hood at his 2026 stats, this is someone who can lay into a baseball. The veteran outfielder has a 46.3 percent hard-hit rate, putting him in the 79th percentile among all major leaguers. This is a remarkable sign for a team that is watching Vladimir Guerrero Jr. struggle mightily with just six homers in 108 contests. He’s also barrelling the ball up at an extremely high rate of 11.4 percent, good enough for the 74th percentile. His 73.7 mph bat speed is also well above the league average. Yet, through just about half a season’s worth of games, Sánchez has left the ballpark only eight times. Why is that? Let’s bring in one of the best bashers in the game, Junior Caminero, for a case study comparison. Caminero is the bat speed king, sending his barrel across the plate at a rapid 79.8 miles per hour (100th percentile). His 50.7 percent hard-hit rate (92nd percentile) is also one of the best in baseball. The Tampa Bay Rays’ third baseman has some marginal advantages on Sánchez, but are they enough to give him a 25 home run advantage over the Jays outfielder? Not on their own. What Needs To Change? What does Sánchez need to do to be closer to Caminero’s side of the home run spectrum? It’s not a launch angle issue, as Caminero is actually hitting the ball lower on average (9.4) than the Jays outfielder (10.7). The sea parts in the plate discipline category. Sánchez strikes out 22.2 percent of the time, while Caminero’s mark is just 18.3 percent. Sánchez only walks in 4.4 percent of plate appearances, while Caminero draws a free pass 12.2 percent of the time. While pitchers may respect Caminero’s power more, and therefore are more careful around the zone, it’s a symbiotic relationship. The Rays’ slugger simply gets into more hitter-friendly counts, meaning he’s more likely to see a ball over the plate. Sánchez is ultra aggressive, and with that being in his scouting report, opposing pitchers can stay away from his bat more. Even when he makes contact, it may not be on the quality of pitches that Caminero, the more patient between the two hitters, sees. Sánchez's out-of-zone swing percentage is 38.5 percent (9th percentile), so pitchers have no real incentive to lay a ball over the plate. If he can become more selective at the plate, he’ll have a better chance to put that violent swing to work.

The Toronto Blue Jays were swinging deals at the deadline, and one of those was trading Kevin Gausman out of Canada in exchange for some Chicago Cubs farmhands. The Jays got prospects Ty Southisene (the Cubs' former No. 13 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) and Brett Bateman (No. 21) in the trade. Let’s take a closer look at what those two bring to the table and why the Jays wanted them in exchange for a 14-year MLB veteran like Gausman. Who Is Ty Southisene? Ty Southisene is arguably the headliner of the Jays’ return package, nestling in as their No. 17 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The 21-year-old shortstop prospect is on the smaller side, holding a 5-foot-7, 170-pound frame. He was originally a fourth-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, as the Cubs selected him for his high baseball IQ and ability to flash a promising hit tool with plenty of speed. Southisene got to work in 2025, playing 90 of his 91 games with the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. For someone who has to make up for a 20-grade power tool, Southisene found ways to do just about everything else. He logged 36 runs batted in and managed to accumulate eight extra-base hits (six doubles, two triples) in his first year of professional baseball. A Closer Look Taking a closer look at Southisene, he simply possesses elite hand-eye coordination. The middle infielder’s 21.2 percent whiff rate at High-A with the Cubs this year was in the 86th percentile, and he was striking out only 12.7 percent of the time (97th percentile), per Prospect Savant. He’s more of a one- or two-tool player, but if those tools (hit, run) are elite, he could glide up the Jays’ minor league ladder. Maturity and Blistering Speed Southisene is starting with the High-A Vancouver Canadians, and he’ll bring a remarkable sense of plate discipline with him. The rising shortstop tallied 63 walks to 59 punchouts in 2025, and his 41 walks to 37 punchouts this year in the Cubs' system show that Southisene is one of the stingiest swingers in the lower levels of affiliate ball. Toronto’s newest prospect slashed .305/.425/.372 (.797 OPS) in 66 contests this year between Single and High A, and his speed has been on full display from day one. On one hand, his quickness allows him to be one of the more rangey prospects out there. On the other hand, he logged 12 errors and had just a .937 fielding percentage through 57 games at the shortstop position. His run tool, listed at a 55-grade, may be due for an upgrade soon. The speedy middle infielder had 72 stolen bases in 157 professional games with Chicago. Fellow speedsters like Chandler Simpson have shown that there’s still an everyday starting spot for someone who can rely on quickness, but Southisene has a long way to go before those big league conversations can formulate. Welcome, Brett Bateman! Brett Bateman is slightly below Southisene on MLB Pipeline's ranking, but he is the more polished of the two prospects. The 24-year-old outfielder is 5-foot-10 and weighs 170 pounds. The lefty was an eighth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, as the Cubs selected him out of the University of Minnesota. Bateman is another speed-first prospect, earning a 70-grade run tool, but his power is a bit more prevalent than the aforementioned Southisene's. Bateman has 83 stolen bags in 315 games in the Cubs' org, but his career-high .851 OPS this season at Triple-A Iowa shows that he can be more than just a runner. The Gophers alum has developed “doubles power” this year, peppering the gaps with a career-best 18 doubles across 82 contests. He notched a pair of triples and had three home runs for the Iowa Cubs before this trade took place. Diving Deeper Above all else, this is someone who can also make for a stingy at-bat. Similar to Southisene, Bateman walks a ton (17.5%, 92nd percentile per Prospect Savant). He’s earned 60 walks to just 66 strikeouts this year, and his 218 free passes to 253 punchouts have held around that ratio for all four years of his professional career. Bateman also has a remarkable sense for the strike zone, with a zone contact percentage of 85.71 percent. He ranks below the league average in 90th percentile exit velocity, barrel percentage and hard-hit rate, but much like Southisene, the chase rate (20.8 percent, 86th percentile) and whiff rate (16.4 percent, 89th percentile) are impossible to ignore for someone who is on the doorstep of the major leagues this year. Speed for the Future The Blue Jays have landed two players with similar profiles, but they play different positions. Southisene is a minor league speedster who could break into the big leagues in a couple of years, while Bateman’s plate discipline and raw speed could get him into the show by the end of this year.

