Who are Blue Jays' building blocks of future?

This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson's Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays’ farm system went much like the big club in 2024. There were some success stories, but not enough.

Injuries decimated the Blue Jays’ top-end pitching prospects and limited former No. 1 prospect Ricky Tiedemann to just a handful of outings before he underwent Tommy John surgery. On the position player front, Orelvis Martinez (No. 2) could have had an incredible opportunity down the stretch, but he lost the second half of his season to an 80-game PED suspension.

The Blue Jays point to the number of big leaguers they’ve produced, though, a list that added Addison Barger and Leo Jiménez this season along with trade additions Will Wagner and Jonatan Clase.

“We picked later in the Draft. We picked 20th last year. When you lose picks for [signing] free agents and when you trade young players, it takes a hit,” president and CEO Mark Shapiro said recently. “We need to continue to be better as an organization at identifying and acquiring talent, but we did a pretty good job in light of that context and those situations. We also took advantage of the misfortune of this year to add 13 players to our system which dramatically improved it.”

Notably, Shapiro pointed to strong seasons by outfielder Alan Roden (No. 12) and infielder Josh Kasevich (No. 9). There’s depth coming, but eventually, the Blue Jays need to develop a star or two.

“This system is in a lot better place now than it was a year ago,” Shapiro said. “It’s not something we can take our foot off the gas with. We need to continue to pursue a better system with a sense of urgency.”

Three players who forced their way onto the radar

RHP Jake Bloss (No. 3) -- Let’s bend the rules here for Bloss, who had his breakout with the Astros before being traded to the Blue Jays in the Yusei Kikuchi deal. He didn’t exactly hit the ground running in Toronto, which kept him from pitching any big league innings, but Bloss is exactly what the Blue Jays need to provide legitimate starting depth in 2025. Especially when you consider the injuries the Blue Jays ran into in 2024, the addition of Bloss was massive.

OF Alan Roden (No. 12) -- The on-base machine was already a hot name coming into 2024, but now that he’s proven he belongs in Double-A and Triple-A, it’s getting easier to envision Roden’s future in the big leagues. Most encouraging was that Roden hit 16 homers, filling out a corner of his game that had felt a bit empty before. Keep him on your short list of players to watch in Spring Training.

INF Will Wagner (No. 18) -- Wagner initially felt like the “other” player in the Kikuchi deal along with Bloss and outfielder Joey Loperfido. That changed quickly. Wagner hit .305 over 24 games down the stretch and looked like he fit right in with the Blue Jays. There’s a real possibility that Wagner gets to compete for a regular job in 2025, and at the very least, he’s a great fit in a timeshare at second base. This already looks like a great acquisition for the Blue Jays.

Two breakout players to watch for 2025

SS Arjun Nimmala (No. 5) -- This is already well underway, but if Nimmala carries his momentum over into 2025, he’ll start appearing on Top 100 lists. After a midseason reset in the Complex League, Nimmala returned to Single-A and hit .265 with 13 home runs and an .895 OPS over the last 53 games. His skill set is special and his upside is star caliber. This is the exact type of prospect the Blue Jays need more of.

3B/OF Charles McAdoo (No. 7) -- McAdoo came over from the Pirates for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and while his Blue Jays debut didn’t go well (.610 OPS in 37 G), he was on the tear at the time of the trade. McAdoo is built for power, and if he can play a legitimate third base, he could have a clear path to the big leagues. Much like Nimmala, McAdoo has the big, loud physical tools the Blue Jays need to find more of.

One big question: Who is Orelvis Martinez?

Martinez has a lot to prove coming off his suspension, both to the club and everyone else. For a couple of years now, he’s had the best power in this organization outside of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but we need to see that re-established in 2025. If there’s one prospect who can change the trajectory of the MLB lineup, it’s Martinez.