Which Blue Jays prospect will make their MLB debut next?

After a hot start to the season, the Toronto Blue Jays have run into an unfortunate cold streak recently against their divisional rivals New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. Several Jays’ bats have fallen flat during this stretch, coupled with a struggling bullpen that has been rocky of late. To make matters worse, the Jays have also been hit by the injury bug in the past couple of weeks, first with viral illnesses to George Springer and Kevin Kiermaier, as well as actual physical injuries to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and, just recently as Saturday, Santiago Espinal.

With all these events occurring within a short period of time, this may call for a lineup shakeup soon to help get the Jays back on track. In doing so, potential callups may be needed to help fill in and/or to change the current flaws in the ballclub. If so, what are the chances we will be seeing any potential Jays’ prospects making their major league debut soon?

We will stick to those currently on the Jays’ 40-man roster as we take a closer look at the available prospect candidates.

Addison Barger

With Espinal leaving Saturday’s game against the Orioles due to a potential hamstring injury, in addition to Cavan Biggio struggling mightily ever since the start of the season, it appears that the most likely job available on the Jays’ current roster would be one that could take the spot of one of Espinal and Biggio, which would be a utilityman that could cover second base in particular. Addison Barger would be the ideal candidate, as he could play at shortstop, third base and second base, in addition to giving a great impression by having a solid Spring Training with the big club. For the season at Buffalo, he is hitting .237 with a .662 OPS, with 10 runs scored, one home run and six RBI in 20 games. However, he is currently on the IL since the end of April due to elbow inflammation and hasn’t been in a game since, so most likely he will need a rehab stint before getting into any game action any time soon.

Spencer Horwitz

Of all the candidates to make the cut, Spencer Horwitz is probably the one that is most “bat”-ready for the major leagues at this point. He has had a fine season so far with the Bisons, carrying a strong stat line of .326/.450/.437, 16 runs scored, a home run, 24 RBI, three stolen bases, as well as showing great plate discipline and contact. He could potentially give a boost to the Jays’ bench with his bat, in addition to providing effective spot starts when needed. However, his main positions are first base and the outfield, which are currently occupied by everyday star players. So for now, unless one of them goes down due to injury in those positions, Horwitz will likely have to wait a little longer for his chance.

Yosver Zulueta

Yosver Zulueta is an interesting case for the Jays. He is currently ranked 3rd on the Jays’ Top Prospects list and has the potential to be a solid rotation or bullpen piece on the roster, as he is being prepped in both roles currently at Buffalo. With a fastball that could reach triple digits consistently, Zulueta represents the greatest flamethrower the Jays currently have in their organization. In spite of that, he has shown some inconsistency in his control and command with the Bisons thus far, pitching to an 0-2 record with a 5.03 ERA, 1.83 WHIP with 19 walks and 21 strikeouts in just 19.2 innings pitched. Once he hones his craft, he will definitely be a valuable asset on the major league roster, but for now, he may not be ready just yet.