The Los Angeles Angels traded José Soriano to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for prospects Arjun Nimmala, Eddie Micheletti Jr. and Angel Rivero. The news broke around the same time that the baseball community learned Kevin Gausman would be heading to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a pair of the North Siders’ prospects. Let’s break down both sides of the Soriano deal and ultimately conclude with who came out on top. José Soriano’s Dominant Year Soriano was in a league of his own to start the year. The former Angels ace logged a 5-1 record with a minuscule 0.84 earned run average across six starts in March and April. The righty also managed to allow just one earned run over his first 37.2 innings of the season, immediately making him a trade candidate to watch, in the likely scenario that Kurt Suzuki’s squad failed to compete this year. His fastball played remarkably through the first two-thirds of the season, riding in at an average of 97 miles per hour with opposing batters hitting .242 against it. Soriano has used it to set up the rest of a five-pitch mix that includes a sinker, curveball, splitter and slider. The 27-year-old has excelled in two key categories: swing-and-miss stuff and groundball rate. Soriano’s whiff rate of 31.4 percent has been one of the best marks in the league, putting him in the 89th percentile. His 24.9 percent strikeout rate (67th percentile) and 52.3 percent groundball rate (90th percentile) have been excellent. The Jays will have a superb second option behind their ace, Dylan Cease. Money Talks Soriano has a couple years of arbitration left before becoming eligible for free agency ahead of the 2029 season. So, the Jays will now inherit the rest of a one-year, $2.9 million deal this year before negotiating again in 2027. The right-handed pitcher is on pace for a career year, currently operating with a 9-6 record, 3.29 earned run average and 127 strikeouts in 123 innings. Depending on how he rounds out this season, his desired number for 2027 should be substantially higher than what he earned this season. Arjun Nimmala’s Climb To Double A Arjun Nimmala headlines the return package for Soriano. Nimmala was the No. 3 prospect in Toronto’s pipeline (per Jays Centre) before the deal, and he was raking for Double-A New Hampshire. The 20-year-old shortstop was slashing .279/.355/.451 (.806 OPS) through his first 26 contests at the Double-A level, and he may get even better as he gains more experience. Nimmala’s 60-grade power tool and 60-grade arm are the highest of any of his attributes, and with a 2028 ETA, he could join the Angels' big league ball club in a year and a half, if not sooner. Toronto is struggling mightily on offense, and Nimmala wasn’t going to be able to help this year’s team put up a fight before a potential lockout in 2027. Micheletti’s Pop, Rivero’s Early Impression Eddie Micheletti Jr. isn’t a top-30 prospect, but there’s an argument he should be. The 24-year-old is a former eighth-round pick from the 2024 draft, and he slashed .251/.347/.454 (.801 OPS) across 93 Double-A ballgames in the Jays' organization this year. Micheletti has already tied his career-high of 14 homers in 13 fewer games, with 45 runs driven in and a walk rate north of 10%. Angel Rivero, on the other hand, is still very green. The 19-year-old Venezuela native has shown promise early, logging a 2.36 earned run average and earning 52 punchouts in 42 innings in rookie ball. Who Won the Trade? The grand question is this: Who won the trade? While Soriano has been extremely impressive for Los Angeles this year, he’s due for a steep arbitration raise and is playing above his mean. Nimmala playing a premium position like shortstop, and already hitting above average as a 20-year-old in Double-A, is valuable. Micheletti also has pop and could serve as a depth piece on a big league ball club. The combined value of those two alone, for what could be a couple of years of Jose Soriano, was a high price to pay. The Jays didn’t make enough supplementary moves to keep their window open in 2026. If anything, the team that represented the AL in the World Series last year was in sell mode, considering they dealt Gausman and Dalton Varsho, among others. The Angels get a B+ in this trade, while the Blue Jays get a C+.