Blue Jays: 2022 first-round pick Brandon Barriera to make professional debut on Wednesday

It has been recently announced that Toronto Blue Jays first-round pick from the 2022 MLB Draft Brandon Barriera will be making his professional baseball debut on Wednesday, May 3rd. He will be suiting up to pitch in the Florida State League for the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Jays’ Single-A affiliate, against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Minnesota Twins’ Single-A affiliate.

The Jays had selected Barriera 23rd overall out of American Heritage High School in the 2022 draft. The fact that he was ranked highly in the top five prospects in the Jays’ system right out of the draft showed his expected enormous potential. Currently, he has moved up to the No. 2 ranked prospect position in the Jays’ organization for 2023. Here was the excitement and joy the moment he was selected:

Barriera possesses a mid-90s fastball that can top out in the high 90s, accompanied by a curveball, slider, and changeup in his four-pitch repertoire. His pitching grades rate as follows, as per FanGraphs: his fastball 50/60, his slider 55/60, his curveball 45/50, and his changeup 40/55. However, his command grades out at 20/50, meaning he will need time to develop more consistency in his pitches over time to ultimately become a polished, effective, overpowering pitcher in the big leagues. Here is a sample of his potent pitching ability on full display:

Barriera had been held out in extended Spring Training due to a shoulder issue that he encountered earlier this spring, as the Jays were being particularly cautious with their prized prospect. But it looks like currently he is now ready to go. Look for Barriera to follow in the footsteps of Alek Manoah and Ricky Tiedemann in their rapid ascension through the minor league system and becoming major contributors to the big league club in the coming years.