Blue Jays: Top prospects and where they’re beginning the 2021 season

AA – New Hampshire Fisher Cats

The Blue Jays Class AA farm team, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, will have quite a few ranked prospects joining the team to begin the year.

Announced by Shi Davidi yesterday, Jordan Groshans, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Gabriel Moreno, Austin Martin, and Otto Lopez will make the trip to AA, with none of these players playing at this high a level before in their professional career.

One of the most recent prospects to join the Blue Jays, Austin Martin surprisingly fell to the team at 5th overall in last years shortened amateur draft. Described as one of the most pure hitters in last seasons class, Martin has yet to play an inning of professional baseball and spent last year at the teams alternate training site after being drafted. It will be interesting to see where the team has Martin play position wise, as the team boasts quite a few talented infielders in the farm system already and could have the top prospect move to the outfield for the foreseeable future. The right hander is the Blue Jays #2 ranked prospect.

Finding himself on the top prospect rankings for most of his pro career (currently #3), Jordan Groshans had a rough 2019 season that was marred by injuries and strikeouts at the plate. Last season would have been a great bounce back year to prove he can perform when healthy but he would unfortunately have to settle for playing at the alternate training site. With the righty slugger slated to spend time on the left side of the diamond this year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the hard hitting infielder make his way to Buffalo by the end of the season.

Simeon Woods-Richardson is one of the top ranked pitchers in the Blue Jays farm system at #4, a testament to just how talented he is at just 20 years old. Acquired in the Marcus Stroman trade two years ago, SWR impressed fans with his strong Spring Training, going 8.0 innings allowing only four hits, two walks, while striking out eight hitters (most of them being New York Yankees). Another prospect who will most likely find himself in AAA by the end of the year, the right-hander could also pitch his way onto the active roster if the bullpen needs a boost when the rosters expand in September.

Gabriel Moreno is another member of the talented catching prospects the Blue Jays have in the farm system, known for his cannon of an arm and defense behind the plate. No slouch in the batters box either with his .294/.339/.468 slash line, Moreno will be tested this season at a higher level where he will be expected to get most of the reps as the teams primary catcher. Widely regarded as a potential major league catcher of the future, look for the Jays #8 prospect to be knocking on the AAA doors by the end of the season.

Rounding out the group, Otto Lopez will also make the trip to New Hampshire after playing a considerable amount of innings this past Spring Training. Lopez should see a majority of the time up the middle for the Fisher Cats, as the #12th ranked prospect has a few years of development before any potential major league appearance.

Advanced A – Vancouver Canadians

Starting pitcher and #11 ranked Blue Jays prospect C.J. Van Eyk will begin the year in Advanced A, a year after being drafted in the second round. He too did not get a chance to play in any games last season with the minor league season being shut down so it should be interesting to see how Van Eyk plays against professional hitters. In Spring Training with the Blue Jays, the right-hander pitched in one game but was roughed up, surrendering two hits and three walks and five earned runs without recording an out.

Another player starting with the Canadians this year is Adam Kloffenstein (10th ranked prospect) after spending last season playing in the independent leagues (with MiLB the shut down). He spent part of the 2019 season with the Canadians although they will be playing in Oregon this season due to the border being closed. After starting 13 games and crafting a 2.24 ERA for Vancouver in 2019, Kloffenstein will most likely not be staying there long and a strong start could see him move to AA sooner rather than later.

Low A Dunedin

The most exciting prospect in Dunedin this year is arguably Orelvis Martinez, the Blue Jays #6 ranked prospect. He spent the 2019 season in the Gulf Coast Rookie League at just 17 years old, crafting a .275/.352.549 slash line in 142 at-bats. This past Spring Training was also eye opening for fans, as Martinez performed well in 10 games, finishing with a .354 average and one home run with three RBI. Martinez will be a prospect to keep an eye on this year to see how he performs over the course of a full season against players 2-3 years his age in Dunedin.

Miguel Hiraldo will also be making the trip to Dunedin, the Blue Jays #9 ranked prospect. In Spring Training earlier this year, Hiraldo played in five games and would not record a hit over five plate appearences with one RBI, one walk, and one stolen base.

Another infielder prospect on the Blue Jays top prospect rankings, #13 ranked Leo Jimenez will also begin the season in Dunedin. In limited action earlier this year, Jimenez crafted a .500/.500/.667 in six at-bats during the Blue Jays Spring Training camp.

Another new prospect in the Jays organization, outfielder Zach Britton will be making his professional debut after being drafted last season. His college career at the University of Louisville was solid and the lefty hitter will hopefully be able to carry over his stats and power stroke from his Louisville days to the Florida shores.

One of the players who was under quite a few fans radar when camp broke this spring was pitcher Yosver Zulueta. Hailing from Remedios, Cuba, the 23 years old has pitched for years in the Cuban National Series before making the jump to play Major League Baseball.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2019, Zulueta is one pitcher who could find himself rising through the farm system rather quickly if he can pitch well out of the gate given his experience in Cuba prior to signing with the Blue Jays. He is currently ranked as the organization’s #22 top prospect.