Major League Baseball

MLB 26-and-under power rankings: No. 5 Toronto Blue Jays

Updated Mar. 21, 2023 2:11 p.m. ET

FOX Sports' 26-and-under power rankings are a new spin on the classic prospect rankings. Yes, prospects are important, but with all the game-changing young talent already in the bigs, farm systems alone can’t tell the whole story. So we’re diving deep into every single MLB club, ranking them all by the players in an organization entering their age-26 season or younger — from the bigs to the farm. Each weekday through March 27, we’ll count down from last to first.

No. 5 Toronto Blue Jays
26-and-under total score: 22 (out of 30)

The Blue Jays epitomize what this list is all about.

Look at most farm system rankings, and the Blue Jays will fall somewhere in the bottom half. A series of trades, prospect graduations and misses on top picks over the last decade have weakened their organizational upside.

But those rankings don’t take into account the prolific 26-and-under talent already on Toronto’s major-league roster, a group that includes four recent All-Stars who could help deliver the Blue Jays their first division title since 2015.

Outside of San Diego, Atlanta and (arguably) Houston, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better collection of young position players than the group Toronto boasts. It is largely those players who will dictate whether the Blue Jays will compete for their first World Series championship since securing back-to-back titles in 1992-93.

Big-league hitting: 10 (out of 10)

Most major-leaguers would be lining up at the door for a season with 32 homers and a 132 OPS+. The fact that it marked a step back for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a testament to his immense potential and his extraordinary age-22 season the year prior.

Guerrero just turned 24 and is already a two-time All-Star. He broke out in 2021 when he launched 48 homers while leading the league in on-base percentage (.401), slugging (.601) and OPS (1.002). It was with those totals in mind that last year felt relatively underwhelming.

Pitchers adjusted, throwing him more breaking balls while living low and away, which led to him putting the ball on the ground and chasing more often. He still clobbered the baseball, ranking in the 96th percentile in average exit velocity and the 94th percentile in hard-hit rate, and remains one of the likeliest candidates to return to form and compete for an AL MVP award again (he finished second in 2021).

In Guerrero and Bo Bichette, the Blue Jays possess one of the best under-26 duos in baseball. Bichette struggled through much of the first half last year before exploding in the season’s second half. He had an OPS over 1.000 in his final 40 games and has now posted an OPS over .800 in all four of his MLB seasons, the last two of which he played in 159 games apiece while leading the AL in hits. Despite grading out below average defensively at his position, his combination of offensive tools already make him one of the most dangerous shortstops in the game.

Toronto also features one of the top offensive tandems behind the plate in 24-year-old Alejandro Kirk and 27-year-old Danny Jansen. The emergence and steadiness of Kirk, who was named an All-Star last season for the first time, made Toronto feel comfortable dealing one of the top catching prospects in baseball, Gabriel Moreno, to Arizona this offseason.

The Moreno deal brought another young impactful talent to Toronto in 26-year-old Daulton Varsho, who checked a ton of boxes for a Blue Jays team that needed better outfield defense and more left-handed bats in the lineup. As good as the Blue Jays were last year in a second straight 90-plus win season, the 2023 version could be more complete.

Prospect hitting: 2 (out of 5)

In an effort to upgrade their major-league roster, the Blue Jays’ prospect list has taken a hit in recent years. That’s particularly the case on the position player side.

The latest example was Moreno, but there are others. Shortstop Austin Martin, the Blue Jays’ top pick in 2021, was traded to Minnesota in the José Berríos deal. Middle infielder Jordan Groshans, Toronto’s top selection in 2018, was sent to Miami last summer to upgrade the Toronto bullpen with Anthony Bass and Zach Pop.

Still, the Blue Jays have some depth in the middle-infield prospect ranks, even if most of those players — including Orelvis Martinez and Tucker Toman — are longer-term projects.

While he ranks outside most top-100 lists, Martinez is considered to be the best position-player prospect in the system. He has primarily played shortstop but also split time at third base last year and might end up at the latter spot. The power is obvious in the 21-year-old — he has 65 homers in 256 career minor-league games — but the jump to Double-A last year resulted in a ton of strikeouts and difficulties reaching base. He was just 20 years old, so there is time for his plate discipline to improve.

A couple of players who could help sooner are Otto Lopez, who starred for Team Canada at the World Baseball Classic, and Addison Barger. Lopez’s utility and contact skills might result in an Opening Day roster spot for the 24-year-old. Barger, a sixth-round pick in 2018, was also an option to begin the year on the big-league club before getting optioned to Triple-A on Monday.

Barger may not be far off, though, particularly if there’s an injury in the infield. The 23-year-old was the greatest player development story in the system last year, posting an organization-best 151 wRC+ while recording an OPS over .900 at every stop from high-A to Double-A to Triple-A. He has logged time at every infield spot, which could make it easier for Toronto to call him up, even if only in a platoon situation against righties.

Big-league pitching: 7 (out of 10)

After a string of first-round underperformers, 2019 top pick Alek Manoah broke the mold. He zoomed through the system, going from low-A in 2019 to mowing down major-league hitters by 2021. Last year, the 6-foot-6 righty earned his first All-Star nod and finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting.

Manoah possesses a distinctive ability to induce soft contact with his four-pitch mix. The combo of Manoah and Kevin Gausman should give the Blue Jays one of the most formidable starting pitching duos in baseball for the next few years.

Beyond Manoah and reliever Nate Pearson, though, it’s a largely veteran pitching staff in Toronto.

The Blue Jays had two first-round picks in 2017. The first, shortstop Logan Warmoth, has not advanced beyond Triple-A. The second, Pearson, became the top prospect in the Blue Jays’ system. But he’s still trying to stick as a major-leaguer.

Injuries played a role in shifting expectations for Pearson from potential ace to bullpen piece. The hard-throwing right-hander is competing for a spot on the big-league roster, but regardless of where he begins the year, this will be an important season for the 26-year-old. His high-velocity fastball can still be a weapon if he demonstrates more command and control.

Prospect pitching: 3 (out of 5)

This brings us to the best prospect in the Blue Jays’ system and the lone Toronto player universally on top-100 prospect lists, pitcher Ricky Tiedemann.

While the 20-year-old left-hander never pitched beyond Double-A last year, and the Blue Jays’ rotation is not immediately in need of his services, he may force his way onto the major-league roster by next year — or sooner.

At 19 years old last season, Tiedemann registered a 2.17 ERA with 117 strikeouts in 78.2 innings while rising from low-A to high-A to Double-A. He thrived at every level, averaging more than 11 strikeouts per nine innings at each stop. The Blue Jays have handled Tiedemann carefully and will likely continue exercising caution, particularly after he dealt with shoulder soreness this spring, but the 2021 third-round pick has the potential to offer front-line upside as the Blue Jays’ fourth or fifth option behind Manoah, Gausman and Chris Bassitt.

The Blue Jays lost a ton of highly regarded pitching prospects in recent years, with Nick Frasso going to the Dodgers in the deal for Mitch White, and Simeon Woods Richardson going to Minnesota in the Berríos trade, but there should still be help arriving soon in Yosver Zulueta. The hard-throwing, 25-year-old Cuban right-hander has been held back in recent years by Tommy John surgery and a torn ACL.

Zulueta pitched in only 55.2 innings upon his return last year, but he did so while ascending from low-A all the way to Triple-A. He has not yet fully harnessed his control, walking 32 batters in those 55.2 innings, but he also struck out 84 batters in that time. While he might possess the arsenal to ultimately start, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Toronto choose to use those high-90s fastballs in the Blue Jays’ bullpen sometime this year.

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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