3 Blue Jays prospects who should not be traded and 2 who should to help the team

As the trade deadline season approaches in a few weeks, the Toronto Blue Jays hopefully will be looking to upgrade their current roster in preparation for the stretch run. As potential buyers, they will likely make some trades at the expense of some highly regarded prospects in their minor league system.

Who are the untouchables, and who may be worth pushing the chips in? Here, we take a look at three prospects that the Jays should avoid at all costs to include in any trade package, and two prospects that are worth giving up if the right deal comes around to make a difference for the Blue Jays.

3 “Must keep” prospects

Ricky Tiedemann

Ricky Tiedemann was the Jays’ third round pick from the 2021 MLB Draft. Ever since joining the organization, Tiedemann has been the club's top-ranked pitching prospect. He certainly has not disappointed as he had an outstanding 2022 where he advanced through three minor league levels. Collectively, he pitched to a 2.17 ERA, 0.864 WHIP, giving up only 39 hits, 19 earned runs, with 29 walks and 117 strikeouts over 78.2 innings in 18 starts. He has endured more adversity in his sophomore year in 2023 in his four starts with Double-A New Hampshire, before going onto the IL with biceps inflammation in early May and have remained out since.

Despite having a rough start to his 2023 year, Tiedemann is one prospect that the Jays should declare “untouchable” in any trade talks. With the current Jays’ starting pitching depth approaching worrisome levels, along with Tiedemann being the one pitching prospect in the organization that’s most likely a sure thing to make the major leagues, the Jays can ill-afford to give up any more elite starting pitchers coming up through the system. As long as he avoids any more injury troubles, he could potentially make his debut in MLB later this year, or at the latest, in 2024. Not only that, but he would be the first lefty homegrown pitcher with star potential for the Jays since Ricky Romero over a decade and a half ago. So no matter what, key is to keep him at all costs.