20. Carson Messina | HP

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Carson Messina was the Jays 12th-round pick in the 2024 draft. He did not pitch after the draft. It is unusual for a 12th-round pick to make the Top 30 list after the draft but there is a reason. Messina was ranked as the 134th-best prospect heading into the draft but he had a commitment to play at South Carolina and it seemed that was a lock. His older brother Cole Messina was a catcher at South Carolina and Messina grew up in South Carolina so the home state pull seemed too strong.

However, credit the Jays. They took a flier on him in the 12th round and saved money elsewhere in the draft to be able to sign Messina for $550,000, fourth-round money. It is not clear why Messina decided to sign but his brother was drafted and signed to play pro ball so a family reunion on the diamond was off the cards.

Messina has a pitcher's body, 6'3" and 225 pounds at age 18. His fastball sits 91-94 with lots of run. He has a tight slider that has been ranked as one of the best in the draft class. Baseball America put a 70 grade on it. Messina has a fringy changeup but when you have those other two pitches in high school, why throw a slower pitch for hitters to catch up to? Messina does have to tighten his control to be a starter but he has lots of time to do that.

Expect Messina to start in the Complex League and hope to show enough to get a chance to pitch for Dunedin.

19. Victor Arias | OF

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Victor Arias had a breakout season in 2024. Prior to this season, Arias had limited success in his career. Arias made his debut as a 17-year-old in 2021 in the DSL. He stayed in the DSL in 2022 and then moved to the US and the Ccomplex League for 2023. Arias hit .216 in 2023 and was not on the prospect lists. However. Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs had noted that Arias had plus bat speed in 2023.

Arias signed out of Venezuela. He is listed as 5'9" and 150 pounds although most observers describe him as being built like a linebacker. He is not overly built, he just looks solid, call it Varsho-like.

Arias hit .248 in his first season in the DSL but improved to .315 in 2022. He hit just .222 in the Complex League in 2023 but he walked 30 times in 41 games and had eleven extra-base hits to bump his OPS to .788. So, he was off the radar heading into 2024 when he was assigned to Dunedin. He got off to a hot start, hitting .360 in April but then May was down to .211. June and July were better, July had an OPS of .976, earning Arias a promotion to Vancouver. Arias played eleven games in Vancouver and stayed hot. He hit .324 there but only had one extra-base hit. He did walk more than he struck out, however.

Arias is a left-handed hitter. He can steal a base but he is not at the moment super at it, he was caught stealing 10 times in 2024 versus 18 successes. He can play centre field although he can also play left or right. In addition to batting left, he throws left as well.

There is always a worry that a player with one big season will be unable to follow it up. In Arias' case, that is what he has to do in 2025, likely in Vancouver to start the season. Arias has a quick bat, a good eye at the plate, pop in his swing, and he can run and cover center field. He doesn't strike out too much, with a 21% K rate in 2024. He played most of 2024 as a 20-year-old, turning 21 in late August. So he has a lot going for him. He just needs to continue his good form and build on his excellent showing in 2024.

18. TJ Brock | RHP

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2024 was somewhat a lost season for TJ Brock. Brock was injured to start the season, was activated at the end of May and appeared in 11 games before returning to the IL. His season was saved a bit by pitching in the Arizona Fall League. He did pitch very well in his limited innings there. He struck out 14 hitters in seven innings in New Hampshire. Then he struck out 11 in seven innings in the AFL. Across all levels in 2024, Brock struck out 20 hitters in 11.1 innings. He only gave up three hits in those 11 innings but he walked seven.

Brock was the Blue Jays sixth-round selection in the 2022 draft although he signed an under-slot deal. A right-handed reliever with a big arm, Brock was a reliever and a closer in college and has stayed as a reliever with the Blue Jays. The short version of this report is that Brock has an upper 90s fastball, a slider and strikes out a lot of hitters.

