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.

There must be something in the water in Buffalo. 

The Triple-A Bisons’ lineup has been hitting absolutely everything lately, putting up double-digit runs three times over the past week. 

Much of this has been powered by some upper-level prospects who have started to pile up on the Bisons’ roster. Developing position player prospects like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette is the dream, but what keeps good organizations humming along is a steady stream of contributors from their farm system. 

This doesn’t hurt around the Trade Deadline, either.

WHY IT MATTERS

First? Money. 

When an organization is developing its own talent to fill positions, it allows that club to focus its free-agent spending or trade assets elsewhere. The Dodgers are a great example of how this works.

Take the Blue Jays, who have Matt Chapman, Brandon Belt, Kevin Kiermaier and potentially Whit Merrifield as free agents next season. Replacing three or four players via free agency or trade can be costly. If the Blue Jays can replace one or two of those spots internally, though, that would allow them to focus all of those resources on adding a star in the other spot. 

Young, homegrown players performing in their early years is the secret sauce in pro sports.

TOP PROSPECT PERFORMERS AT TRIPLE-A

SS/3B Orelvis Martinez (No. 4)
The Blue Jays’ top hitting prospect shook off a dreadful April and recently earned a promotion to Buffalo, where he homered in his first Triple-A game. Martinez is still just 21, so the Blue Jays can continue to let him develop at his own pace, but he’s earned an opportunity to come to Spring Training next year and compete for a role. Martinez’s plate approach will be tested by more experienced pitchers, but his power has few rivals in the organization.

SS/2B/RF Addison Barger (No. 6)
Barger fell off after a fantastic camp, starting slow in Triple-A before a right elbow issue landed him on the IL. He’s homered four times in 24 games since returning to the Bisons and is recording some big exit velocities, making him an option down the stretch if the Blue Jays have a need at the big league level. More likely, Barger is an option at third base for the Blue Jays next season, but he’s started to play some more right field of late, giving him the versatility that could open up some complementary roles for him in 2024. 

UTIL Otto Lopez (No. 14)
Lopez is sitting on a .251 average and .637 OPS this season, below expectations for the versatile 24-year-old who is typically a .300 hitter. Lopez still profiles as an MLB bench piece who can cover most positions and help on the bases, and that’s a skill set that will attract other clubs.

1B Spencer Horwitz (No. 18)
The former 24th-round Draft pick, who made his MLB debut earlier this year, recently won the International League’s hitter of the week. He now owns a .314 average and an .886 OPS, and though Horwitz’s seven home runs don’t offer much of a power profile at first base, his ability to reach base and put balls in play is rare in this system.

UTIL Davis Schneider (No. 28)
Schneider has primarily played second base and left field, but he has also been mixed in at third base and first base. He’s also launched 21 home runs, good for a .991 OPS, and is one of the best prospect stories of the season for the Blue Jays. Again, other clubs will take notice, but he’s earned the opportunity to compete for a role next season in Toronto. 

UTIL Rafael Lantigua (not ranked)
Lantigua didn’t crack MLB Pipeline’s preseason Top 30 Prospects rankings for the Blue Jays, but he has earned a place in the conversation by hitting .285 with a .415 on-base percentage and an .877 OPS while playing all over the diamond. He may not be the “priority prospect” out of this bunch, but all he’s done is perform.

2B/3B Tanner Morris (not ranked)
Morris, much like Lantigua, has been putting up numbers outside of the spotlight. He’s really turned it on lately, batting .444 with a 1.186 OPS through his first 12 games in July. Names like Lantigua and Morris allow the Blue Jays to deal names higher up this list, because it wouldn’t exactly be emptying the cupboard at Triple-A. 

Worth mentioning…
Infielder Leo Jimenez is stuck in Double-A behind all of these names. Jimenez currently ranks as Toronto’s No. 19 prospect but is due for a jump with our August re-ranking. When you combine an MLB-ready glove with an improving offensive approach and his 40-man roster spot, Jimenez is a prime candidate to move to Triple-A following a trade … or be targeted in a trade himself.