Baseball America releases Top 10 Blue Jays Prospects list for preseason 2024

Year in and year out, the Toronto Blue Jays have one of the more criminally underrated farm systems around the league. While the organization lacks any major, top prospects - outside of Ricky Tiedemann, of course - there are still plenty of young guns to be intrigued by.

Prior to the 2023 regular season, Baseball America released their annual pre-season prospect rankings for all teams. On the Blue Jays, this list (which was 30 but is limited to 10 this time around), featured a group of players that did not stick around in the newest installment.

Here are the top 10 prospects from last year's pre-season rankings for reference:

• 1. LHP Ricky Tiedemann
• 2. RHP Yosver Zulueta
• 3. LHP Brandon Barriera
• 4. INF Addison Barger
• 5. INF Orelvis Martinez
• 6. INF Tucker Toman
• 7. INF Cade Doughty
• 8. RHP Hayden Juenger
• 9. RHP Nate Pearson
• 10. LHP Adam Macko

Oh, how things can change over the course of just one year. Most of these prospects took some rather significant steps back this year and now no longer make the cut. In fact, just 3 of these 10 are on the 2024 pre-season rankings. In the midseason 2023 rankings, many of the names you'll see later on were featured, so there hasn't been a ton of movement since those came out.

While MLB.com's prospect rankings are usually the ones taken by readers as the "be all, end all", Baseball America remains one of the top hubs for minor league information. The staff over there does an excellent job with keeping up with prospects and each year's MLB Draft class as well. You could make a whole lot worse decisions than taking what they have to say about the Blue Jays' farm system and its prospects as the truth.

Of course, as is the case with all prospects, things change. One bad year can take a player's stock and move it from the top of the organizational depth chart to the bottom, as we've seen time and time again.

Let's take a look at what the 2024 pre-season rankings look like and identify this year's biggest movers.

No. 10 - RHP Connor Cooke

2023 stats (three MiLB levels): 38 G, 44.1 IP, 4 SV, 80 K (16.2 SO/9), 19 BB (3.9 BB/9)

Scouting Grades (80-grade scale): Fastball - 60 | Slider - 55 | Changeup - 45 | Control - 45

Connor Cooke is strictly a relief pitcher, which can occasionally hurt a player's value in prospect rankings like this. However, the right-hander made monumental strides in his development last year and is now firmly on the radars of many in the industry tuned in to the prospects side of things.

Cooke, 24, throws three pitches including a mid-90s fastball that can reach up to 98, an average changeup and an absolutely ridiculous sweeper that is easily his best pitch. In fact, Baseball America ranks his slider as the best in the entire Blue Jays organization.

Already a fast mover through the ranks, look for Cooke to be making an impact at the big league level as soon as the 2024 season. He has all of the makings as a high-leverage arm that could one day close games at baseball's highest level.

No. 9 - OF Alan Roden

2023 stats (two MiLB levels): 115 G, 140 H, 92 R, 29 2B, 10 HR, 68 RBI, 24 SB, .317/.431/.459/.890

Scouting Grades (80-grade scale): Hit - 55 | Power - 45 | Run - 50 | Fielding - 50 | Arm - 55

It's nice to see Alan Roden getting the recognition he deserves. The 23-year-old is a quiet, reserved, humble kid who goes about his business without demanding the spotlight on him. His level of play in the minors last year was off-the-wall in the best way, as he found his power stroke and showed off one of the more advanced eyes at the plate (68 BB, 64 SO) in the entire system.

So far in a still-very-young minor league career, Roden has shown off some top-shelf contact skills as well as the patience at the dish that usually only comes out of the most advanced hitters. Heck, there are even some in the industry that speculate he could be in the running for a spot on the Blue Jays' 2024 Opening Day roster. The Blue Jays absolutely love him, so it will be interesting to see how quickly he continues his ascent to the big leagues.

No. 8 - INF/OF Davis Schneider

2023 stats (MLB): 35 G, 32 H, 23 R, 12 2B, 8 HR, 20 RBI, .276/.404/.603/1.0008
2023 stats (MiLB): 87 G, 85 H, 61 R, 21 2B, 21 HR, 64 RBI, .275/.416/.553/.696

Scouting Grades: Hit - 55 | Power - 55 | Run - 45 | Fielding - 30 | Arm - 40

What more is there really to say about Davis Schneider? He practically singlehandedly revitalized the Blue Jays this summer as a form of "internal trade deadline acquisition" and instantly became a fan favorite. While he is not going to continue to post an OPS over 1.000 and hit a home run every other at-bat, there's plenty of reason to believe that he'll remain above-average at the plate as he continues his big league career.

Baseball America knocks Schneider for his defense, specifically pointing out his weak throwing arm and below-average range. He is capable of lining up at first, second or third base as well as the corner outfield but doesn't quite have the range or throwing arm to play somewhere like shortstop or center, which is fine; he makes up for any defensive shortcomings with his bat.

Schneider is expected to be a part of the 2024 second base battle on the Blue Jays. He will go up against Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal as internal candidates for the position. Last year, Whit Merrifield stepped forward and took the role, so it will be interesting to see how it shakes out next year.

No. 7 - INF Leo Jimenez

2023 stats (two MiLB levels): 94 G, 95 H, 62 R, 18 2B, 8 HR, 47 RBI, 8 SB, .270/.366/.401/.767

Scouting Grades: Hit - 55 | Power - 40 | Run - 45 | Fielding - 55 | Arm - 50

Jimenez's stock has jumped all over the place since he was signed as an international free agent back in 2017. Now 22, the middle infielder is coming off of one of his best professional seasons.

