Ranking the top 10 most important young players to the Blue Jays’ future

The Toronto Blue Jays have been a solid contending team every year for the past three years, after enduring a short rebuilding period between 2017 to 2019. During their contending years, they had maintained a winning percentage above .533 each year and had successfully made it to the postseason in two of the last three seasons. Their ultimate goal definitely would be to continue their winning ways for now and the future, eventually leading to greater achievements and championships.

However, to maintain a successful MLB franchise over a long period of time, it is essential that the makeup of the major league roster consists of veteran, experienced players, mixed in with a continuing influx of up and coming core of young players.

The experienced players would lead by example and help guide the youthful core, while those young players would also need to be able to contribute at a high level to help balance the eventual loss or departure of any productive, aging players as the years go by. In doing so, they would be able to help sustain the team’s winning mentality and culture, in addition to eventually providing the same guidance and leadership to the next generation after them.

Here, we rank the top 10 most important and influential young players in the Blue Jays organization, as they will be essential and counted upon to bring stability and long-term success for the ballclub for hopefully many years to come.

The main criteria for selection to this list is that the player under consideration must be currently aged 25 years or younger, and that the player can currently be a part of any level in the Jays’ organization (minor or major leagues).

No. 9 - LHP Brandon Barriera

It’s hard to imagine that a young player out of high school would already be considered a difference maker in the coming years to a big league club, but Brandon Barriera has that huge potential to do so, despite only beginning his professional career just this year. Barriera was the Jays’ first round pick, 23rd overall from the 2022 MLB Draft. He possesses a strong three-pitch mix with his fastball that could reach the high 90s along with late movement, to go along with a sweeping slider and a mid 80s changeup to throw batters off guard. Together with good command and control of his pitches, it projects him to be a solid mid to front-end starter later in the big leagues.

In particular, Barriera had a strong debut with the Jays’ Single-A affiliate Dunedin Blue Jays in his first professional game of his career, going four innings and giving up no runs, no hits, one walk and six strikeouts in just 49 pitches. It may be a while before he finally makes his eventual MLB debut down the road, but together with Ricky Tiedemann, the two pitchers will provide the Jays’ organization with homegrown, never seen before strength and depth from the left side in terms of pitching for the near future.

No. 8 - RHP Yosver Zulueta

Being currently the third ranked prospect in the Jays’ system in 2023, Yosver Zulueta was the fastest rising prospect in the organization in the past year, moving through four minor league levels from Single-A all the way to Triple-A. Collectively, he had a 2-5 record with a 3.72 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, with 32 walks and 84 strikeouts in just 55 innings of work. Known for his plus 70-grade fastball that could reach triple digits consistently, Zulueta represents the hardest thrower the Jays currently have in their organization (with all due respect to Nate Pearson). He is currently being developed as both a potential future starter and/or long-reliever at Triple-A Buffalo, as he possesses the adequate arsenal to be effective in either role.

One of his main weaknesses though, and probably why he hasn’t already made his MLB debut yet, is his inconsistency with his control and command. Unfortunately, it had reared its head again this year in Buffalo, leading to his 4.37 ERA and 1.63 WHIP, with 20 walks and 26 strikeouts in just 22.2 innings pitched. Once he is able to work out his pitching mechanics in different roles and situations at the minor league level to re-establish his command, look for Zulueta to be making his MLB debut soon with the big club, since the current Jays’ bullpen lack flamethrowers with strikeout potential other than Pearson. Especially from looking at the bullpens of championship caliber teams in recent years, it appears to be an essential need for ultimate success for the team.

No. 7 - INF Orelvis Martinez

Orelvis Martinez was signed to a $3.5 million deal as an international prospect right out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018. The Jays must have thought highly of him and his abilities because the deal was the highest signing bonus given to an international prospect at the time. Martinez is an intriguing case as he can probably be classified as a huge boom or bust type of prospect, with the Jays counting heavily on the “boom” aspect of it. Nobody doubts his power production and star potential, as he has been ranked in the top five on the Jays’ Top Prospects list for the past three years. For that same reason, the Jays have been hesitant in including him in any huge trades, choosing to forego prized prospects such as Austin Martin and Gabriel Moreno instead in those trades.

