Blue Jays announce the prospects heading to the first annual Spring Breakout game

The first thing that immediately stands out is the catching. Once a heavy surplus for the Jays, their catching factory has a shortage and this game, as well as MLB Pipeline’s latest Top 30, proves it.

Phil Clarke is the most experienced bunch of catchers there, as he slashed .260/.381/.391 with six homers in 259 plate appearances with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats last season for a 121 wRC+. At 25 years old, he’ll likely start his season in Triple-A.

Edward Duran was the Player to Be Named Later involved in the Jordan Groshans deal at the 2022 trade deadline. Last season between the Florida Complex League and Single-A, the 19-year-old catcher slashed .315/.422/.417 with two homers, along with more walks than strikeouts.

Maykel Miñoso hasn’t even made his stateside debut yet, but slashed .278/.368/.315 with six doubles in 190 plate appearances with the Dominican Summer League Jays. Like Duran, Minoso had a higher walk rate (11.6%) than K% (8.4%). And yes, he was related to the late, great, Hall of Famer, Minnie Miñoso.

Switching gears to pitchers, Landen Maroudis will be making his professional debut in this game. According to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report on the righty, he’s sitting 93-95 mph after spending his post-draft time at the beautiful complex in Dunedin.

Another pitcher of note is Fernando Pérez, who also made his debut on a lot of top prospect lists in 2024. According to his MLB Pipeline bio, his fastball is averaging 93-94 mph and the Blue Jays believe he has projection remaining. Where he excels is with his command, as the 20-year-old had a 2.6 BB% in 2022 and a 6.2 BB% in 2023 (along with a 29.2 K%).

Other pitchers of note include left-handed pitchers Brandon Barriera, Adam Macko, and Kendry Rojas, as well as Connor Cooke, CJ Van Eyk, and Yosver Zulueta. Notably, Ricky Tiedemann is not on the roster, despite being the Blue Jays top prospect. This may have something to do with his hamstring issue.

Looking at the infielders, Sam Shaw is an interesting name to keep an eye on. The ninth-round pick in the 2023 draft had a strong debut in the FCL, slashing .207/.425/.276 with two doubles and a higher BB% (25%) than K% (15%) in 40 plate appearances. Shaw, who is 19, already ranks as MLB Pipeline’s 29th-best Blue Jays prospect and is certainly someone to keep an eye on this season.

Arjun Nimmala had a similar path after being drafted with the 20th-overall pick, heading to the FCL and slashing .200/.500/.320 with a higher BB% (35%) than K% (20%) in 40 plate appearances, with a double and a triple. Surprisingly, he didn’t hit his first professional home run with his significant raw power, but he’s certainly an exciting prospect to look forward to.

Tucker Toman is another high draft pick (77th-overall in 2022) that was drafted out of high school. Unfortunately for the 20-year-old switch hitter, his first full professional season didn’t go great, as he slashed .208/.320/.313 with five homers in 503 plate appearances, along with a 12.5 BB% and a 26.8 K%. Toman is still young and it’s far too soon to give up on him, but his 2024 season will be a big one in determining his ceiling.

Other infielders include youngster Manuel Beltre, along with upper-minor prospects Addison Barger, Spencer Horwitz, Leo Jimenez, Josh Kasevich, and Damiano Palmegiani.

Finally, we have the outfielders. Alan Roden is the most prolific of the six, as he slashed .313/428/.453 with a higher BB% (12.8%) than K% (12%), along with 10 homers between High-A and Double-A. In fact, the left-handed batter has already hit a home run in Spring Training against left-handed pitcher Andrew Chafin.

Enmanuel Bonilla signed the largest international free agency bonus in franchise history during the 2023 period. The $4.1 million bonus was well worth it, as he had a great first professional season where he slashed .307/.407/.429 with three homers in 226 plate appearances. Interestingly, the 18-year-old failed to reach base in just two of his 50 games.

Yhoangel Aponte slashed .242/.357/.478 with nine homers in 210 plate appearances between the FCL and Single-A for a 117 wRC+. While his 12.4 BB% was high, so too was his 32.4 K%, as it was the third highest in the organization for a batter with 200 or more plate appearances. The development in power was a good sign and he’ll need to work on defence as well in 2024.

The other three outfielders are Jace Bohrofen, Gabriel Martinez, and Dasan Brown.

Either way, it’ll be exciting to see how the Blue Jays prospects do against the Yankee prospects on March 16!