A series of unfortunate circumstances have dampened the shine on a Blue Jays system that has often elected to Draft for upside in recent years. But 2025 could see the farm system start anew.
Left-handed pitching prospects Ricky Tiedemann and Brandon Barriera will likely take the mound once again toward the end of the 2025 season after both succumbing to elbow injuries in 2024. Infielder Orelvis Martinez will also get a full season under his belt in 2025 after getting hit with a suspension in 2024,
Those names aren’t the only components in flux in Toronto. Scouting director Shane Farrell left the organization to join the Detroit Tigers this winter. Will their tact in the Draft change? It’s now or never for a front office that has struggled to consistently put a winner on the field despite significant financial support.
DEVELOPMENTS
On the down side, injuries to top talents have reduced some of the buzz around the sytem, including 2023 first-round pick Arjun Nimmala on top of Tidemann and Barriera.
Summer acquisition Charles McAdoo, however, has a strong 2024 and the club enjoyed several positive maturations with their young arms, including 20-year-old Fernandez Perez, a four-pitch right-hander with room to add size, strength, and fastball value through velocity gains.
Alan Roden remains one of the more underrated hitting prospects in the minors after splitting the two upper levels with a .293/.391/.575 slash with above-average contact and average power.
Southpaw Adam Macko should be an option in the bullpen or as a back-end rotation arm to start 2025 after he logged a career high in innings and threw more strikes than ever.
QUESTIONS
There have probably been more questions than answers from within the Toronto farm system over the last calendar year. The injuries to Tiedemann and Barriera took considerable shine off two of the organization’s higher-ceiling pitching prospects — the former being a legitimate rotation option last year had it not been for the elbow injury.
While it’s unlikely either player will get significant innings in 2025, both have a good shot at getting back on the mound toward the end of the summer. Unfortunately that puts them off the radar as trade chips and/or reinforcements for the big league ball club.
Elsewhere on the mound, right-hander Jake Bloss struggled to a 6.91 ERA at Triple-A after being acquired in the Yusei Kikuchi deal from Houston. It was Bloss’ first hiccup in pro ball. Toronto will need him to rediscover what he lost in that deal as he’s likely going to be relied upon as an innings-eater and back-of-the-rotation option for much of the 2025 campaign.
The aforementioned Martinez will get a full look at the big-league level at some point in 2025 after seeing his opportunities mostly limited to Triple-A following an 80-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing substance Clomiphene. Martinez slashed .267/.346/.523 in 74 games at Buffalo and has legitimate 20/20 upside if he can carve out a full-time role.
A less-urgent concern is the development of Nimmala, the club’s first-round pick in 2023. The No. 20 overall selection just 16 months ago, Nimmala has struggled to find a consistent approach in the box, though his physical tools have shown flashes of brilliance. He’ll be just 20 years old in 2025 and Toronto would surely like to see the young infielder find firm footing as he likely gets his first taste of High-A competition.
From a 10,000-foot view, Toronto is almost certainly seeking offensive help for a lineup that has seen a continued decline from George Springer and Bo Bichette, though Bichette is a bounceback candidate.
The team is obviously hoping for resurgent year from both players, but being winged by names like Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, Will Wagner and Spencer Horwitz sparks questions. All four of those players had solid debuts in their own right, but can they be trusted to carry close to half of the lineup in 2025?
Any production provided from names like Martinez, Josh Kasevich or Roden would be welcomed.
ADDITIONS & SUBTRACTIONS
In addition to Bloss, Wagner amd McAdoo, the Blue Jays picked up SS Jay Harry from the Minnesota Twins in the Trevor Richards deal, and acquired outfielders Jonatan Clase and RJ Schreck from Seattle in separate trades for RHP Yimi Garcia and 1B Justin Turner.
In the swap of C Danny Jansen to the Boston Red Sox, Tironto landed SSs Cutter Coffey and Eddinson Paulino, and RHP Gilberto Batista. Nate Pearson was shipped to the Chicago Cubs for SS Josh Rivera.
The June trade of RHP Josh Mollerus brought back RHP Yerry Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers, and IF Cavan Biggio returned RHP Braydon Fisher from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Just prior to the start of the regular season, 2B Santiago Espinal was sent to the Cincinnati Reds for RHP Chris McElvain.
GRADUATIONS
Horwitz, IF
Leo Jimenez, SS
Davis Schneider, 3B
Addison Barger, 3B/OF
Joey Loperfido, OF
Yariel Rodriguez, RHP
Bowden Francis, RHP
Horowitz and Schneider place meaningful roles in the lineup in 2024, but after the trade Loperfido struggled to the tune of a 58 wRC+.
Rodriguez, whom most scouts saw as a better fit in the bullpen, made 21 starts before hitting the IL. The club is currently unsure where he fits for 2025.
Francis pitched well in 13 starts, allowing a .166 average and .347 slugging, despite being bitten by the long ball 13 times in 77 frames. He should be a back-end candidate next season.
BIG-LEAGUE RADAR (yet to debut)
Charles McAdoo, 3B
Kasevich, SS
Roden, OF
Eddinson Paulino, IF
Dahian Santos, RHP
Yohendrick Pinango, OF
Dasan Brown, OF
Mason Fluharty, LHP
RJ Schreck, OF
Josh Rivera, SS
SCOUT SAYS
“They’re just lacking in results at the big-league level, both from a win-loss angle and when thinking about their development system. They’ve always had some guys we’ve all liked, and they’ve either traded them for veterans or the player has stalled out in the upper minors…
“There was a time (Orelvis) Martinez seemed like the next Gleyber Torres or Marcus Semien or Alex Bregman and he really slowed up after that first season when he looked great. But the draft is where they’ve really struggled and I think this year and last year is the turnaround.
“But if they don’t keep Vlad (Guerrero Jr.) and Bo (Bichette), or efficiently racquire more big-time bats, competing in that division is going to be tough for a while, because their replacements are not in the organization right now.”