But for most of last season and currently this season at Double-A New Hampshire, Martinez has started to develop into an “all or nothing” type of player. He is either hitting home runs, or striking out/getting out. Currently in 2023, he is hitting .165 with 12 of his 21 hits being home runs, to go along with 30 RBI and 35 strikeouts in 36 games. His projected ceiling could be another Matt Chapman or even Josh Donaldson in the future, with the floor being another Mark Reynolds or Joey Gallo. That still wouldn’t be too bad, but definitely for sure, the Jays would want Martinez to work out his hitting mechanics to become a more solid, contact hitter to be successful in the big leagues for a long time. Added to his undeniable potential, he will no doubt be a key piece on the Jays’ roster in the near future if everything goes to plan.

No. 6 - INF Addison Barger

One of the Jays more surprising prospects has been the development and play of Addison Barger. Barger was selected by the Jays in the sixth round back in the 2018 MLB Draft. Ranked sixth on the Jays’ Top Prospects list, he has certainly made a name for himself by rapidly ascending through four levels in the organization in just the past two years. In 2022 in particular, he demonstrated he had the well-rounded ability to provide both power production and speed, along with maintaining a strong average by hitting .308 with 80 runs scored, 33 doubles, two triples, 26 home runs, 91 RBI, and nine stolen bases.

More impressively, Barger had a strong 2023 Spring Training with the Jays and nearly made the big league team, but eventually lost out to Nathan Lukes. Nevertheless, things may be working in his favour as both Santiago Espinal and Cavan Biggio have been struggling mightily for the Jays this season, along with Matt Chapman and potentially Whit Merrifield (pending his mutual option) entering free agency at the end of the season. All four players are currently playing in positions that Barger plays, so the opportunity may come earlier than expected for Barger to make an impact at the major league level sooner than later.

No. 5 - LHP Ricky Tiedemann

Drafted by the Jays in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Tiedemann appears to be quite the gem, as looking back, he could have easily gone in the first round if the draft was redone over. Since beginning his pro career in the Jays’ organization in 2022, his performance has been nothing short of exceptional, as he moved through three levels from Single-A to Double-A in just a one year span. He pitched to a cumulative 5-4 record, with a 2.17 ERA, 0.864 WHIP, with 29 walks and 117 strikeouts in just 78.2 innings, and appeared to be unstoppable.

In 2023, he has met some more adversity though. After starting the year with New Hampshire on a high note, he has struggled a bit in his last two starts before going onto the IL with left biceps inflammation. The Jays will definitely give him all the time he needs to fully recover from his current injury, and to regroup and refocus on getting back to his dominant form. As he continues to grow and develop, Tiedemann could be the Jays’ first homegrown, left-handed, front-end of the rotation/ace potential starter since Ricky Romero back in the 2010s era. He will be a key piece to the Jays’ starting rotation in the near future as the contracts of both lefties Hyun Jin Ryu and Yusei Kikuchi are set to expire following this season and next, respectively.

No. 4 - C Alejandro Kirk

Signed as an international free agent back in 2016 by the Jays, Kirk burst onto the scene with his rapid ascension from Single-A ball in 2019 right into the Jays’ major league roster in 2020. Quickly a fan favourite, Kirk showed great promise in his MLB debut, hitting .375 with an OPS of .983, with four runs scored, one home run and three RBI in just nine games played. From there, he has not looked back and has become a mainstay on the Jays’ roster for the past three years. He boasts a strong .272 average, .770 OPS, and an OPS+ of 118, with a consistent 1:1 walk to strikeout ratio throughout his four-year career with the Jays thus far, demonstrating great plate discipline. Although he has an impressive lifetime .993 fielding percentage as well, he can work on a bit on his defence in terms of catching baserunners, as he has caught only 21% of the basestealers to date.

