Blue Jays Sign Top Draft Choice Brandon Barriera

The Blue Jays have reached an agreement with 2022 first-round pick Brandon Barriera. The high school phenom will receive a signing bonus of $3,597,500.

Barriera ended his senior year early, electing to save his arm and not risk an injury ahead of the 2022 MLB Draft. Smart move by Barriera. The kid didn’t want to risk his young career by any means necessary.

Barriera was the last of Toronto’s top draft choices to sign, and the high school left-handed pitcher will immediately become one of the top pitching prospects in the Blue Jays organization. The Jays have some future talented pitchers to join the rotation with Barriera and Ricky Tiedemann. If they can be developed correctly, they will take the rotation by storm.

Barriera has an incredible fastball and slider. He has a good hand speed and sharp break on the breaking ball. The changeup is also very consistent. While pitching for American Heritage School in Florida, he posted a 5-0 record in his senior season, notching 68 strikeouts and earning a 2.27 ERA in eight starts in 37 innings pitched. He was named the 2021 All-American Classic Player and was selected for the Perfect Game All-American Classic, and he will only continue to get better as he develops.

Although he played in Hollywood, Florida, the 6’1 draft pick was born and raised in New York, becoming a vast Yankees fan thanks to his family. Changes began to happened in 2011 when Barriera’s father decided to move him and the family to Florida so that Barriera could pursue baseball.

Barriera had committed to Vanderbilt University, and the school is no stranger to productive baseball athletes. When you think about Vanderbilt baseball, you think about stars like David Price, Walker Buehler, and Sonny Gray. Most recently, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, two talented prospects, who were part of the program from Vanderbilt.

The Blue Jays could have his uniform ready for the regular season sometime a few years from now if he can produce and stay healthy, but the 18 year old is going to need some time to develop as a professional, so don’t expect him to be a big leaguer right away. That said, the expectations of winning a championship will continue to increase, and the Jays are in good hands with these young prospects.