Changing of the guard is here as there's a new face atop Blue Jays prospects lists

Now that the MLB Draft and trade deadline are in the rearview mirror, updated top prospect lists are beginning to drop around the industry. It's a great time of year to up your knowledge when it comes to the next wave of stars in our beloved game.

For quite some time now, Toronto Blue Jays prospect lists have consisted of Ricky Tiedemann at the top ... and then everyone else. It's been the Tiedemann Show ever since he made his pro debut, which is exactly why he's ranked as Jays Journal's top prospect in the system throughout the entire season. Orelvis Martinez and Addison Barger have consistently been ranked as the club's top position player prospects, but Barger just graduated from "prospect" status.

MLB Pipeline's Blue Jays top-30 had shifted around a bit after the deadline passed, but the official update, as well as a new top-100 in the league, didn't drop until Wednesday.

There's a new face as top Blue Jays prospect per MLB Pipeline

It seems that, at least for now, the reign of Tiedemann has come to a close. In fact, he's not even the second- or third-best prospect in the system right now per MLB Pipeline. Now it's Martinez who gets the top spot, followed by recent draftee Trey Yesavage and recent trade acquisition Jake Bloss.

Martinez, 22, has had a strange pro career so far. His stock was sky-high in 2021 when he hit 28 home runs with 87 RBI in just 98 games between two levels. A down year in 2022 took some of the shine away, but he redeemed himself with another promising showing in 2023, a year in which he made it all the way up to Triple-A.

He hit 16 home runs and drove in 46 across 63 games for the Buffalo Bisons this year, which was enough to earn him his first look in the big leagues to try and help a scuffling major league squad. Wouldn't you know it, Martinez spent just a few days in The Show, going 1-for-3 in his only game, before landing on the restricted list with an 80-game PED suspension.

Followers of the Blue Jays on social media "weren't surprised" to see the Martinez-Tiedemann tandem fall in Baseball America's recent top-100 update because of the suspension and Tiedemann's consistent arm injuries. However, that doesn't mean that these two are not still to be viewed as some of the best young up-and-comers the game has to offer.

Sure, missing all that development in the big leagues is going to sting Martinez a bit, but he's extremely young and full of potential. A suspension is not going to harm some of that stock as much as you'd think. In fact, he's going to be under serious consideration for a starting gig in the 2025 Opening Day lineup either way.

In Tiedemann's case, it's been a fall from grace that's difficult to watch. He's got some of the best raw talent in the minor leagues, but he just can't stay healthy, which will eventually become a problem. He made just eight starts across three minor league levels this year before a July Tommy John surgery ended his season. He has yet to top 78.2 innings in a single season (2022) and has dealt with a multitude of injuries in every single year of his pro career. Again, the talent is absolutely there. However, the best ability is availability and he's failing in that department.

For now, Martinez has the top spot in the organization, and deservedly so. The trade deadline and MLB Draft went a long way to making a dreadful farm system just a little bit more exciting, so it's going to be interesting where we see these pieces shift to by this time next season.

Where trade acquisitions rank

• RHP Jake Bloss (Kikuchi) - No. 3
• OF Jonatan Clase (Garcia) - No. 7
• INF/OF Charles McAdoo (Kiner-Falefa) - No. 9
• INF Eddinson Paulino (Jansen) - No. 19
• INF Will Wagner (Kikuchi) - No. 20
• OF Yohendrick Pinango (Pearson) - No. 22
• INF Cutter Coffey (Jansen) - No. 24
• OF RJ Shreck (Turner) - No. 29
• INF Josh Rivera (Pearson) - No. 30

Where 2024 draftees rank

• RHP Trey Yesavage - No. 2
• RHP Khal Stephen - No. 8
• LHP Johnny King - No. 17
• INF Sean Keys - No. 26