But more importantly, with the Jays’ top catching prospect Gabriel Moreno being dealt away to the Arizona Diamondbacks this past offseason, along with the on and off struggles of Danny Jansen (who appears to have reverted somewhat back to his form prior to his breakout year in 2022), Kirk will be even more heavily relied upon to help the Jays’ team to success in the near future from the catching position. This hopefully will hold true despite his current struggles this season, as to put it into perspective, catching help won’t be coming any time soon as the Jays next closest top catching prospect in their organization is Luis Meza, who is only 18-years-old and is playing in Rookie Ball. So look for Kirk to be firmly planted in the catching position in tandem with Jansen for the Jays for at least the upcoming years.

No. 3 - RHP Alek Manoah

Manoah was the Jays’ first round pick, 11th overall from the 2019 MLB Draft. Little did the Jays know that he would fly through their minor league system in his development with just 35 professional innings under his belt and make his major league debut in 2021 with the big club. From there, he has not looked back as he showed great composure and pure dominance during his rookie year, and had an even more impressive sophomore year in 2022, becoming an AL Cy Young finalist in just his second year in MLB.

However, 2023 has been a whole different story for Manoah, and his struggles have been nothing like he experienced before in his pro career. His ERA of 5.53 and WHIP of 1.79 is almost double his usual career averages, and has displayed inconsistency in his control and command by walking 38 batters in just 53.2 innings. Nevertheless, the Jays expect Manoah to eventually work out of it, as being the ace of the staff, his stuff is too good for him to be stuck in the rut for a long time. In addition, he is definitely the first homegrown, ace-caliber, superstar pitcher since the late Roy Halladay in the early 2000s, so the Jays will definitely do everything in their power to get Manoah back on track so that he can lead them once again to success this year and for years to come.

No. 2 - SS Bo Bichette

Selected in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft, Bichette had been putting his superstar potential on full display right from his first at-bat in professional baseball. His ability to spray the ball to any parts of the field at different speeds, angles, and power makes him one of the most prolific hitters in all of MLB. He has never had a batting average below .286 in his career, maintains an OPS over .800 year in and year out, and have been the MLB hits leader for the past two seasons.

His main flaw, which unfortunately is quite evident, is his suspect defence, as each time Bichette is set to unleash a throw to first, Jays fans everywhere would be holding their breath and hoping for the best. He has definitely shown some signs of improvement for this year, as he is sitting on a DRS of 2 compared to -16 last year, as well as maintaining a .975 fielding percentage so far this year, compared to last year’s .958. If he can work on cleaning up and solidifying his throws, together with his exceptional hitting prowess, there is no question he would be in the annual MVP discussion each and every year. Nevertheless, both Bichette and the final player on this list help form the main, youthful ”core” in which the Jays’ roster will be built from for the foreseeable future.

No. 1 - 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Without a doubt, the most important young player in the Blue Jays current generation and the future is the one and only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Once believed to be following in his dad’s footsteps, Guerrero has definitely come out of that shadow and has made a name for himself with his bat and play in the field. At a very young age, he was already hyped and anointed as the “next one”, and was set to take the world by storm upon his debut in MLB. Despite having a good rookie and sophomore year, it was still deemed somewhat disappointing with respect to his standards and what was expected from him (which was MVP/superstar numbers). But after his breakout 2021 season, he has certainly taken off and has never looked back.

In his short five-year career so far, Guerrero has made two All-Star appearances and finished runner-up to Shohei Ohtani for the AL MVP award in 2021. In that very same year, he led the AL in runs scored, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and total bases. In addition, he has won a Silver Slugger award as well as a Gold Glove the past couple of years, showing that he has the ability to do it all, as he could provide a major impact on both sides of the field. So what more can Jays’ fans and management ask for? Together with Bichette, the dynamic duo will continue to wreck havoc and form the main backbone for the Blue Jays ballclub for many successful years to come.