Three Blue Jays crack Keith Law's Top 100 prospects list

The Athletic's writer, Keith Law, has published his top 100 prospects list. When it comes to prospects, he's a trusted source as he follows them throughout the season and has done so for many years.

These rankings aren't about past stat lines or progress they've already made through the minor leagues. He stated, "This ranking is about future potential, about how I think these players and others will grow and develop over the next several years." He is sharing the prospects ranked by the impact he expects they'll have over the next several seasons.

Three Blue Jays crack Keith Law's Top 100 prospects list

Hitters dominate his list, with three-fourths of the list being position players. The reason for this is that these pitchers now account for a great deal of injuries. The workload management for young pitchers is what Law thinks is contributing to the injury rise, “...they produce less in the majors because they don't rack up as many innings, which is (mostly) a smart baseball strategy but hasn't helped the on-field product's appeal — nor has it kept anyone healthy."

Although the injury concern was why he didn't rank pitchers as highly as position players, it still feels like he ranked Trey Yesavage too low at 25th. This time last year, he was ranked 96th, so that is a substantial jump in one season. However, with what we saw in September and October from the rookie, it feels like he should be above prospects that haven't made their MLB debuts yet — maybe that's just the "bias Blue Jays writer" in me.

Last season, the right-hander threw 41.2 innings with a 3.46 ERA combined between the regular season and postseason. His splitter was a devastating pitch in key postseason games, thanks to his high, vertical arm slot and downhill arm action that make it look like a fastball before it drops late.

Yesavage threw in Game 2 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees, where his 11 strikeouts helped the Blue Jays gain a 2-0 series lead. He then struck out seven in a must-win Game 6 to even the ALCS matchup with the Seattle Mariners.

The 22-year-old's final postseason outing was a Game 5 World Series win where he struck out 12 Los Angeles Dodgers' bats. This win gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead in the series, but we know how it ended...too soon?

A few electric starts doesn't mean he's going to make a Paul Skenes caliber impact, but he's ranked behind Ryan Sloan (Mariners) and Andrew Painter (Philadelphia Phillies), who have yet to pitch an MLB inning. Yesavage is also behind Bubba Chandler, who pitched in 31 MLB innings last season with a 4.01 ERA for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Nolan McLean, who threw 48 innings for the New York Mets, posting an incredible 2.06 ERA.

However, these two prospects can be vouched for as ranking higher than Yesavage, as they have shown flashes of talent in the big leagues and promise a bright future. Chandler is entrenched in a starting rotation featuring everyone under 30, giving Pirates fans plenty to be excited about. McLean would have been the Mets' ace this season if the team hadn’t traded for Freddy Peralta.

Regarding the position players, Law ranks shortstops very highly on his list. He ranked six shortstops in the top seven prospects. There's a substantial amount of shortstops throughout the top 100, including two Blue Jays prospects, JoJo Parker (60th), and Arjun Nimmala (89th).

Parker was the eighth overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. He is a phenomenal contact hitter with an excellent eye for the strike zone, which limits his strikeouts. It'll be a few seasons until fans can expect the prospect to make his way through the minor leagues.

Nimmala was the 20th overall pick of the 2023 MLB draft. He had a great start in High-A last season, hitting .289/.372/.528 through June 1, but the rest of the season was a different story. Through the remainder of the season, he hit .184/.277/.290.

Being the number three Blue Jays prospect, Nimmala is a non-roster invite to Spring Training in a couple of weeks and will be a Blue Jays prospect to keep an eye on. He's likely still a season or two away from making his MLB debut, as he still has maturing to do at the plate. The prospect also needs to face tougher pitching to see how he fares. The 20-year-old will likely spend all season at the Double-A level.

Yesavage will be the only of these three prospects who'll make an impact in the big leagues this season. However, the future looks bright for the Blue Jays. The other two names could be impactful players in the next few seasons, depending on their growth.