Fastball

Toronto Blue Jays Duo Named Team's Minor League Prospects of Year

The Toronto Blue Jays finished last in the American League East at the major league level, but the news on the farm was still exciting.

Brady Farkas

A Toronto Blue Jays hat sits in the dug out during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre in 2024.
A Toronto Blue Jays hat sits in the dug out during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre in 2024. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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The Toronto Blue Jays finished last in the American League East this season, a disappointing outcome given that they had been to the playoffs in the two prior years.

At the minor league level, the team also suffered some setbacks as top prospect Ricky Tiedemann underwent Tommy John surgery that will assuredly keep him out for the entire 2025 season as well.

However, the Jays were able to re-stock the system positively because of in-season trades of Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Turner and others, so the cupboard is not bare.

And on Thursday, a pair of Jays prospects were honored as the team's MLB Pipeline Prospects of the Year.

OF Alan Roden and RHP Fernando Perez have been named our MLB Pipeline Prospects of the Year!

Roden: 16 HR | 75 RBI | .865 OPS with the @BuffaloBisons and @FisherCats

Perez: 82 IP | 86 Ks | MLB All-Star Futures Game with @DunedinBlueJays

Roden is listed as the No. 12 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline. The 24-year-old was the No. 98 pick in the 2022 draft and should make his major league debut sometime in 2025.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Roden hit 10 home runs over 115 games in ‘23, but adding more pop is the primary focus, and he’s been working with staff to better use his whole body through his swing instead of relying on arms and shoulders. Regardless, Roden’s on-base skill and underrated baserunning give him a high floor as a corner outfielder. 

Perez is the No. 10 prospect in the system. He's a 20-year-old pitcher out of Nicaragua. MLB.com has him ticketed for a 2027 arrival in the big leagues.

The Blue Jays still see plenty of room for physical growth in Perez, and his development at Single-A Dunedin has been a positive one in 2024. His feel for pitching means that Perez should be able to put up some impressive numbers in Single-A and High-A, but it will be interesting to see how his stuff fares against more advanced bats.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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