Nothing about Jimenez jumps off of the page and he doesn't, on the surface, appear to be a player that will turn into a superstar. Instead, he does everything right on the field, even if there's not one specific tool he has that's more refined than others. He hits for contact, rarely swings and misses and also is a pretty solid defensive shortstop.

BA predicts an eventual move to second base in Jimenez's future, but he has strong reflexes at shortstop and could conceivably line up there for the Blue Jays if a Bo Bichette-less future is in store for them.

No. 5 - INF/OF Addison Barger

2023 stats (three MiLB levels): 94 G, 88 H, 56 R, 25 2B, 9 HR, 47 RBI, .247/.353/.392/.745

Scouting Grades: Hit - 50 | Power - 55 | Run - 45 | Fielding - 45 | Arm - 60

While the 2022 season was a huge coming out performance for Barger, this past year was a fairly significant step back for the youngster. He experienced some issues with durability and saw nearly all of his numbers decline.

However, the 24-year-old is right on the cusp of a big league promotion, and it won't take long for him to reach the majors next year if he can start off on the right foot. BA loves his power, giving him a 55/80, but he failed to even reach double digits last year after hitting 26 the year before. There were times last year where his swing looked unnatural and awkward, which could have something to do with the elbow pain he dealt with early on.

On defense, it'd be difficult to find a harder throwing arm in the system. Barger plays a ton of third base and shortstop and has little-to-no problems throwing out runners, but his so-so range could limit him as he ages. The Blue Jays began trying him out in right field this past year to encouraging results, so his quickest path to a job in the big leagues may be as a utilityman ... for now.

No. 4 - LHP Brandon Barriera

2023 stats (two MiLB levels): 7 GS, 20.1 IP, 25 K (11.1 SO/9), 9 BB (4.0 BB/9)

Scouting Grades: Fastball - 55 | Curveball - 45 | Slider - 65 | Changeup - 45 | Control - 50

BA has Barriera labeled as "extreme risk" moving forward, and for good reason. The left-hander has had some issues with his conditioning early on in his professional career and spent a considerable amount of time this past year on the shelf.

There are few pitchers in the system who have more potential than Barriera, but it's going to be a matter of him tapping into it properly as he ages. His command has been decent-but-not-great to start off his career, but one thing is clear: his slider is devastating on hitters (see: BA's 65-grade).

Ultimately, a move to the bullpen as a high-leverage reliever may be necessary for Barriera, but for now he's being developed as a starter. His four-pitch mix that is highlighted by a solid fourseam fastball and wipeout slider is a good start if he hopes to remain in the rotation, but he needs to refine his secondary stuff.

No. 3 - SS Arjun Nimmala

2023 stats: 9 G, 5 H, 7 R, 3 RBI, .200/.500/.320/.820

Scouting Grades: Hit - 50 | Power - 55 | Run - 50 | Fielding - 55 | Arm - 55

At just 18-years of age, Nimmala is still extremely raw and undeveloped. However, he projects to be a power-hitting shortstop who should be able to stick there defensively in the event of Bo Bichette departing in free agency.

Nimmala, a first-round pick of the Blue Jays in last year's draft, showed much more plate discipline in his brief showing in the FCL this year than he had in his pre-draft days, which is encouraging. BA specifically points out his "plus" bat speed at the plate and quick footwork, hands and actions on defense as some of his main tools.

Moving forward, Nimmala could go many different ways in his development, but he projects to be a power-hitting middle infielder that will be an anchor of future Blue Jays teams.

No. 2 - INF Orelvis Martinez

2023 stats (two MiLB levels): 125 G, 109 H, 70 R, 25 2B, 28 HR, 94 RBI, .243/.340/.496/.835

Scouting Grades: Hit - 45 | Power - 60 | Run - 45 | Fielding - 45 | Arm - 60

Martinez, 22, was putting together a strange season early on in 2023 when quite literally his only hits were home runs. He was striking out a ton and failing to reach base in any way that didn't involve hitting the ball over the fence. In April, he recorded five hits, three of them were home runs. In May, he had 21 hits with 11 leaving the yard.

In-season adjustments helped Martinez turn his season around and eventually earn a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo, where he should start the upcoming season. He's a big time power bat that will continue to hit bombs as he matures, but he's also shown some promising signs in his patience at the plate. By the time the season came to a close, he was no longer a "swing at everything" type of hitter and many in the organization took note of the work he put in throughout the year.

On defense, Martinez can play all over the infield but projects as either a so-so third baseman or bat-first second baseman, similar to Schneider. It also would not be surprising to see him end up at first base down the line, but it's clear by now that his bat is what's going to be his calling card.

No. 1 - LHP Ricky Tiedemann

2023 stats (four MiLB levels): 15 GS, 44 IP, 82 K (16.8 SO/9), 23 BB (4.7 BB/9)

Scouting Grades: Fastball - 65 | Slider - 60 | Changeup - 60 | Control - 55

The 2023 season may not have gone exactly how Tiedemann would've wanted it to, but he was still a dominant force when he took the mound. The lanky southpaw had some minor issues with durability as the season wore on, but he continued to control the strike zone and overpower the opposition every time he took the mound.

BA's 80-grade scale gives him a 60 or higher on all three of his pitches, which says a lot. Grades that high usually are not handed out for more than one pitch in a prospect's repertoire, yet Tiedemann earned the honor three times.

An incredible run in the Arizona Fall League in which he posted a 2.50 ERA with 23 strikeouts across four starts was the perfect way to cap off the season. Tiedemann is expected to begin 2024 in Triple-A Buffalo and should not have a problem making his big league debut if he continues on the trajectory he's already put himself on.