Blue Jays MiLB All Stars

Forgive me for not having gotten to this one earlier. At the conclusion of each season, I like to take a look at the top performers at each position in the Blue Jays system.

It’s a fun little exercise, but given that players don’t always wind up at the position they’ve been at as they progress through the minors, sometimes it’s hard to pin down one position, because if there’s one thing the Jays like with their minor leaguers, it’s guys who can play more than one spot on the diamond. I could count on Mordecai Brown’s throwing hand how many players in the org played at only one position.

C - Gabriel Moreno (minor league stats) .319/.356/.733

If not for visa issues that delayed his arrival to spring training, Moreno might have claimed at least a chunk of the starting job with the big club by mid-season this year.

The Blue Jays are making all the right noises about moving Moreno around the diamond and perhaps having 3 backstops on the roster, but unless something goes horribly awry, he should establish himself as the primary receiver on the major league roster at some point this season.

With the rule changes coming to MLB next season, the running game may come back into prominence, and a catcher with Moreno’s pop time and ability to throw out runners will have increased values. Alejandro Kirk made strides defensively this year and won himself a Silver Slugger, and Danny Jansen showed he’s more than capable when healthy, but Moreno - tabbed the most athletic catching prospect since J.T. Realmuto by Fangraphs - will ultimately be the best of the trio on both sides of the ball.

IB Rainer Nunez .304/.340/.484

It seems like a long time coming for the 2017 IFA, but Nunez broke through in a big way in 2022, hitting 19 HRs at two levels, and picking up best Florida State League best defensive 1B prospect laurels from Baseball America along the way.

Nunez would benefit from becoming more selective (24BB vs 109K) as he moves up the ladder, but the power is legit, as he showed in a recent Dominican League game:

2B - Davis Schneider .253/.366/.823

Even though he split time between 2nd and LF, you have to find a spot on this squad for the 28th round pick in 2017, who began his year at High A, and finished it at AAA. Schneider banged out 16 round trippers at three levels, and stole 17 bases as well. He’s a fringe big leaguer at best, but every roster needs a guy like Schneider.

SS - Addison Barger .308/.378/.933

2022 was truly a breakout year for Barger, a season that has put him on the cusp of a big league job. Barger led the organization in extra-base hits, SLG, and RBI, and seemed to hit better at each of the three levels he played at. While Barger can play all four infield positions, his arm strength is best suited to the left side of the infield. He had a bit of a rough stretch at the end of a long season in the Arizona Fall League, but you have to think he’ll be competing for a big league utility job next spring.

3B - Damiano Palmegiani .249/.342/.815

The Surrey, BC product busted out in 2022, slugging 24 HRs. Palmegiani can draw a walk, and can play across the infield at 1st as well.

A bat-first player, scouts were not impressed with Palmegiani’s footwork and hands in his 2021 draft year, but there is no question about his ability to get to his barrel.

Honourable mention goes to Cade Doughty (.865 OPS), who split time at 2nd and 3rd, but the club thinks he has the arm strength to play the hot corner. The 2nd round comp pick last summer was a huge part of Dunedin’s run to a 2nd half division title and playoff berth.

LF Gabriel Martinez. .293/.355/.832

Reaching High A just after his 20th birthday, Martinez is one of the most exciting prospects in the organization.

The FSL Player of the Month for May, Martinez can expand his strike zone at times because of his bat-to-ball skills, and defensively profiles as a LF, but he has the bat speed to fit that position. His power (14 HRs at two levels) is just developing, and with improved pitch recognition and strike zone judgment could produce even more pop.

CF - Dasan Brown .283/.383/.803

Yet another player who broke through this year, the Oakville native went on a tear at the end of the Northwest League season, with a .977 OPS in September. Brown then went 7-15 with 3 HRs in the playoffs as his Vancouver Canadians were swept in the best of five league final.

The most athletic player in the system by a fair margin (BA calls him one of the fastest players in all of baseball), Brown is still raw, but he gave a glimpse of his tremendous potential over the last six weeks of the season. He has to improve his approach at the higher levels, work on his average throwing arm, and learn to read pitchers better on the base paths (he still stole 22 bases on the season), but there’s a lot to be excited about.

RF - Zach Britton .239/.390/.442

Britton’s regular season numbers were decent, but he really surprised in Arizona, where he slashed .404/.482/.575 against elite pitching. A guy who can catch as well, Britton’s left-handed bat might be his ticket to a big league job one day in addition to that versatility.

SP - Ricky Tiedemann 2.17 ERA, 0.86 WHIP

Tiedemann dominated hitters at three levels in 2022, and there’s no reason to expect him to be anything less than that at AAA next year. Tiedemann fanned 13.4 K/9, and missed a ton of bats (17.6% SwStr rate) on the season.

The Jays were understandably cautious with Tiedemann in his first full pro season, and the organization has indicated his slider is a pitch that he still needs to work on, but it’s easy to picture him in the top half of the Blue Jays rotation in the future.

RP - Brandon Eisert

 This was the hardest category to choose from. Adrian Hernandez and his devilish change up merited consideration, as did Matt Gage’s 12 Saves for Buffalo. Then there was Jimmy Burnette’s 15 K/9. But Eisert, a stocky southpaw with a short arm stroke, did everything that was asked of him in Buffalo.

 Eisert appeared in 40 games as a reliever, and with Buffalo’s depleted rotation opened 5 more, fanning 77 in 60 innings, walking only 15. It just seemed like all he did was get hitters out. He doesn’t really profile as a back of the bullpen guy, but he was one of the most valuable members of the Bisons’ pitching staff this season.

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