Four Blue Jays named to Baseball Prospectus Top 101

Number 22: Gabriel Moreno

21-year old Venezuelan Gabriel Moreno is all the talk of the Blue Jays fanbase this past year. The Jays’ number one prospect burst onto the scene in a big way in 2021, despite a thumb fracture injury that derailed a few months of his season. The Blue Jays have had a few “catchers of the future” of late, namely in Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and even Reese McGuire but Moreno appears to be for real.

Moreno was signed five years ago as an international free agent and as such has had a lot of time to develop. The catcher has played in 191 minor-league games and has posted a combined .857 OPS. He has hit at every level, but before his injury this year, he was hitting everything. In 32 games, Moreno hit .373/.441/.651 to a tune of a monster 1.092 OPS. Perhaps more incredible, he returned from his injury and took part in the Arizona Fall League, where he continued to slug, hitting .329 in 100 plate appearances, with a .904 OPS and drove in 18 runs in 22 games.

2022 projects to be a huge year for Moreno and should he stay healthy, he could also be in Toronto at some point this season. If 2021 was any indication, he will soon enter Vladimir Gurerro Jr.-level hype.

However, the Blue Jays do have three catchers currently on their roster, barring any trades once those are allowed again, and Moreno shouldn’t be rushed until he is ready both offensively and defensively. By the looks of it, that should be soon, but again, let’s not let the dream of a catcher hitting over .200 full-time cloud our vision of Moreno being fully developed before arriving on the scene for good. Triple-A Buffalo could play a key role in rounding out the young catcher. No matter when he gets here, it will certainly be fun to watch his whole journey.