MLB Pipeline hands out Blue Jays Hitting and Pitching Prospects of the Year awards

MLB Pipeline, one of the top baseball prospect hubs around, has handed out MLB organization's Hitting and Pitching Prospects of the Year awards, including the Toronto Blue Jays' nominees.

On the position player side, young outfielder Alan Roden earned the honors of Hitting Prospect of the Year. While the Blue Jays had a few players deserving of such an award, Roden's nomination is far from a surprise. The 23-year-old split his time between High-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire this year, hitting a combined 29 doubles with 10 home runs, 68 RBI, 24 stolen bases and a whopping .317/.431/.459 line. Notably, he drew more walks (68) than strikeouts (64) and had an OPS of .890. His 149 wRC+ led all qualified Blue Jays minor leaguers in 2023.

Anyone who is familiar with Roden will tell you that his approach at the plate is advanced well beyond his years. He's still a pretty young prospect, but the way he burst onto the scene offensively this year suggests that we could see him on the big league roster as soon as 2024. He's calm, cool and collected, has an incredible eye and a high baseball IQ; not to mention he's also a pretty solid outfielder (two errors all year). To round out the season, Roden is listed as the Blue Jays' No. 7 prospect per MLB.com.

Dallas, the organization's No. 13 prospect, is wrapping up a dominant season of his own. In 23 outings between High-A and Double-A, the right-hander went 9-3 with a 3.65 ERA and 10.5 K/9 (144 in 123+ innings). His strikeouts and innings pitched both led all qualified Blue Jays minor league pitchers in 2023 as well, so he lines up nicely alongside some of the team's other top pitching prospects. He improved in nearly every single major category from 2022 and took significant strides in his overall development.

Per multiple sources within the organization, Dallas is another player to keep an eye on in the 2024 season. A promotion to Triple-A is all but certain to start things off, but he could see time on a big league mound by the All-Star Break.