Blue Jays fail to gain ground in farm system rankings despite strong deadline, draft

The Toronto Blue Jays have been busy trying to restock a relatively thin farm system, in a season where their playoff aspirations dwindled by early June. Their trade deadline went incredibly well in the sellers market, and plenty of new names have begun to flesh out the Blue Jays prospect pool. MLB Pipeline had recently released their new farm system rankings post-deadline, which is where teams spots can fluctuate massively, compares to the pre-season rankings that come before both the MLB draft and trade deadline.

The Blue Jays started the season with the 24th ranked farm system going into 2024. Now they find themselves... 24th. Despite all the changes the Jays farm has been through in the past 2 months, they find themselves unmoved from their previous placement. How much exactly has changed?

Updated farm system rankings from @MLBPipeline 👀 pic.twitter.com/nbB03b3QrL
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 16, 2024

Top 10 Blue Jays Prospects (Pre-season)	Top 10 Blue Jays Prospects (Now)
No. 1 - LHP Ricky Tiedemann	No. 1 - 2B/3B Orelvis Martinez
No. 2 - 2B/3B Orelvis Martinez	No. 2 - RHP Trey Yesavage
No. 3 - SS Arjun Nimmala	No. 3 - RHP Jake Bloss
No. 4 - LHP Brandon Barriera	No. 4 - LHP Ricky Tiedemann
No. 5 - INF/OF Addison Barger	No. 5 - SS Arjun Nimmala
No. 6 - LHP Kendry Rojas	No. 6 - OF Jonatan Clase
No. 7 - INF Leo Jimenez	No. 7 - RHP Khal Stephen
No. 8 - INF/OF Davis Schneider	No. 8 - 3B/OF Charles McAdoo
No. 9 - OF Alan Roden	No. 9 - LHP Adam Macko
No. 10 - RHP Connor Cooke	No. 10 - SS Josh Kasevich

Half of the Blue Jays top 10 prospects were not even a part of the organization 2 months ago, in Yesavage, Bloss, Clase, Stephen, and McAdoo. They provide a jolt of energy and promise to the underwhelming farm system, and yet the perception around the Blue Jays minor league talent remains roughly the same. This isn't just a top heavy change to the system either. The Blue Jays acquired 13 different players in both the draft and deadline that now ranks in their top 30 prospects. However, despite all of the new talent coming in, there's been plenty of news surrounding the Jays other top prospects, affecting their placement

Orelvis Martinez was slated to have an important year in 2024. His raw power is some of the best within the organization, and was ready to make his MLB debut at 22 years old. After playing in just a singular game with the Blue Jays, Martinez received an 80 game suspension for a PED violation. This promptly ended his rookie season, which also plays into his lowered value as a result. Martinez will hope to make his return for 2025, but it is going to take more work to get back to that point.

Blue Jays top pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann was also expected to make his MLB debut at some point this season, dependant on his health and results in the minor leagues. It was a pivotal year for his development, and it ended unceremoniously. On July 27, 2024, it was announced that Tiedemann would require Tommy John surgery, ending his season. This delays Tiedemann's potential MLB to 2026 at the earliest, without the guarantee he will be able to return back to form. With this abrupt delay, Tiedemann has also lost stock, making the Blue Jays most valuable chip drop in quality.

The injury plague doesn't stop there. Pitchers like Brandon Barriera (#17 ranked prospect) and Landen Maroudis (#15) have also had their seasons end early, due to significant arm surgeries. In a year where the Blue Jays needed a big step forward from their internal farm system, quite the opposite happened. If the Blue Jays are truly committed to competing in 2025, they will need a strong jump forward from their prospect pool to help make that a more conceivable goal.

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