Brandon Valenzuela upholding the Blue Jays’ reputation for finding elite defenders

The Toronto Blue Jays have earned a reputation for playing elite team defence over the last few years. They excelled defensively last season after winning the American League Team Gold Glove Award in both 2023 and 2024. 

However, the Blue Jays have taken a step back defensively as a group amid their early struggles in 2026, but that’s no fault of Brandon Valenzuela—he’s been exceptional behind the dish while filling in for injured starting catcher Alejandro Kirk. 

Valenzuela, touted as a defence-first catching prospect, has come as advertised since being promoted in early April. He’s showcased a strong arm, good framing ability, and an advanced sense for game-calling while working with the team’s pitchers. 

He’s done his best work controlling the running game. He’s thrown out eight of a possible 24 would-be base-stealers thus far, coupling a strong arm with an elite average pop time of 1.89 seconds to punish opposing teams for trying to take extra bases. Valenzuela’s elite framing skills have already saved the Blue Jays four runs, which ranks in the 98th percentile among all qualified catchers.

The Blue Jays have struck gold on another defensive star with Valenzuela

It’s hard to imagine where the Blue Jays would be right now without Valenzuela, given Kirk’s injury and Tyler Heineman’s struggles in all facets of the game. He’s overcome some growing pains to emerge as a capable catcher in his first taste of MLB action. 

His emergence represents another organizational win for the Blue Jays, who acquired him in a seemingly throwaway exchange with the San Diego Padres at the 2025 trade deadline. Infielder Will Wagner, the player they parted with, may eventually become a quality big leaguer but has yet to establish himself at the major-league level. 

The Valenzuela trade is somewhat reminiscent of when the organization acquired Ernie Clement off waivers from the Athletics. He was a glove-first utility player who has since blossomed into an everyday contributor beloved by the fans. Valenzuela, like Clement when he first arrived, still has a lot to work on, though. 

He’s graded as a below-average blocker thus far despite having yet to be charged with a passed ball—he’s been behind the plate for nine wild pitches. He’s also committed three errors, two of which came poor throws trying to force plays. Improvement should come with more reps.

The big question is whether Valenzuela will remain the Blue Jays’ backup catcher when Kirk returns from the injured list. He’s certainly outplayed Heineman, but the team may prefer to roster the more experienced veteran over the promising rookie. Regardless of what happens moving forward, Valenzuela has shown he can handle the defensive responsibilities of an MLB catcher. He’s been another stellar find for the Blue Jays.

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