Blue Jays: How the 2022 top prospects ended up in the organization

Yesterday, Baseball America released their farm system rankings heading into the 2022 campaign and the Toronto Blue Jays ended up at 19th overall, last in the American League East that has some tough competition from the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays, who were both listed in within the top five.

It wasn’t a surprise that the Jays farm system took a bit of a step back after the trades and transactions that happened last season. Top prospects Austin Martin, Simeon Woods-Richardson, and Riley Adams were traded at the deadline and right-hander Patrick Murphy was designated for assignment, with all four players being ranked heading into the 2021 campaign. The club also saw Alek Manoah and Alejandro Kirk graduate from the list while Nate Pearson is no longer on the MLB Pipeline or Keith Law’s latest rankings but still featured in Baseball America’s latest update.

The current top 30 prospects via MLB Pipeline come from quite a few different backgrounds, a mix of the MLB Draft as well as international free agency. Let’s take a deeper look, shall we?

MLB Amateur Draft

3. Jordan Groshans (first round, 2018)

4. Gunnar Hoglund (first round, 2021)

7. Adam Kloffenstein (third round, 2018)

9. Kevin Smith (fourth round, 2017)

13. CJ Van Eyk (second round, 2020)

15. Irv Carter (fifth round, 2021)

16. Ricky Tiedemann (third round, 2021)

19. Dasan Brown (third round, 2019)

20. Chad Dallas (fourth round, 2012)

21. Josh Palacios (fourth round, 2016)

22. Will Robertson (fourth round, 2019)

25. Joey Murray (eighth round, 2018)

26. Tanner Morris (fifth round, 2019)

27. Zach Logue (ninth round, 2017)

29. Trent Palmer (third round, 2020)

30. Hagen Danner (second round, 2017)

One thing I will say about Ross Atkins and co. is that they have done a fantastic job drafting since they stepped into office (major kudos to the scouting department as well). Key players of the Blue Jays current core were drafted under Atkins and the club continues to churn out solid drafts that get players to sign on the dotted line, which compared to previous general manager Alex Anthopoulos, is a step in the right direction (AA was great at trading but faltered on some of the higher draft pick selections).

Jordan Groshans leads the charge amongst Blue Jays draft picks at #3 and should be close to knocking on the Major League doors this season, a ‘bat first’ player that could be taking on the third base role in the near future.

Other potential candidates to make big-league debuts at some points this year are Joey Murray (if he is not taken in a Rule 5 Draft post CBA agreement) and Zach Logue, both of whom could find themselves in the bullpen. Kevin Smith and Josh Palacios are the only members of this group who have some experience at the Major League level but Smith stands a better shot at making the big league club come Opening Day mostly because of the crowded outfield situation potentially limiting Palacios spot on the 26 man roster.

Gunnar Hoglund, selected in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft, will be on the shelf until the midway mark of the season since he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery while fans should get to see Irv Carter, Rickey Tiedemann, and Chad Dallas find some live game action this year (all three only pitched at the Jays complex last year after being drafted).

Hagen Danner slides in at #30 and is an interesting player to watch considering he made the switch to the mound last year, pitching to a 2.02 ERA through 25 relief appearances in High A ball. Right-hander Trent Palmer is another name to keep an eye on, as he could easily shoot up the draft rankings if he continues to pitch similar to his first year of professional baseball (two no-hitters anyone?).

Both CJ Van Eyk and Adam Kloffenstein will be looking to bounce back this season after somewhat disappointing 2021 campaigns but both pitchers provide a lot of upsides, especially since they are still a few years away from knocking on the big league doors and there is still room for development.

Dasan Brown is the lone ranked Canadian prospect, with the Oakville, Ontario product being heavily impacted by the 2020 shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and only appearing in 65 games since being drafted in 2019.

Robertson and Morris both fill out the list, with the outfielder most likely beginning the season in A ball and Morris heading to AA New Hampshire after an impressive first season with the Vancouver Canadians.

Trade 

17. Samad Taylor (from the Cleveland Indians)

28. Bowden Francis (from the Milwaukee Brewers)

While most of the Blue Jays top prospect list is internally developed/drafted, the Blue Jays feature two ranked players who came from outside the organization.

Originally drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the tenth round of the 2016 MLB Draft, the Blue Jays acquired Samad Taylor and reliever Thomas Pannone at the 2017 trade deadline in exchange for right-hander Joe Smith.

While the 2018 and 2019 campaigns did not yield off-the-charts results, Taylor really impressed last year down in AA, slashing .294/.385/.503 with 16 home runs and a .888 OPS through 87 games. He also stole 30 bases and led the team in home runs and OPS (amongst qualified players). The only caveat to his game is the swing and misses, as he racked up 110 punchouts last year with the Fisher Cats. He was also left off the 40-man roster and could be picked up in the Rule 5 Draft.

Francis is one of the newer members on the top prospect list after he was acquired last season alongside reliever Trevor Richards from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for hard-hitting first baseman Rowdy Tellez.

After being acquired by the Jays, Francis spent the rest of the season in AAA Buffalo and posted a 4.19 ERA with a 1.192 WHIP through 14 appearances and 73.0 innings of work. The command did lose him a bit after the trade to the tune of a 3.8 BB/9 but the makeup is solid and the right-hander could potentially see some Major League action next year if injuries befall the current roster.