Brock's slider is the key to his success. Baseball Savant logs the slider as a cutter, so be it a slider or a cutter, Brock throws it a lot, more than his fastball. There are a few things to note with Brock. First, he has shown he can strike out a lot of hitters. Two, he missed a lot of time in 2024 with an elbow issue so it wouldn't be a surprise if he has UCL surgery in his future. And three, Baseball America gives his slider a 60 grade, essentially a good major league pitch. Brock does walk more hitters than you would like to see. If Brock can command the pitch better, he can be successful in the major leagues.

A pitcher's strikeout rate is one of the best predictors of major league success. Brock has shown the ability to pick up a lot of Ks. Brock should get a shot at AAA to start 2025. He will be 25 years old at the start of the season.

17. Juaron Watts-Brown | RHP

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Juaron Watts-Brown has many supporters in the Blue Jays system. One of them was his Vancouver Canadians teammate, catcher Robert Brooks, who spoke with C's Plus Baseball recently about the righthander.

"JWB is the man! His stuff is absolutely electric. All of his pitches act like they don’t abide by the laws of wind resistance. It just continues to speed up as it gets to you. He knows what he wants to throw in certain counts and really is a student of the game and the other team. As a catcher, I love getting to work with guys like that."

The 2023 third-round pick out of Oklahoma State made his pro debut last season with Low-A Dunedin and won his first professional start by allowing two runs over five innings against Tampa on April 10. May saw him pile up the Ks with 37 punchouts in 22-2/3 innings and an earned run average of 3.18 but the downside was the 14 walks he issued. JWB made gains with his command by issuing seven walks with 23 strikeouts in June to go along with a 2.91 ERA, leading to a promotion to High-A Vancouver.

Watts-Brown did not enjoy the same level of success with the C's but he saved his best performance for last, dominating Spokane with 10 strikeouts in a 5-2/3 inning-two-run performance in an eventual Game 2 victory for Vancouver in the Northwest League Championship Series.

The Visalia, California native showed tremendous athleticism at Hanford High School, winning Player of the Year awards in baseball, basketball and football. Watts-Brown piled up 4,000 yards and threw 39 touchdowns in his senior season. A shoulder injury on the gridiron resulted in Texas Tech withdrawing its offer to Watts-Brown after he had signed a letter of intent with the Red Raiders. He was able to catch on at Long Beach State but had to redshirt his 2021 freshman season.

With the Dirtbags in 2022, Watts-Brown made history by tossing a no-hitter against UC Riverside in which he struck out 16 batters on Mother's Day with his mom in attendance. He went 4-4 with a 3.88 ERA and fanned 111 batters against 29 walks in 73-1/3 innings. That performance resulted in Freshman All-American honours and a Big West Conference Honourable Mention.

Transferring to Oklahoma State in 2023, Watts-Brown had an up-and-down year with the Cowboys with a 6-5 record and a 5.05 ERA but he led the Big 12 Conference with 124 strikeouts against 48 walks in 82-1/3 innings.

The Blue Jays liked what they saw and gave Watts-Brown a $1,002,785 signing bonus. Dalton Silva, a graduate assistant at Lubbock Christian was the one who convinced Watts-Brown to become a pitcher after the youngster threw out a runner trying to steal second base as a catcher in Babe Ruth Instructional League.

JWB employs a four-pitch mix with a four-seam fastball that has touched 95 miles per hour along with a plus gyro slider, a 12-6 curveball and a changeup.

The slider is considered to be his best pitch and the 6-foot-3, 190-pound hurler— who discovered his slider grip from a teammate with the Brockton Rox during his summer college stint in 2021—told C's Plus Baseball he agreed with that assessment.

"It's the pitch I land at the highest clip. It's a good pitch for me. I get swings and misses. I get weak contact on it as well. I'm hoping the fastball becomes that best pitch for me soon. I think that's going to come with getting a little bit more command with it."

JWB also provided a scouting report on himself.

"I'm a competitor on the mound. I'm going to come at you. I have good energy, I think I'm pretty electric. I wish I could watch myself sometimes just because when I am locked in, it is pretty fun to pitch. And I think that as far as myself as a pitcher to other people, I'm going to work my butt off no matter what. I'm always going to compete even if I'm struggling, no matter what."

