Toronto Blue Jays top 20 prospects: Arjun Nimmala, Trey Yesavage lead the way

The Blue Jays system is at a low right now, as their 2022 draft class, which included four picks on Day 1, hasnt panned out, their first-rounders from 2020 and 2021 are long gone, and previous top prospect Ricky Tiedemann got hurt yet again, this time requiring surgery.

They havent had a big success on the international front recently, bringing in a lot of very talented teenagers who havent progressed once theyve gotten into the system.

The result is that their top 20, especially their top 10, is relatively old, with a lot of guys who offer proximity to the majors but lower ceilings than the typical 19-year-old upside prospect.

(Note: Tools are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale; ages as of July 1, 2025.) Advertisement 1.

Arjun Nimmala , SS ( No.

71 on the top 100 ) Nimmala was one of the youngest draftees in 2023, turning 18 four months after he was picked, and as such should have started 2024 in the complex league rather than Low A, but after a torrid spring training the Jays sent him to the Florida State League ...

and he struggled, hitting .167/280/.306 with a 34 percent strikeout rate before the Jays sent him back to the complex to reset.

After three weeks there, he went to the complex league for a few games, then returned to Low A and hit .265/.331/.564 the rest of the way.

He ended up leading the Florida State League in slugging (.476) and finished fifth in the league with 15 homers, all as the leagues youngest qualifying hitter.

Hes a true shortstop with good actions and a plus arm, and the power he showed on the field is legit, as hes got very strong hands and wrists, with a swing thats very rotational and puts the ball in the air a ton his groundball rate in Low A last year was just 31.4 percent.

Hes still only 19 and remains projectable enough to end up a 30-homer bat in a few years; right now its more consistently hard contact (his 90th percentile EV in Low A was 102.3 mph, and his EV50 was 99.0 mph on the dot) than huge top-end EV (peak was 107).

Hes still a high-risk, high-reward player, as he continued to strike out 29.7 percent of the time in his second go-round in Low A, and generally needs to tighten up his pitch recognition and bring his chase rate (31 percent) down at least a little.

I keep coming back to his results for his age, though he was younger than Dante Nori , the Phillies first-round pick in 2024, for one example and the potential for big power at a position up the middle.

Hes still every bit the prospect that made him a first-rounder in the 2023 draft and a top-10 talent on my own board.

2.

Trey Yesavage , RHP ( No.

96 on the top 100 ) The Jays 2024 first-round pick at the No.

20 pick was ranked 13th on my own board, and the No.

3 starter in the class (again, my rankings), coming off a dominant year for East Carolina where he struck out 145 in 93 innings (40.3 percent) and posted a 2.03 ERA and didnt turn 21 until two weeks after the draft.

He has one of the shortest arm actions Ive ever seen on a prospect of his caliber, but the stuff that comes out is undeniable, as he has a 91-96 mph four-seamer and a plus splitter with huge bottom and even some lateral movement, along with a decent slider in the mid-80s he uses mostly versus right-handers.

His short arm stroke and the shape of his stuff make him much more of a north-south pitcher and I think hell have to find something to work a little more east-west, just to keep hitters honest on both sides of the zone.

The delivery does worry me, because its unusual, and short arm actions like this generally end up in the bullpen.

Hes been healthy the last two years as a starter for ECU, however, and I wouldnt change anything given how good the stuff is.

Id move him as quickly as possible, as youre not waiting for any projection on the current pitches, and see a potential No.

3 starter in the near future.

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Orelvis Martinez , 3B ( Just missed ) Martinez was on the top 100 a year ago, had a great start to 2024 in Triple A, got to the majors for five minutes, and was suspended for the rest of the year for testing positive for a PED.

He didnt slide off the top 100 for the suspension, but for concern now that he might have to move off the dirt, and his value as a high-power, low-OBP corner outfielder may not be good enough to be more than a solid regular.

It is real power, though; he has hit 75 homers in 317 games in Double A and Triple A over the last three seasons.

Hes tightened up the approach enough to make it work against better pitching, chasing fewer pitches than he did when he was younger, although he still hunts fastballs and all offspeed pitches give him trouble.

When he was a potentially above-average defensive third baseman as a 20-year-old, it was easier to see different scenarios where he could be a 4-win player in the majors.

He still has major-league value, and could end up a regular in a corner, but those paths are a little narrower now.

4.

Josh Kasevich , SS Kasevich is the best prospect from the Jays 2022 draft class at the moment, as hes at least a good utility infielder with a chance to be an everyday player at short with his plus defense and high contact rates.

He needed to get stronger when he was drafted, and hes done so, translating it into harder contact (peaking at 109 mph last year) but still hitting the ball on the ground too often.

If he gets some more rhythm to his swing and brings his hands a little further back, he might be able to lift the ball and end up a 15-homer guy, which would make him a 55 regular with his contact skills, discipline, and that plus defense.

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Alan Roden , OF Roden improved as much as anyone in Torontos system last year, increasing his average and peak exit velocities by over 4 mph without losing any of his strong contact skills.

