Trade Deadline, Draft lead to huge shakeup in Blue Jays' prospect rankings

Nearly half of Top 30 made up of newcomers to organization

August 14th, 2024

The shakeup is done and the dust has settled.

If you’re searching for a positive spin on the Blue Jays’ season, look no further than MLB Pipeline’s updated Top 30 Prospects list, featuring a much different group from our preseason rankings.

Toronto’s list is now peppered with names acquired at the Trade Deadline, as well as a handful of selections from this year’s MLB Draft. That whirlwind of moves amounted to a significant step in replenishing a farm system that ranked as No. 24 in MLB after three years of subtraction.

The top of the list looks pretty familiar, but nearly half of these 30 prospects are new to the Blue Jays’ organization. Let’s make sense of all that change.

Team Top 30 Prospects lists:
ALE: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
ALC: CLE | CWS | DET | KC | MIN
ALW: HOU | LAA | OAK | SEA | TEX
NLE: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NLC: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NLW: AZ | COL | LAD | SD | SF

Here’s a look at the Blue Jays’ top prospects:

  1. Orelvis Martinez, 2B
  2. Trey Yesavage, RHP
  3. Jake Bloss, RHP
  4. Ricky Tiedemann, LHP
  5. Arjun Nimmala, SS

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:

Jump: Fernando Perez, RHP (Preseason: No. 26 | Midseason: No. 12)
The 20-year-old Perez has continued to show excellent command and an advanced feel for pitching in his first season at the A-Ball level. Signed out of Nicaragua in 2022, Perez went from under-the-radar prospect to Futures Game selection thanks to his ability to keep the ball out of the air and limit walks -- two promising traits for a young pitcher. His 82 innings with Single-A Dunedin also point to the durability this organization values in its starters.

Whether Perez continues to climb the rankings will depend on his ability to get more swings and misses and grow into some improved velocity.

More from MLB Pipeline:
Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage

Fall: Brandon Barriera, LHP (Preseason: No. 5 | Midseason: No. 18)
This is a product of misfortune more than anything else. Barriera made just one start this season before undergoing a hybrid Tommy John and internal brace procedure on his left elbow on April 29. The Blue Jays’ first-round pick (No. 23 overall) in 2022, Barriera is expected to miss the rest of the ‘24 season and at least a portion of ‘25.

Barriera pitched to a 3.98 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings between Rookie Ball and Single-A Dunedin in 2023, but the 20-year-old also dealt with arm issues along the way in that campaign. His fastball lived more in the 92-93 mph range than the 95-96 mph mark that excited scouts ahead of his Draft.

There’s a level of uncertainty around a young pitcher’s return from a UCL injury, too, and with a ton of new talent added to this system, Barriera’s stock took a hit in the rankings.

New to the list

Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:

No. 2, Trey Yesavage, RHP (No. 20 pick in 2024 Draft)
No. 3, Jake Bloss, RHP (Traded from Astros)
No. 7, Jonatan Clase, OF (Traded from Mariners)
No. 8, Khal Stephen, RHP (No. 59 pick in 2024 Draft)
No. 9, Charles McAdoo, OF (Traded from Pirates)
No. 17, Johnny King, RHP (No. 95 pick in 2024 Draft)
No. 19, Eddinson Paulino, SS (Traded from Red Sox)
No. 20, Will Wagner, 1B (Traded from Astros)
No. 23, Yohendrick Pinango, OF (Traded from Cubs)
No. 24, Cutter Coffey, 3B (Traded from Red Sox)
No. 26, Sean Keys, 3B (No. 125 pick in 2024 Draft)
No. 29, RJ Schreck, OF (Traded from Mariners)
No. 30, Josh Rivera, SS (Traded from Cubs)

Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 55 -- Leo Jiménez
Power: 60 -- Orelvis Martinez
Run: 80 -- Dasan Brown
Arm: 60 -- Cutter Coffey
Defense: 60 -- Brown
Fastball: 60 -- Ricky Tiedemann (Trey Yesavage)
Curveball: 60 -- Adam Macko
Slider: 70 -- Mason Fluharty
Changeup: 60 -- Tiedemann
Control: 55 -- Khal Stephen (Fernando Perez)