Here's where Blue Jays Top 30 prospects are starting '22

With the Minor League season opening this week, here's where the Blue Jays’ Top 30 prospects are projected to start:

1) Gabriel Moreno (MLB No. 7), C -- Buffalo (Triple-A)
2) Orelvis Martinez (MLB No. 38), SS -- New Hampshire (Double-A)
3) Jordan Groshans (MLB No. 80), SS -- Injured (oblique strain)
4) Otto Lopez, 2B -- Triple-A Buffalo -- injured list (oblique discomfort)
5) Leo Jimenez, SS -- Vancouver (High-A)
6) Ricky Tiedemann, LHP -- Dunedin (Single-A)
7) Sem Robberse, RHP -- Vancouver (High-A)
8) CJ Van Eyk, RHP -- Injured (Tommy John surgery)
9) Manuel Beltre, SS -- Extended spring training
10) Irv Carter, RHP -- Extended spring training
11) Adam Kloffenstein, RHP -- Vancouver (High-A)
12) Miguel Hiraldo, SS -- Vancouver (High-A)
13) Estiven Machado, SS -- Dunedin (Single-A)
14) Rikelbin de Castro, SS -- Dunedin (Single-A)
15) Bowden Francis, RHP -- Buffalo (Triple-A)
16) Samad Taylor, 2B -- Buffalo (Triple-A)
17) Hagen Danner, RHP -- New Hampshire (Double-A)
18) Adrian Hernandez, RHP -- New Hampshire (Double-A)
19) Yosver Zulueta, RHP -- Extended spring training
20) Luis Meza, C -- Extended spring training
21) Yhoangel Aponte, OF -- Extended spring training
22) Chad Dallas, RHP -- Vancouver (High-A)
23) Trent Palmer, RHP -- Vancouver (High-A)
24) Joey Murray, RHP -- New Hampshire (Double-A)
25) Sebastian Espino, 3B -- New Hampshire (Double-A)
26) Hayden Juenger, RHP -- New Hampshire (Double-A)
27) Dasan Brown, OF -- Dunedin (Single-A)
28) Dahian Santos, RHP -- Dunedin (Single-A)
29) Tanner Morris, INF -- New Hampshire (Double-A)
30) Spencer Horwitz, 1B -- New Hampshire (Double-A)

Team to watch
Double-A New Hampshire has the most members of the Top 30 with eight, but High-A Vancouver, which is returning to its home north of the border in 2022, might have the more dynamic group. Jimenez should be closely followed after he posted an incredible .517 OBP over 242 plate appearances at Low-A Dunedin last year, albeit with a much lighter .381 slugging percentage. Robberse, Kloffenstein and Palmer bring some intrigue to the rotation, while 2021 fourth-rounder Dallas makes his debut at that level. This is the Canadians’ first season on MiLB.TV, so keep an eye on that feed.

Teams on MiLB.TV
Triple-A Buffalo
Double-A New Hampshire
High-A Vancouver

New faces
Tiedemann, the club’s third-round pick right now, was the talk of early Spring Training with an early velocity bump to the mid-90s and a promising changeup. He showed enough in those looks to get pushed to Single-A Dunedin to open his first full season -- notable considering the 19-year-old southpaw didn’t pitch at all in the Minors last season.

On the shelf
Oblique issues kept both Groshans and Lopez from Opening Day rosters in the Minors, hurting Toronto’s upper-level infield depth some. On the pitching side, Van Eyk will miss the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Carter (a 2021 fifth-round pick) is being built up after dealing with some minor chest discomfort in his first Spring Training.