6 Blue Jays prospects who improved their stock with a hot month of May

Spencer Horwitz – Jays MLB Top Prospects ranking #18

Spencer Horwitz has always been a solid contact hitter with great discipline throughout his minor league career within the Jays’ organization. He may not possess strong power numbers, as his career high in home runs is 12, set in 2021 and 2022, but he has the ability to get timely hits to drive in runs. He began 2023 in Buffalo, after moving up from Double-A last year, and had a solid month of April in which he hit .301 with an OPS of .904, with seven runs scored, one home run, 12 RBI, 18 walks and 19 strikeouts.

Horwitz was able to follow that up with a hot month of May in terms of run production, as he scored 13 runs to go along with one home run and 17 RBI. Not only that, he was still able to maintain about a 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio while hitting .330 in the process. Despite his solid performance thus far in 2023, his path to the big leagues is currently blocked by both Guerrero (first base) and Brandon Belt (left-handed DH), due to the position he plays and where he would slot into the lineup. However, with his stock rapidly rising, he could potentially be used in trade talks later this year to help strengthen other needs the Jays may have at that time.

Dahian Santos – Jays MLB Top Prospects ranking #11

Many people may not be too familiar with the name Dahian Santos when it comes to prospects within the Jays’ organization. He was signed out of Venezuela back in 2019, but didn’t make his professional debut until 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. His main strength is his strikeout ability, using a low 90s fastball together with a low 80s sweeping slider to help get batters out. This was on full display during his 2022 year, where he struck out 142 batters in just 86 innings across two minor league levels. With that type of potential, this is why he is ranked currently #11 on the Jays’ top prospects list.

For 2023, he began the year with the Canadians with a couple of rough outings to start the season, but has since picked it up during the month of May. In four starts, Santos gave up only five earned runs, 11 hits, eight walks and 16 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched for a 2.65 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. As he continues to hone his skills and fine tune his pitches in his development as he moves up the ranks in the minor leagues, look for Santos to crack the Jays top ten prospects sooner rather than later.