Watts-Brown—who will turn 23 years old on February 23—could be challenged with a Double-A assignment to New Hampshire but he may start 2025 with Vancouver first.

16. Landen Maroudis | RHP

Photo from tsn.ca

Year	Age	Team	G	GS	IP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	K/9	ERA
2024	19	DUN	3	2	10.0	2.5	0.0	3.4	10.1	0.84

Landen Maroudis was the Jays fourth-round pick out of a Clearwater, Florida high school in 2023. He did however get the second-highest draft bonus, $1.5M. The Jays had to go that high to buy him out of a commitment to NC State. Maroudis is 6'3" and 190 pounds.

Maroudis did not pitch after the draft and was assigned to Dunedin to start the 2024 season. That was a promising assignment as many high school draftees stay in the Complex League. Maroudis made his first appearance on April 7th in relief of Alek Manoah and Erik Swanson. He was perfect in his four-inning stint with five strikeouts. He started on April 14th and gave up one hit in 4.1 innings, with four Ks. He was a bit wild, walking four. His next start was April 21 and he left after 2.1 innings. He then headed for Tommy John surgery.

In his three appearances, Maroudis's fastball averaged 94.5 mph. He threw about 40% fastballs and sliders but also threw a curveball, a changeup and a sinker. Maroudis's four- or five-pitch mix bodes well for his starting pitcher role. The main area for him to develop is command of his pitches.

Maroudis looked primed to have a big season in 2024. Now he faces a rehab stint and a return to action in early 2025. As with most rehabbing pitchers, look for him to get some starts in the Complex League before moving to Dunedin to continue where he left off in 2024.

15. Jonatan Clase | OF

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Year	Age	Team	AB	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2024	22	TAC	234	11	4	10	40	72	26	9	.274	.373	.483
2024	22	BUF	135	10	0	2	9	38	12	4	.244	.288	.363
2024	22	SEA	41	1	0	0	2	14	3	0	.195	.233	.220
2024	22	TOR	20	1	0	1	1	3	0	1	.350	.435	.550

Jonatan Clase is an outfielder from the Dominican Republic who was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners. He came to the Jays in the Yimi Garcia trade. Clase started his professional career in 2019 as a 17-year-old in the DSL. He hit .300 there but his arrival in the USA was delayed by COVID in 2020 and an injury in 2021. While rehabbing from the injury Clase started to switch-hit, something he had done as a youngster.

2022 saw Clase in the California League where offensive stats can be magnified by thin air and small parks. Clase hit .267 but had 46 extra-base hits. He also walked 65 times which let his .267 BA swell to an .836 OPS.

Clase went to Everett in the Northwest League to start 2023. In 21 games there, he hit the cover off the ball generating a 1.154 OPS. That was enough and he was off to Arkansas in AA. In 108 games there, he hit just .222 but again had 39 extra-base hits and 64 walks bringing his OPS up to .727.

Even though he didn't hit well for average in 2023, Seattle sent him to Tacoma to start 2024. He did hit better there with a 274 BA with 40 walks and 25 XBH moved his OPS to .856. Clase had an injury-related call-up to the major leagues where he struggled, hitting .195 and not walking or hitting for power.

So, on July 31st, Clase was a 22-year-old who had shown an OK ability to hit for average but a player who would also take a walk and hit for power. He also would strike out a lot, he carried a K rate of around 26% through the minor leagues. On the positive side, it didn't get worse as he rose through the minor league levels. The Jays liked him enough to get him in the trade but Clase didn't pay off in the short term. He hit just .244 for Buffalo. He walked less than half the time as he did in Tacoma and his isolated power was down by 40%. The Jays did give him seven games in Toronto at the end of the season. He did hit .350 and hit his first major league home run.

Clase is a smaller player, 5'10", but has speed. His hitting for average has moved up and down but he does have good power potential. He is a switch-hitter with little difference in his left vs right stats. Some scouts think his power comes from pitches down in the zone and he can be attacked up in the zone. He generally will take a walk, although not so much in Buffalo. He could have been pressing after the trade. His K rate is high. His defence is described as raw with his speed compensating for some poor reads. He can steal bases.