He hit .314/.406/.510 in 71 games in Triple A, boosting his line over what he did in Double A with just a 14.3 percent strikeout rate and topped out at 112.2 mph off the bat.

Its corner outfield only, and he still has some platoon risk, with just a .304 OBP against lefties last year on the whole, albeit with enough power (.453 SLG, four homers in 112 PA) to make up for it.

Hes probably a solid regular in a corner, and if he improves against southpaws or converts more of that hard contact into over-the-fence power, hes a 55.

6.

Jake Bloss , RHP Bloss made his major-league debut on June 21 for Houston but left the game with right shoulder inflammation, returning for two more starts before the Astros traded him to the Jays in the Yusei Kikuchi deal.

Bloss spent the remainder of 2024 pitching in Triple A with the same stuff but worse overall results, giving up too much hard contact.

He has excellent feel to pitch and throws five different pitches, nothing plus, with good spin rates on the slider and curveball and maybe 55 movement on both pitches.

He was the Astros third-round pick in 2023 out of Georgetown, reaching the majors in less than a year, which was probably too aggressive in hindsight; hed made just eight starts above A-ball when he debuted in the bigs.

He looks like a quality fourth starter, assuming the shoulder issue is behind him, although he may need some time to get there as he learns how to best utilize his whole arsenal against better hitters.

7.

Ricky Tiedemann, LHP Tiedemann threw just 17 innings in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in July, which likely puts him out until 2026.

He has thrown 158 innings as a professional, including time in the Arizona Fall League, and after a strong debut season in 2022 he hasnt stayed healthy at all or thrown strikes.

Its premium stuff when hes right, but the arm action was always dicey and hes had more than just the elbow issue.

I dont see how hes anything but a reliever now.

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Fernando Perez , RHP Perez is from Nicaragua, signing in 2022 just before he turned 18, and made his full-season debut last year with a successful turn in the Low-A Florida State League, striking out 86 in 82 innings with 24 walks and a 4.06 ERA (because he was quite a bit worse with men on base, something to keep an eye on).

His stuff is pretty average across the board, 90-94 with a low-80s slider probably his best pitch, and it plays up because he has excellent feel and solid-average command already.

He doesnt offer much projection, enough to maybe see him getting to 92-96 in time, and improving the changeup and maybe getting a little more sharpness to both breaking balls is probably just as important.

Hes a fifth starter as is, trending toward a fourth, with limited ceiling but also reasonably high probability for a Low-A pitcher.

9.

Khal Stephen , RHP Stephen was the Jays second-round pick last year out of Mississippi State, where he walked just 5 percent of batters he faced for the Bulldogs.

He works with average stuff, sitting 92-93 with a solid-average slider and a fringe-average changeup.

He has a high three-quarters slot that helps his fastball play up above its velocity while also making throwing a traditional slider with bigger horizontal movement more difficult.

Like Yesavage, hes more polish than projection and should move fairly quickly to Double A, with back-end starter potential in the near future.

11.

Kendry Rojas , LHP Rojas missed almost three months of 2024 with a shoulder issue, returning in early July and pitching very well for High-A Vancouver the rest of the way, going six or more innings seven times in his last eight starts there.

He was 92-95 on his return with a 55 slider with more horizontal break and a fringe-average changeup that he should use more, throwing strikes and working primarily off the fastball to get ahead.

Hes 22 now and just hasnt pitched that much, missing time in 2022 due to a lat injury, with 211 total regular-season innings in four years in the minors.

He could be a good fourth starter if he stays healthy, and more if any of his stuff ticks upward from here.

12.

Adam Macko , LHP Macko had a decent half-season in Double A, working with a four-pitch mix now rather than just fastball/slider, but he missed almost two months with a sore forearm, the third time in four years hes been on the injured list with arm trouble.

His story is great he was born in Slovakia, picked up baseball living in Ireland, then went to high school in Canada and itll be better if he gets to the big leagues, which has to happen in the bullpen given the evidence he cant handle a full season as a starter.

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Eddinson Paulino , IF Acquired in the trade that sent Danny Jansen to the Red Sox , Paulino is a high-probability utility infielder who can play 55 defense or better at short, third, or second, and has good enough feel to put the ball in play, just without power.

Hes a 50/55 runner with great instincts on both sides of the ball, and while he doesnt project to add that much strength, he might get from 40 power now to 45 and make himself a second-division regular.

He hit .263/.349/.391 in 69 games at Double-A Portland before the trade, hitting the injured list before the time of the deal and barely playing afterward.

14.

Adrian Pinto , 2B/OF Pinto missed most of the 2024 season due to injury, with two separate stints on the IL, and played as much in the Arizona Fall League as he did in the regular season, hitting .274/.392/.357 in the desert.

Hes very small, kind of twitchy, capable of playing second or center with above-average speed, probably never having the power or even overall strength to hit enough to be more than an extra guy.

