Future Blue Jays Newsletter Vol XII No 9

No recap this week…..if you follow me on Twitter (@DMFox705), you’ll know I was chasing waterfalls and glaciers in the stunningly beautiful Iceland.

Instead, here’s a look at who is trending up and maybe….not so much in the Blue Jays organization, along with some key stats. Next week, I’ll take a look at some prospects who have underachieved to this point. I will also be talking to Dunedin play-by-play man Larry Larson about the D-Jays first month of the season, and will have that for you next week.

Trending ⬆️

Pitchers

1. Connor O’Halloran, LHP (23K/21 IP, .182 opponents’ batting average)

With the injury issues suffered by Ricky Tiedemann (elbow soreness, set to being throwing soon), Brandon Barriera (Grade 2 UCL tear, underwent hybrid Tommy John surgery, out for the season), and Landen Maroudis (currently on 7-day IL, waiting to see a specialist this week), O’Halloran at the moment might be the most promising starting pitching prospect in the system.

As I wrote earlier, one would pretty much expect a major program college pitcher to dominate Single A hitters; we’ll begin to get a better idea of his long-term prospects when he’s promoted to Vancouver.

2. Fernando Perez, RHP. (24K/19 IP, 1.17 WHIP)

    

   It’s hard not to get excited about a 20 year old who already hits the mid 90s with his fastball, and shows an ability to pound the strike zone and a feel for pitching you don’t often see at such a tender age. No less a publication than Baseball America has labelled Perez’ command the best in the organization.

    

   Given the injuries to Barriera, Maroudis, and Tiedemann, the player development staff will be taking things gradually with Perez, but if his last two starts are any indication, he’ll be on the move at some point.

   Perez is such a great story of scouting and development. Discovered in a remote section of Nicaragua, because of his control the Blue Jays have been able to focus more on his secondaries and developing his body to stand up under a starter’s workload. As he rises through the system, the Toronto media will be discovering him.

3. Trenton Wallace, LHP (1.59 ERA over his first five starts)

    

   He doesn’t throw all that hard, but has a low arm slot delivery that’s very tough to pick up on, and retired 18 of the 19 hitters he faced in his last start while tossing six no-hit innings. Wallace is a guy I’ve always liked - he’s just gotten guys out at every level.

   Wallace may prove to be more of a once-through-the-order bulk arm if he reaches the big leagues, but I really enjoy watching him pitch. He repeats his mechanics, pounds all four quadrants of the strike zone, and sequences his pitches well. Wallace has a solid lower half that allows him to leverage a drop-and-drive delivery.

   Wallace’s pitching coach at New Hampshire, Joel Bonnett (who also had him at Vancouver last season prior to Trenton’s promotion to AA) agrees with that arm slot causing problems for hitters:

   “I think the low slot and crossfire gets on hitters and creates deception. Also being able to throw three pitches to both sides that attack different parts of the zone doesn’t allow hitters to sit on certain pitch or zone.”

4. Kai Peterson, LHP (24K/12IP)

   Single A relievers still tend to be about a dime a dozen, but more and more big league bullpen guys got their start in that role shortly after entering pro ball. Which makes Peterson, the Jays’ final draft pick last June from Sierra JC, a guy who is worth watching as he climbs the system ladder.

    

   Peterson has a funky delivery, completely turning his back to home plate as he starts his windup. Lefty hitters have a tough time picking that ball up out of his hand. He’s still quite a distance away, but he’s more than had his way with FSL hitters so far.

5. Mason Fluharty, LHP (10G, 15 IP/16K, .167 Opp. BA)

   I’ve written about Fluharty several times already; he attacks hitters and gets outs. He’s not on the 40, but more and more I think he’s ready to face big league hitters.

   Fluharty doesn’t overpower hitters, but uses his sweeper and cutter to keep hitters off balance, mixing in a fastball he commands well to both sides of the plate. Toss in a deceptive delivery and you have a guy who can be an effective situational lefty.

6. Ryan Jennings, RHP (4 GS, 0.56 ERA)

Jennings was limited to 12 outings last year, but he was Vancouver’s most effective pitcher not named Adam Macko down the stretch and into the playoffs, and since he turns 25 in June, he doesn’t figure to be in the Northwest League for much longer. His shot at an MLB job is slim at this point, but I was disappointed I didn’t get to see him pitch when I was in Vancouver last month.

Hitters

1. Orelvis Martinez, 2B (.941 OPS)

He cooled off a bit after a hot week, but Martinez is showing more and more that his bat is approaching big league readiness. An AB against Paul Skenes - the top pitching prospect in the game - this weekend showed a mature, professional approach:

At this point, it’s obvious that the glove (8 errors so far) is what’s keeping him at AAA; playing him every day in a big league lineup that’s been challenged offensively, and includes Davis Schneider in LF is not a recipe for a turnaround, no matter what Blue Jays fans might think. But it is only a matter of time before Orelvis is in a Blue Jays uniform.

2. Spencer Horwitz, 1B/DH (.342 batting average, .476 OPS)

It’s really coming to the point (maybe even well past it) that we can’t think of Horwitz as a prospect anymore. There’s really nothing left for him to prove at AAA. Some more pop would be nice, but at this point in his career, Horwitz is who he is, and you can’t score runs unless you have runners on base.

3. Josh Kasevich, SS (.340 average)

Kasevich has always had elite bat-to-ball skills, but this season he’s putting more balls into places where defenders can’t get them, and he’s among the Eastern League leaders in average and RBI. Power is always the last tool in a hitter’s kit to develop, and while he’ll probably never bee a 20+ HR hitter, his hard hit rate has been a surprising development. There is not question about the glove - Kasevich is as solid a defender as anyone in the organization.

4. Victor Arias, CF (.891 OPS, 7 SBs)

He’s been in the system since 2019, but Arias is only 20, and has probably been Dunedin’s best player to date, a guy with speed, an ability to get on base, and tremendous range who is banging on the door of the Blue Jays Top 30 list. Not the biggest guy in the world at 5’9”/150, Arias will need to continue to get stronger as he moves up the ladder, but we’ve seen with Schneider and Rafi Lantigua that little guys can still have some pop.