Clase is already a utility outfielder at the major league level. The question is, can he develop more to be a complete major leaguer? Ideally, Clase would return to Buffalo in 2025 to continue to develop. However, the Varsho injury opens the door for a center fielder. He could get a chance to occupy CF on a short-term basis.

14. Johnny King | RHP

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Year	Age	Team	G	GS	IP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	K/9	ERA
2024	17	DNP	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.00

Johnny King was the Jays third-round pick out of a Naples, Florida high school. King throws from the left side, always a popular choice, but did not pitch after the draft. King is younger than most draftees, 17 on draft day, and he won't be 19 until July. King had committed to Miami University but $1.2M helped change his mind.

Like many highly-drafted pitchers, King has a pitcher's body at 6'4" and 210 pounds. King's fastball sits around 90-91 mph, but he has two breaking balls and the curve is seen as a plus pitch with Baseball America giving it an 80 grade. He also throws a slider, which can be effective from his low three-quarter arm slot.

The concern with King is a delivery that has effort and a recoil. Some scouts are concerned that King might not be able to get to an acceptable level of command. Although King doesn't throw as hard as some of the other 2024 drafted pitchers, that might not be a bad thing, as many of the harder throwers have faced the surgeon's knife.

King will likely start in the Complex League and hope to get to Dunedin by mid-season.

13. Jace Bohrofen | OF

Photo from csplusbaseball.ca

Year	Age	Team	AB	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2024	22	VAN	409	27	2	14	60	115	10	3	.254	.364	.433

Jace Bohrofen hails from Oklahoma City, OK and he could be a more-than-OK Blue Jay in the future. The All-American sophomore and junior hit up a storm in his high school days at Westmore High, batting .512 and .479 in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Unfortunately for Bohrofen, that was the end of his high school career as COVID entered the picture.

Bohrofen generated buzz for the MLB Draft in 2020 and there was speculation he could have been picked in the first three rounds after earning Under Armour and Perfect Game All-American honours and the Perfect Game Player of the Year Award. Instead, Bohrofen opted to attend the University of Oklahoma, following in the footsteps of his father Brent and his older brother Braxton. Brent spent two years in the St. Louis Cardinals system and was a former Hamilton Redbird while Braxton and Jace were briefly teammates with the Sooners in 2021. Jace batted .252 with two home runs and 18 runs batted in to land a spot on the Big-12 Conference All-Freshman team. He played summer ball in the Cape Cod League with the Falmouth Commodores where he slashed .279/.375/.504 with eight doubles, three triples and five home runs along with 19 RBI and eight stolen bases.

In 2022, Bohrofen transferred to the Arkansas Razorbacks where he hit just .228/.333/.435 with three homers and 17 RBI but things went much better in 2023. He slashed .318/.436/.612 with 15 doubles, 16 home runs, 52 RBI and seven stolen bases with the Sooners. 

After batting .276 with Falmouth in the Cape in 2023, the Blue Jays selected Bohrofen in the sixth round. Some draft observers were surprised he slipped that far in the draft.

Bohrofen's introduction could not have gone much better as he homered seven times in 24 games split between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Dunedin, with six of the dingers coming with the D-Jays. There was some thought Bohrofen was going to be called up to High-A Vancouver for its 2023 playoff run but he did not his passport.

Bohrofen did make it north of the border in 2024 and belted a home run in his first at-bat at Nat Bailey Stadium in a preseason game against the University of British Columbia. The home runs were tougher to come by for the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder as his first Northwest League dinger didn't come until May 15 in Spokane. He got on base at an excellent .460 clip in April but he struggled in May, June and July with batting averages of .221, .200 and .197 respectively.

Things turned around in August when he slashed .368/.434/.621 with six home runs and 24 RBI, resulting in a Northwest League Player of the Week award during the last week of the month. D.M. Fox of the Future Blue Jays Newsletter spoke to Jays farm director Joe Sclafani who attributed Bohrofen's success to an adjustment with his front foot. His good batting eye was a constant as his OBP was the third-highest in the Northwest League.

