Toronto Blue Jays: Showing off some of their top prospects

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 25: Austin Martin #16 of the Vanderbilt Commodores gets thrown out at first base in the third inning against the Michigan Wolverines during game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 25, 2019 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 25: Austin Martin #16 of the Vanderbilt Commodores gets thrown out at first base in the third inning against the Michigan Wolverines during game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 25, 2019 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)

Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t deny the fact that Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro have done a fantastic job building up the farm system during their time in Toronto.  The Blue Jays farm system is one of the best in baseball, third according to Keith Law of the Athletic behind only Tampa Bay and Cleveland (Shapiro and Atkins former home).

Even after graduating top prospects such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bo Bichette and Danny Jansen, the Jays have managed to maintain a plethora of young, high end talent that will be getting the opportunity to showcase their skills this spring.

The Jays recently announced that they’ll be bringing twenty eight non-roster invitees to camp this spring.  Of the twenty eight players joining the Jays, eleven of them are considered to be top 30 prospects in the Jays system according to MLB Pipeline, seven of which are in the top 10.

Headline this group is Austin Martin, the Blue Jays first rounder last season and the 22nd prospect in all of baseball.  Joining him is Jordan Groshans, the Jays 2018 first rounder and the 46th ranked prospect, Simeon Woods Richardson, who was the centre piece in the Marcus Stroman trade and is the 87th prospect in all of baseball and others as well.

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Along with the eleven non roster players coming to camp, the Jays also have eight other top 30 prospects on their 40 man roster who will be joining them as well, with familiar faces such as Nate Pearson, Alejandro Kirk and Julian Merryweather on that list.

This is a really exciting time to be a fan of the Blue Jays.  We heard management preaching patience, and that they would build a consistent winner internally through the draft and international.  There were some really tough years at the start of the Atkins and Shapiro era, but we’re starting to see the fruits of their labour, with prospects emerging at the big league level and others working through the system and getting close to the Majors.

Over the course of the last five seasons, the Jays have built a deep farm system that has waves of talent.  We’ve already seen that first wave come to the majors and have success.  This spring we’re going to get a glimpse of the next wave and get to see just how bright the future of this team is.

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