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Blue Jays: Five prospects not on the top 30 list to watch next year

By Tyson Shushkewich

DUNEDIN, FL- MARCH 04: Baseballs are seen before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on March 4, 2016 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
DUNEDIN, FL- MARCH 04: Baseballs are seen before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on March 4, 2016 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Blue Jays
Jun 10, 2019; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Mississippi Rebels Parker Caracci (65) throws a pitch during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Baum-Walker Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /

Heading into the offseason, the Blue Jays farm system ranked at #14 across all teams in the league as per Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com. With the departure of top prospects Austin Martin, Simeon Woods-Richardson, and Riley Adams at the trade deadline and the graduation of Alek Manoah, Nate Pearson, and Alejandro Kirk off of the prospect list, the Blue Jays fell out of the top ten.

The club still does boast three players in the top 100 list with Gabriel Moreno (32), Orelvis Martinez (44th), and Jordan Groshans (55th) but this pales in comparison to how the club looked heading into the 2021 campaign. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the Jays are starting to move from a rebuilding candidate to a playoff contender, and some of the moves that required the club to get better required the front office to trade top prospects.

While the top 30 prospects for the club are always garnering attention throughout the year, the Blue Jays have some other talented prospects that fans should start to get to know who may not be on the ranked list (at least not yet).

Parker Caracci – RHP

Drafted by the Blue Jays in the 21st round of the 2019 MLB Draft, right-hander Parker Caracci has compiled some pretty solid stats since making his professional debut.

Through two seasons of minor league ball, Caracci has accumulated a 2.55 ERA through 59 appearances with 81 strikeouts and a 1.276 WHIP. Starting the season in High-A Vancouver, the Mississippi product was used in the high-leverage situations and as the teams closer, leading the Canadians in saves with eight while finishing 24 games. He also finished with 32 outings, one behind Justin Maese in the relief corps but would have probably taken over top spot if it wasn’t for his late-season promotion to AA with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Once in AA, Caracci continued to impress and would appear in six games before the season concluded, finishing with a 0.84 ERA with only one earned run and five hits through 10.2 innings of work with five strikeouts and one save.

Look for Caracci to return to AA next season, potentially as the club’s closer or setup man.

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