Blue Jays earn high praise in FOX Sports' 26-and-under rankings

Diving into the article written by Rowan Kayner on the Blue Jays, the very first sentence says it all:

"The Blue Jays epitomize what this list is all about."

Big league hitting: 10 out of 10

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho all receive praise for their offensive efforts.

Guerrero and Bichette figure to represent one of the best one-two punches in any lineup in the game heading into 2023. Kirk, a 2022 All-Star and Jansen figure to evenly split time behind the plate while Varsho, the biggest trade acquisition of the offseason, is going to be leaned on to produce at the rate that many experts say he will.

Prospect hitting: 2 out of 5

Trading away Austin Martin, Jordan Groshans and Gabriel Moreno has put quite the dent in this part of the Jays' organization.

Orelvis Martinez and Tucker Toman, two versatile infielders, get praise but are labeled as "long-term projects" in the piece. Martinez needs to hone in on his strikeouts and Toman only has 11 professional appearances to his name, so it's a bit too early to throw any real expectations his way.

Otto Lopez and Addison Barger are tabbed as the two hitting prospects closest to big league time. Lopez just finished carving up the World Baseball Classic and is a speedy, versatile option for the Jays bench.

Barger, 23, was just recently optioned to the minors but he has some serious bat-to-ball skills and is widely regarded as one of the best defensive prospects in the system right now.