He has excellent contact skills, as you might expect from a guy whose strike zone is the size of a small field mouse, enough to see a narrow path for him to hit enough overall to make a career for himself in the majors despite his size.

15.

Brandon Barriera , LHP Barriera was the Jays first-round pick in 2022 but showed up extremely out of shape in 2023 and had a miserable year as a result.

He cleaned his body up and looked tremendous in spring training last year, only to have his UCL tear and require Tommy John surgery with the internal brace as well.

Way back when, in the spring of 22, he was up to 98 and would show a plus curve and plus changeup, needing more work on command and control than any aspect of the repertoire.

His velocity was down in the 20 innings he pitched in 2023, then back up last spring before the injury.

I have no idea what to expect from him when he returns, which could be this summer since he had the procedure last April.

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Juaron Watts-Brown , RHP Watts-Brown had a bad year on the surface, but the stuff is still there for him to be a prospect, maybe even as a back-end starter.

He sits 92-94, touching 96, with some natural cut, and both his slider and curveball miss a ton of bats.

His changeup is a clear fourth pitch, so lefties tagged him last year (.234/.367/.448), and hes out of the zone way too often, with about two-thirds of his pitches finishing outside the zone.

He could do worse than trying to throw everything right at the middle of the zone and letting the movement on everything do some of the work; he has done worse, in fact, walking 60 in 103 innings last year.

The delivery is not the explanation for the control issues, and its clean enough that Im not giving up hope he can end up a starter.

17.

Sean Keys , 3B Keys was the Jays fourth-round pick last year, making him the highest-drafted player in Bucknell history.

He has huge power and a history of production even with the wood bat on Cape Cod.

Its a quiet swing with a short path to the ball, generating more power from overall strength than from hip rotation.

Hes a 45 defender at third, enough to probably work himself into fringe-average to stay there.

He didnt have much of a platoon split in college or the Cape, but showed enough vulnerability to lefties breaking stuff that it bears watching.

He has everyday ceiling, with a better chance that hes a platoon bat who can play third or first.

18.

Charles McAdoo , 3B/OF McAdoo demolished High A in the first half last year, hitting .336/.415/.561, helped by a great hitters park in Greensboro, then tapered off in Double A as the season went on.

That included a trade at the deadline that brought him from Pittsburgh to Toronto for Isiah Kiner-Falefa .

McAdoo really struggled with all kinds of offspeed stuff at the higher level, whiffing 42 percent of the time he swung at a non-fastball in Double A.

Hes mostly played third in pro ball and second in college, but hes far more likely to end up in left field than anywhere else.

He can hit a fastball and has average power, so theres some utility potential here.

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Johnny King , LHP The Jays took King in the third round, shortly before the Florida high schooler turned 18.

Hes a projectable southpaw who works in the low 90s already with a funky delivery that has some deception but needs some help to keep it consistent.

His best pitch is a big two-plane curveball that projects to plus.

Hes got a nascent changeup that may just improve with more use.

Hes raw and very young, a real project for player development, with a body and arm you can dream on.

20.

Will Wagner , IF Son of newly elected Hall of Famer Billy Wagner, Will was part of the Kikuchi trade along with Bloss and Joey Loperfido .

He doesnt have a real position, playing well enough at third or first to be a good bench bat who can hit right-handed pitching, with enough of a platoon split to keep him from being an everyday guy.

He ended the year on the IL with knee inflammation.

Others of note Right-hander Landon Maroudis made three starts in April before going down with an elbow injury, getting the internal brace rather than the full Tommy John surgery.

...

Enmanuel Bonilla struggled in his first time in the U.S.

after a strong DSL showing, as the Dominican outfielder got a steady diet of breaking balls from right-handers and couldnt adjust.

He turned 19 in January and still has a great body and bat speed.

...

Canadian outfielder Sam Shaw spent the year in the FCL and walked a ton, 16.8 percent of his PA, with just a 10 percent strikeout rate, just without much else to show for it.

Hes gotten much stronger this offseason, however, and could produce quite a bit more this year in Low A given that foundation of plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills.

2025 impact Bloss could take some turns in the rotation this year, and I still think Yesavages best-case scenario has him in the majors before Labor Day, assuming health for everyone concerned.

Martinez should get a shot at the third base job, even with the suspension and I assume some disfavor toward him in its wake.

Advertisement The fallen Tucker Toman , the Jays third pick in the 2022 draft and recipient of their second-highest bonus that year, hit just .222/.301/.318 while repeating Low A last year, showing none of the feel to hit or potential power scouts saw from him as an amateur.

Sleeper Stephen is the best candidate here to make a big step forward without moving so fast that he ends up in the majors (and off the list).

Additional top prospect coverage GO DEEPER Top 100 MLB prospects 2025: Keith Laws rankings, with Roman Anthony at No.

1 GO DEEPER MLB prospects who just missed Keith Laws top 100 ranking: Caissie, Saggese and more GO DEEPER MLB 2025 farm system rankings: Keith Law ranks all 30 teams, Mariners are new No.

1 (Top photo of Nimmala: Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images).

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