The left-handed hitting Bohrofen put just over half of his balls in play to the pull side with a nearly even split of 26-24 to center and right field according to FanGraphs. That tracks with his 2023 Baseball America scouting report of Bohrofen who says he had a 'pull-oriented approach that causes him to pull off the ball at times, and that has created issues specifically with contact against breaking stuff and changeups.' Bohrofen struck out nearly 24 percent of the time but the BABIP gods were kind as he had a .318 mark in 2024. Interestingly, he fared better against southpaws with an .821 OPS. Against northpaws, that mark was .786.

Defensively, Bohrofen made 59 starts in right field but also made 32 starts in center field. His lone error came in patrolling the eight spot but he did not look overmatched in the big grass when he filled in for an injured and later promoted Dasan Brown.

Double-A New Hampshire should be Bohrofen's baseball address to start 2025. He will turn 24 years old on October 19.

12. Khal Stephen | RHP

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Year	Age	Team	G	GS	IP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	K/9	ERA
2024	21	DNP	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.00

Khal Stephen was the Jays second-round pick in the 2024 draft. He was selected with the 59th pick, higher than his pre-draft ranking as the 122nd-best prospect. Like most pitchers drafted, he did not pitch after the draft. Stephen signed for $1.1M.

Stephen is from Illinois and initially played college baseball for Purdue. He transferred to Mississippi State for his third year and pitched well there to move up the draft boards. Stephen had also pitched in the Cape Cod League between his Purdue and Mississippi State seasons and had pitched well there. We know the Jays love selecting players who perform well on the Cape.

Stephen threw 96 innings for Mississippi State with a 3.28 ERA. He finished with a 27.9% strikeout rate and a 5.5% walk rate. Stephen is a right-handed pitcher and stands 6'4" and 215 pounds. In 2024, he had a curly "Bo Flow" under his hat.

Stephen is primarily a fastball, slider pitcher. The fastball averages 91-94. He also can throw a changeup and a curve. He will need at least one of those to be effective if he is to succeed as a starter.

Stephen is likely to start 2025 in the Dunedin rotation with a move to Vancouver in his sights for mid-season.

11. Fernando Perez | RHP

Photo from 8 Deportiva

Year	Age	Team	G	GS	IP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	K/9	ERA
2024	20	DUN	17	17	82.0	6.9	0.7	2.6	9.4	4.06

Fernando Perez is a 20 year-old Nicaraguan right-handed pitcher. Perez was an international sign in January 2022. He made 12 starts in the DSL in 2022 and then 10 starts in the Florida Complex League in 2023. The one-year-at-a-time progression sent him to Dunedin for 2024.

Perez had thrown 43 innings in 2022 and 49 in 2023 so he would be on an innings watch for 2024. The Jays handled this by having Perez throw 70 innings between April and June. He then pitched in the Futures Game in July and the Jays kind of shut him down after that. Perez threw 12 innings from mid-July through the end of the season.

In Dunedin, Perez improved his numbers each month through to the effective end of his season in June. His monthly ERA from April through June was 4.12, 3.81 and 2.86. Similarly, his WHIP went 1.17, 1.06 and 0.91. His ERA and WHIP were higher in the 12 innings in July and August but that was based on intermittent usage.

Perez is different from most pitchers at this level. Most prospects have excellent "stuff" but need to develop some ability to command those pitches. Perez does not have outstanding pitches but he has excellent control. He walks few hitters and gets them off balance by being able to throw four pitches for strikes. Perez throws a fastball at 91-94 mph. There are differing reports on the amount of movement on that pitch. He also throws a slider, a curve and a change-up.

Perez will be turning 21 before the season starts. He is listed at 6'3" and 170 lbs. Perez has room to add some bulk to his body and perhaps a few mph to his pitches. And that is the question for Perez. Can he develop his pitches to add more velocity and/or movement to make them better weapons to add to his excellent control?

Perez will face more advanced hitters in Vancouver in 2025.

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Join us tomorrow for the Top 10.