Blue Jays Send Top Prospects Moreno, Jimenez to Arizona Fall League
The 2021 season isn't over for a few of the Toronto Blue Jays top prospects.
Catcher Gabriel Moreno and infielder Leo Jimenez headline a group of seven youngsters the organization will send to the 2021 Arizona Fall League to play for the Mesa Solar Sox. Moreno is ranked as Toronto's top prospect, per MLB Pipeline, while Jimenez is the 11th best.
Moreno shot up prospect rankings in 2021 with a dominant start to his double-A season. In 32 games for New Hampshire, Moreno drove in eight homers with a .373 batting average and 1.092 OPS before his season was sidetracked with a thumb fracture.
Finding more playing time for prospects who suffered injuries is a trend across Toronto's 2021 AFL selections, as Jimenez missed almost two months hurt in 2021 and Cre Finfrock played just 3.2 innings of organized pro ball.
Jimenez, Toronto's other ranked AFL prospect this year, also dominated when healthy. Flashing elite plate vision and batted-ball skills, Jimenez posted a .523 OBP across rookie league and single-A. Like most of Toronto's infield prospects, Jimenez spent most time at shortstop in 2021 but also saw 12 games of action at second base.
Toronto's Arizona Fall League Complete Selections and Notes:
C Gabriel Moreno
INF Leo Jimenez
RHP Michael Dominguez
RHP Cre Finfrock
LHP Brody Rodning
RHP Graham Spraker
INF Spencer Horwitz
- Toronto's third AFL batter, Horwitz, is mainly a first baseman and earned a late-season promotion to double-A New Hampshire in 2021. In 109 games across two levels, Horwitz posted an .862 OPS and .400 OBP.
- RHP Spraker is Toronto's oldest participant in the AFL this year, posting a 2.95 ERA out of the double-A bullpen in 2021. He struck out 13.1 batters per nine and earned a brief triple-A call-up.
- At just 20-years-old, Dominguez pitched two years above the average age in single-A this year, posting a 3.34 ERA in six starts for Lansing.
The 2021 Arizona Fall League begins play on October 13th with play carrying through November 20th for the Championship game.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon