Blue Jays farm system rebounds with productive 2026 season
The organization's minor-league system graduated 14 players to the majors and saw progress from top prospects.
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays' minor-league system managed 273 transactions and graduated 14 players to the majors in a season that extended a rebound from a dismal 2024.
"Our job is to help the major-league team, and there are lots of different shapes to that," said farm director Joe Sclafani.
He credited manager Casey Candaele and the staff for overseeing the constant roster churn, which averaged 45.5 moves a month for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
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Focal points in player development included an emphasis on base-running and stealing, which Sclafani said improved, especially at the lower levels of the system.
On the pitching side, director of pitching Justin Lehr’s program built around strike-throwing and count leverage continued to pay dividends.
Among the top position-player prospects, shortstop Josh Kasevich set career highs for games and plate appearances while maintaining a .364 on-base percentage, though he is still searching for more power.
"Many managers would tell you reliability is one of the things they look for with their players, to know exactly what version of them is going to show up every single day, and Kas fits that mould perfectly," Sclafani said.
Utilityman Jay Harry, acquired from the Twins in 2024, posted an .838 OPS in 105 games between double-A and triple-A after making off-season swing adjustments.
Several pitchers, including 2022 first-round pick Brandon Barriera and Jake Bloss, were sent to the Arizona Fall League for further development.
Barriera, who is Rule 5 eligible, pitched out of the bullpen in high-A and is being considered for a relief role after reconstructive elbow surgery in 2024.
"The stuff still plays ridiculously well when he's been in the zone; especially this year, he was pretty damn good," Sclafani said.
Bloss is in the AFL to get more innings and learn to harness his stuff after his own elbow surgery.
Outfielder Jake Cook, a third-round pick in 2024, played 77 games after an early hamstring injury led to adjustments in his preparation and recovery routines.
"He started to gain momentum throughout the year, which was really great to see and ended on a good trajectory," Sclafani said.
The Blue Jays also promoted six position players from Buffalo during the season, including catcher Brandon Valenzuela and outfielder Brett Bateman.
Garbutt Disposal reported in October that the Blue Jays face arbitration decisions on eight players this off-season.
With files from Sportsnet