Future Blue Jays Newsletter

Now that both the major and minor league portions of the Blue Jays system have been put to bed for another season, I thought I would pen some thoughts about a season (or more) of watching some of the top prospects in the organization. This will be the first in a series.

Davis Schneider

When the August call-up pulled a slider from Aroldis Chapman into the LF seats at the Rogers Centre for his 8th Home Run on September 12th, it seemed like a cinderella story was in the offing.

Schneider would go another 36 hitless PAs before slamming a double off of a minor league starter Tampa sent to the mound on the last day of the season.

The 28th round pick’s rise from Org Guy to hear-of-the-order MLB hitter in a little over two years was quite astounding, a tribute both to scouting and player development - and to Schneider himself. Free to focus on baseball in the offseason, thanks largely to the pay raises the Blue Jays granted all of their minor leaguers several years ago, Davis turned himself into a hitter.

 Statcast tells much of Schneider’s story - his average exit velo is slightly below the MLB mean, but few chase less than he does, nor do many get to their barrels as well. But after setting the American League on fire in his first month in the bigs, he saw far fewer fastballs, and not as many pitches up in the zone. The result was a that prolonged stretch-run dry spell, which have some wondering if he’s big league material.

I think you have to factor in the rise of Cavan Biggio over the final weeks of the season when considering Schneider’s future. But with Whit Merrifield likely gone, Biggio may become even more valuable in a utility role next year, opening the door for Schneider at 2nd on at least a part time basis. Yes, Schneider played some LF, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking he should spend any significant time there.

The league adjusted to Schneider after his scorching start; it will be up to him to make his own corresponding adjustments next season. He’s certainly not a lock to break camp with the big club (pending offseason acquisitions) at this point.

Orelvis Martinez

Speaking of candidates for the 2nd Base job, here’s the former SS of the future.

2022 was a season of feast or famine for Martinez, who was one of the youngest players at AA that year. He really could’ve used another half season at Vancouver, but since the Blue Jays collect up-the-middle guys like some people collect bobbleheads, he needed some place to play. When Orelvis wasn’t knocking balls out of the park last season, he was swinging and missing at breaking stuff off the outer edge/fastballs inside.

Fast forward to last April, where Orelvis was repeating the Eastern League. He got off to a slow start, partially because of the cold Northeastern weather, and also as a result of trying to go the opposite way more.

The shackles were taken off in May, and Orelvis showed an improved two strike approach - cutting down on his leg kick with two strikes, most noticeably - as well as an ability tailor his swing to the game situation. That led to a mid-season promotion to Buffalo, where Martinez didn’t miss a beat, and has largely reclaimed his status as the best prospect in the system not named Ricky Tiedemann. Martinez walked more and struck out less in 2023, without a drop in power production.

Along the way, maybe partly because of the glut of up-the-middle players at Buffalo, Orelvis was shifted to 2nd, where his skills are perhaps best suited. He has the arm strength for the left side of the infield, but not the instincts or the consistency it demands.

Some people seemed to have given up on Martinez, but to me he’s a sleeper candidate to crack the MLB roster next spring. With some protection in the lineup, he could certainly help reawaken the dormant Blue Jays offence.

Adam Macko

In light of the Blue Jays postseason meltdown, some Toronto media types - for reasons which utterly escape me - were bemoaning the loss of Teoscar Hernandez, getting “only” a reliever in return.

What those individuals completely overlooked was that included in that deal was a southpaw who might well be a middle-of-the-rotation arm one day in Adam Macko.

Macko, who really needed innings this year, got off to a slow start, but was dominant at High A over the last season, and is now the second-best starting prospect in the organization. Makco pitched so well that the front office felt confident in dealing some of their starting depth in Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse at the trade deadline.

Macko toyed with Northwest League hitters - he fanned 56 over 39 IP in his last 9 starts, and took a no-hitter into the 5th in the first game of Vancouver’s NWL final series. With a four-pitch mix, including a mid 90s fastball and a plus-plus curve, it’s surprising that he didn’t make his way to AA, but with Rule 5 eligibility looming this fall for Macko, the Blue Jays preferred to keep him in High A.

There is some risk to Macko’s upside - his fastball command can disappear for a few batters, and there is an injury history, to be sure - but as the Player Development Department guys like to say, he checks a lot of boxes, and is trending in the right direction.

Alan Roden

The first thing you should know about Alan Roden is that he’s a very bright guy. A product of the suburbs of Madison, WI, both of his parents are college professors, and if he can’t be a big leaguer, his bio on his university’s website said his goal was to be a college physics prof himself. He admits that he chose Creighton as much for its academics as its baseball.

Roden brings that cerebral approach to his game, and possibly no other position player in the system raised his stock as much as the 2022 under-slot 3rd rounder. MLB Pipeline certainly agrees, naming Roden the organization’s Player of the Year.

Roden was a 1B/DH/OF in college, but has played primarily RF in the Toronto system. He’s still a bit raw defensively, but there is no doubt the bat will eventually play. There isn’t a lot of pop just yet - his power is more the gap type - but Roden reached double figures in Home Runs while playing at two levels. He had 41 extra base hits between Vancouver and New Hampshire, and added 24 stolen bases - he’s one of those sneaky fast kind of guys.

Always able to get his bat on the ball, the Blue Jays player development and minor league coaching staffs tweaked his mechanics last off season. The result is a stance that borders on the unusual, but it allowed to be on time with his barrel more often this season.

He might not be in the picture for 2024, but Roden profiles as a get on base/top of the order guy after that. His is a bat worth keeping an eye on.

I asked Roden about his academic background. “Because of the environment I grew up in at home and the culture of my high school (which has some of the highest test scores in the country), as you pointed out correctly, I always highly valued my academics. It was always something that I worked very hard at and was very dedicated to. Throughout the first two years of my time at Creighton University I never anticipated playing baseball after college, and so I was an extremely dedicated student, which, as you say, hopefully means that I can pursue that passion at some point down the line.”

About his batting stance adjustments, which Blue Jays Director of Player Development Joe Sclafani had mentioned to me: “It’s definitely something that I will say is still a work in progress — the batting stance that is. However, there were a couple things that the stance brings me and the main thing is space. The stance that I brought into pro ball last fall was just not allowing me enough space to move behind the baseball, and thus the only thing I could do is move around it, mainly leading to lots of ground balls to the pull side. The stance I have now, where my hands are almost laughably far from my head, is basically just a way to force my hands away from me, and forcing there to be some space for them to move behind me. Another thing that I will say about the stance is that, for me, the batting stance isn’t especially important. It is more about being comfortable and putting yourself in a position to make your move on the baseball, and so for me the stance that I had this year was something we brought in during Spring Training, and I had some success with it. So, you know, why change it?”

About playing the OF: “I really enjoy playing the outfield. I spent a lot of time there in college, whether in game or in practice, so I’m very comfortable out there. It’s always been something that has come fairly natural for me, so pairing that with some really good coaching and working on the details and specifics of playing outfield, it has been fun being able to continue to improve out there.”