Blue Jays: Five prospects next in line for a promotion to the big leagues

Jordan Groshans – INF

While his name appeared in a few rumours this past trade deadline, the organization decided to keep Jordan Groshans, where he now ranks as the clubs #4 prospect.

After a slow start to the season, Groshans has hit his way up the club leaderboards and is now slashing .291/.367/.450 on the season with seven home runs, 40 RBI, and a .817 OPS. His glove is still a work in progress but his best position is at shortstop, where he sports a .960 fielding percentage with five errors through 43 games compared to his .863 fielding percentage at third base through 21 games.

His bat will be the main reason he makes the major leagues sooner rather than later and if he can hone in his skills defensively to bring up his fielding percentage at the hot corner, that may be his best route to the Blue Jays roster given current shortstop Bo Bichette does not appear to be moving any time soon. While Bo could be moved to second base in the future, if Groshans can find a rhythm at third, the Blue Jays could potentially resign Semien to have him continue to play second and bring Groshans up at third next season, keeping everyone intact and in the lineup.

Similar to Moreno, next season is potentially Groshan’s best opportunity, and a promotion to AAA to finish this year would bode well in a 2022 potential call-up. He will need to be added to the 40-man roster before he can be called up to the big league squad.

The Blue Jays currently own the 14th ranked prospect system in the major leagues, making one wonder who the next prospect to called up from the minor leagues will be.

Otto Lopez – UTIL

A bit of a surprising call-up earlier this month, Otto Lopez only appeared in one at-bat with the squad before getting sent back down to the minors.

In AA this season, Lopez was slashing .331/.398/.457 before being promoted to the Bisons on August 2nd. With the Blue Jays AAA affiliate, Lopez currently owns a .247/.330/.312 line with 10 RBI and a .641 OPS through 77 at-bats. He has been playing a variety of positions this season, primarily splitting his time between left field and second base since his promotion with a few trips to shortstop and center field since joining the Bisons. His ability to play various positions makes him a valuable asset as either a platoon player or utility role moving forward.

While Lopez did get called up to the big league club, everyone was aware that it wasn’t going to be a long-term move while multiple members of the roster were on the IL. He will need a little more fine-tuning in the minors before being able to try and carve out a permanent roster spot but he is well on his way. A strong spring next year could shoot him up the rankings but he will most likely begin the year in AAA unless the Blue Jays feel he can contribute off the bench or if the infield finds themselves on the injured list.

One thing to note is that Lopez is already on the 40-man roster, which is a major benefit compared to some of his minor league counterparts when it comes to being an option for the big league roster.