Blue Jays: Top Prospects and the Rule 5 Draft

The Blue Jays will have some tough choices going into the Rule 5 Draft as they have nine different players that are currently ranked in their MLB Top 30 Prospects List, including a top 10 prospect that if they are not put on the 40-man roster they will be exposed for the draft.

The 26-man and 40-man roster can be a little confusing to the casual fan, so here is a quick explanation of the two.  The 26-man roster is your active roster that are players eligible day-to-day, they are the players that are in the bullpen and dugout each day.  The remaining 14 players are those that a major league team is eligible to call up from their minor league teams.  A team can only call up these players and if they want to promote a player that is not on this 40-man roster, they need to remove someone to put that player on it.  Once a player is removed from the list, a few things can happen, but most often a player moves on from the organization.

The Rule 5 Draft are for players who have been signed with a franchise for a specific amount of time and are not on a 40-man roster.  Each team has to choose to put these players on their 40-man roster or risk having them exposed during the Rule 5 Draft.  If a player gets claimed in this draft, they need to stay on the claiming teams 26-man roster for the duration of the season and after one full season on the 26-man roster, they can be moved onto the 40-man roster.  If a team decides not to keep them on the 26-man roster, they are returned to the original team.  The reason for this draft is to avoid a team from hoarding prospects who may get a major league opportunity elsewhere.

To see the Top 10 Blue Jays Rule 5 selections in team history click on this link.  One name on the Blue Jays roster who was claimed during the Rule 5 Draft was closer Jordan Romano, but he went the other way.  Romano was exposed back in 2018 and claimed by the Chicago White Sox, then immediately traded to the Texas Rangers.  During Spring Training in 2019, he Rangers decided Romano would not make their 26-man roster and he was returned to the Blue Jays.

There is the potential that the Blue Jays could lose a significant prospect in the upcoming MLB Rule 5 Draft

As stated, the Blue Jays have nine players rated in their Top 30 prospects that have the potential of being left exposed, so let’s have a look.

Prospect #24 – Eric Pardinho
The first prospect on this list I am legitimately worried about losing is 20-year old Eric Pardinho, which is why I think the Blue Jays will add him to the 40-man roster. Pardinho, who has been with the club since signing with them back in 2017, underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2020 and finally got back on the mound in July this past season, however was shutdown with elbow soreness after just two appearances.  Throughout his minor league career he has always been one of the youngest players at each level he pitched at and had posted a 2.48 ERA over 90.2 innings with a 10.2 strikeout rate.  It will be all dependent how his health is progressing, if the Blue Jays have any indications that he is healthy they will need to be careful to not expose him.

Prospect #23 – Adrian Hernandez
Another younger prospect, Adrian Hernandez will turn 22 years old just prior to Spring Training.  The Mexican born international free agent signing split time between Dunedin, Vancouver and New Hampshire this past season.  Between the three teams, Hernandez threw 62.1 innings in the bullpen, posting a 2.74 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and an astonishing 15.6 strikeouts per nine innings.  I have little doubt that if Hernandez isn’t put on the 40-man roster that there will be teams who will want to put in a claim and take a chance on him.

Prospect #17 – Samad Taylor
Samad Taylor has had a very busy 12 months of baseball as last December he went to the Australian baseball league during their summer months, came back to North America to play for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats during our summer, and recently he has been playing in the Dominican Winter League.

Taylor is a versatile player that spotted in at five different positions for New Hampshire this past season.  The 23-year old was acquired back in 2017 for Joe Smith and is known for his speed and displayed that again as he stole 30 bases this past year, while stealing a combined 70 in his previous two minor league seasons.  Taylor also brings some power as he had 34 extra-base hits this season, while posting a slash line of .294/.385/.503 with the Fisher Cats.  Taylor may find a role with the Blue Jays this upcoming season and will likely be added to the 40-man roster.

Prospect #11 – Leo Jimenez
The former international free agent signing, Leo Jimenez is an interesting decision for the Blue Jays.  He is their #11 prospect and is still just 20-years old, but has not played above Single-A baseball.  Jimenez plays shortstop, but is behind a handful of better prospects playing the same position. At the plate he does not bring much power, as he has just one home run in 154 minor league games.  Jimenez does have a good eye at the plate as he had a .315 batting average and a .517 on-base percentage over 54 games with Dunedin and walked more than he struck out (54:36) this season. The Blue Jays could add him to the 40-man and use him as a trade piece or take a chance other teams don’t want to hand a roster spot over to him.

Prospect #6 – Miguel Hiraldo
Miguel Hiraldo is the highest rated prospect that could be exposed on the Blue Jays for the draft and he is in a similar case than Jimenez.  Hirlado turned 21-years old at the end of this season and had good, but not outstanding numbers.  He split time at second and third base for the Dunedin Blue Jays this year where he made a total 24 errors.  2021 was the first time he spent any substantial amount of time at the hot corner and it showed as he posted an .843 fielding percentage in 89 chances.  At the plate he had a slash line of .249/.338/.390 with 37 extra-base hits.  One the bases, Hiraldo went 29 for 34 stealing bases.  In one sense, it appears he is too far away from being Major League ready to take a roster spot, but I am not sure if the Blue Jays want to roll the dice on losing a top prospect.

Which of these players do you see the Blue Jays adding to the 40-man roster and which do you see getting claimed in the Rule 5 Draft?