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

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.

Spencer Horwitz – First Base

A 24th round draft pick back in 2019, Radford University alum Spencer Horwitz had one of the top campaigns in the Blue Jays minor league system last year.

Spending a majority of the 2021 campaign with the High-A Vancouver Canadians, Horwitz was the OPS leader on the club amongst qualified players (.846) and finished with a .290/.401/.445 slash line. He appeared in 105 games for the Canadians, another team-high while also contributing 10 home runs, 62 RBI, and 70 walks compared to 66 strikeouts. He would be promoted to AA New Hampshire towards the end of campaign and would collect six hits, two home runs, and four RBI through 16 at-bats. Horwitz spent a majority of his time on the field at first base and finished the year with a .994 fielding percentage, comitting only four errors through 721.1 innings.

The Maryland product would find himself with the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League once the Minor League season was over and wouldn’t miss a beat. In 16 games, Horwitz compiled a .375/.459/.484 slash line with 24 hits on his way to a .944 OPS and being named to the AFL East All-Stars roster.

One would imagine that the lefty-batter will find himself back in AA after the impressive season he had in 2021. He could potentially begin the year in High-A before a quick promotion to the next level if he can continue to play similar to how he did this past season.

Nick Fraze – RHP

Selected by the Blue Jays during 22nd round of the 2019 MLB Draft, right-hander Nick Fraze only pitched in 12 games for the Vancouver Canadians during his rookie campaign before COVID-19 shut down the 2020 season. In his first taste of professional baseball, the Texas State Univeristy alum started 10 of 12 games and would finish with a 2.12 ERA through 34.0 innings.

Fraze would return to the Canadians roster for the 2021 season and would post very similar stats, appearing in 11 games (nine starts) and posting a 2.14 ERA through 42.0 innings with 46 strikeouts and a 0.881 WHIP.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Fraze did improve his SO/9 by over 2.8 points and was able to keep his stats compareable to his rookie campaign but did spend roughly a month on the injured list, hence why he actually made one less appearance compared to his first year in the Jays minor league system.

The Texas product would see a promotion to the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats on August 9th but did not find the same success, finishing with a 4.58 ERA through five appearances (three starts) with 10 earned runs through 19.2 innings of work while posting a 1.576 WHIP.

It will be interesting to see if the Blue Jays will keep Fraze down in A ball with the Vancouver Canadians to begin the 2022 campaign or if they will give him another crack at AA to begin the year, hoping that he can find the same momentum that the club experienced with him for a majority of the 2021 season.

Graham Spraker – RHP

A name that fans may already be aware of, right-hander Graham Spraker is another Blue Jays minor leaguer who had a fantastic 2021 campaign and could be pushing for a spot on the active roster sooner than the other players mentioned above.

Drafted by the Blue Jays back in 2017, Spraker has spent the past four seasons across almost every level of minor league system, compiling a 2.82 ERA through 95 appearences (34 starts). Through 287.1 innings pitched, the Quincy University alum has ammased 252 strikeouts compared to 86 walks to the tune of a 7.9 SO/9, 2.7 BB/9, and a 1.142 WHIP primarily out of the bullpen.

Spending a majority of the 2021 campaign in AA with the Fisher Cats, Spraker put forth one of his seasons in the Jays farm system, posting a 2.74 ERA through 30 appearances with 62 strikeouts and only 13 earned runs through 42.2 innings. He made one appearance in AAA, pitching two clean innings while giving up two hits with three strikeouts but it was his play in the Arizona Fall League that made headlines.

With the Mesa Solar Sox, Spraker was one of the top reliever in the AFL, appearing in 11 games and did not allow a single run (earned or unearned) and only allowed four hits through 11.1 innings of work. He also racked up 17 strikeouts and two walks on his way to a 0.529 WHIP and a nomination to the AFL East All-Stars team.

The one difference between Spraker and the rest of the candidates mentioned in this article is the possibility Blue Jays fans may not get to see him play next season within the clubs farm system.

The Arizona product is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft and was not protected by the club on the 40-man roster before the deadline, meaning he could be selected if or when the draft occurs this offseason.

With the CBA currently expired and both the MLB and the MLBPA still without a deal in place, the Rule 5 Draft was essentially put on hiatus when the owners locked out the players. It appears that the draft will most likely occur after a new CBA is put in place, meaning Spraker could be available for a team willing to take a chance on the right-hander, but nothing is guarenteed until a new agreement is in effect.

He could always be returned sometime during the 2022 season if he is selected, similar to Jordan Romano being returned back in 2019, but it is a bit surprising the club decided to leave him exposed given his numbers in the minor leagues.