10. Charles McAdoo | 3B

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Charles McAdoo came over to the Blue Jays in July as part of the Isiah Kiner-Falefa trade. McAdoo, a 13th-round pick in 2023 by Pittsburgh out of San Jose State, is a California kid and bats from the right side.

After a slow start to his college career at San Jose, McAdoo broke out in 2023 including a big season in the Northwoods League, a wood bat league. He had a slow start to his draft year at San Jose but picked it up in the latter half of the season. That inconsistency will repeat as we will see.

McAdoo signed for $150,000 and was age 21 at draft time. The draft report on McAdoo noted his strength as a hitter but suggested he lacked athleticism in the field and could end up at second base or left field.

After the draft, McAdoo played 28 games for Bradenton in the Florida State League. He hit .302 with five home runs. For 2024, McAdoo headed to Greensboro in the South Atlantic League, a level equivalent to Vancouver. He played 60 games there, hitting .336 with a .976 OPS. That earned him a promotion to AA Altoona where he hit .269 in 27 games with an OPS of .837. In Altoona, he showed a decent eye at the plate, walking in 11% of his ABs with a 25% K rate. A dozen extra-base hits in those 27 games gave him a .221 isolated power number and his wRC+ in Altoona was 135. Everything was looking promising for the player with just one year of professional experience, but then came the trade to Toronto.

The Jays sent McAdoo to New Hampshire, the same league as he was playing in with Altoona. McAdoo went hitless in his first six games and never seemed to get on track. Basically everything went wrong in New Hampshire. His batting average dropped to .185. His walk rate went from 11% to under 10%. His strikeout rate went from 24% to 30%. His ISO dropped from .221 to .137 and his wRC+ from 135 to 79. What happened? Was it the league catching up to him? Was it the pressure of the trade? Did the bad start cause him to press? We don't know.

So where are we? Do the Jays have the Altoona version of McAdoo, the power hitting third baseman who will take a walk? Or do they have the New Hampshire version who doesn't look like a prospect? Evaluators are split on McAdoo. Geoff Pontes of Baseball America who lives in the Eastern League area and has seen McAdoo play, likes his bat but wonders if he can stick at third base. He suggested that BA would rank McAdoo in the 11-12 in their Top 30. FanGraphs is not a fan, suggesting that McAdoo's strikeout rate will become an issue. No doubt the latter half of 2024 was a shock to McAdoo. But he played in AA as a 22-year-old with just over one year of pro experience. He will turn 23 in spring training and he could learn from his 2024 and return in 2025 as an improved hitter. One final note, the Jays selected three college bats in the 2023 draft before McAdoo. None of them have reached AA. The best of them is Jace Bohrofen who spent the season in Vancouver. McAdoo has progressed further than them so it could be understandable that he has hit a road bump in his development.

2025 will be an interesting year for McAdoo and the Jays. Given McAdoo's struggles in New Hampshire, he will likely return there for 2025.

9. Kendry Rojas | LHP

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Kendry Rojas was a boss on the mound in 2024, when he was healthy.

His first professional start north of the border was a good one when he blanked Hillsboro over five shutout innings to get the win on April 10. However, a shoulder injury sidelined Rojas and he would not pitch again until making a rehab start with the Florida Complex League Blue Jays in late June and another with Low-A Dunedin in early July. Rojas returned to the C's roster and began to get things rolling on July 26. That's when he completed six innings of one-run ball, striking out seven without issuing a walk in an eventual win at Hillsboro. Catcher Robert Brooks spoke with C's Plus Baseball and said it was a joy to catch Rojas that night.

"Kendry and I only worked together once, but we got on the same page early. He has a really good feel for all of his pitches in all counts, and he's confident to throw all of them. That just makes my life easier. His ability on the mound is incredible and I can really see how he's going to succeed at every level he progresses to.

That outing marked the beginning of a nine-start stretch in which he completed at least six innings eight times. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound lefty limited Tri-City to two runs over six innings with nine strikeouts on August 2 and rang up 10 batters over seven innings of one-run ball to get a win versus Eugene on August 9. He then blanked host Spokane for seven shutout innings to record the victory on August 23.

Rojas finished up strong by allowing just a solo home run over six innings in which he struck out six but was saddled with a hard-luck loss against Eugene on September 6. He then put together a quality start in Game 3 of the Northwest League Championship Series at Spokane (6IP, 3R) in which he struck out nine. The Jays brass found a few more innings for Rojas by assigning him to Scottsdale of the Arizona Fall League.

The Ciego De Avila, Cuba native is a converted outfielder who signed as a free agent out of Cuba in October, 2020 for $215,000. Rojas made his pro debut with the Florida Complex League Jays in 2021 and had an eye-opening 39 strikeouts against five walks in 23-2/3 innings while posting an earned run average of 2.28. He finished with a flourish by winning FCL Pitcher of the Month honours in September.

In 2022, Rojas spent the majority of the year with the D-Jays where he logged just 40-2/3 innings but struck out 46 batters while walking 19. He missed June and July with a lat strain.

Rojas was back with Dunedin in 2023 and pitched 84 innings in which his K/BB total was 82-33 with a 3.75 ERA. He won the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week award with six no-hit innings to get the win in an eventual nine-inning no-no at Daytona on September 2.

The pitching repertoire for Rojas consists of an average to above-average four-seam fastball, an above-average slider and a fringe-average changeup to go along with average control on the 20-80 scouting scale. According to Baseball America, Rojas gained one mile per hour on his fastball and slider with his fastball solidly in the 93-94 range, sometimes flashing 97 on the Nat Bailey Stadium radar gun. However, take those readings with a grain of salt as a Blue Jays official says internal readings can be 1-2 MPH off in some cases. The slider clocks in the low 80s and the changeup is in the mid-80s range.

Rojas was able to deal with righthanded and lefthanded hitters effectively by checking them to batting averages of .238 and .232 respectively and he induced ground balls at a 46 percent rate according to FanGraphs, his highest mark.

No red flags have been raised about Rojas' delivery which is described as a whippy arm action with good arm speed from a low three-quarters slot.

The Blue Jays hope Rojas can crack the 100-inning mark in 2025 which will hopefully happen with Double-A New Hampshire. He will turn 23 years old on November 26.

8. Adam Macko | LHP

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Adam Macko had a successful 2024 where he continued to develop and made it to AAA.

Most fans are aware of Macko's back story at this point. Born in Slovakia, where he began to play baseball, moved to Ireland and finally Alberta. Macko was drafted by Seattle in the seventh round of the 2019 draft out of high school. After being drafted, he had to deal with some injuries, and when he was traded to the Jays in the Teoscar Hernández deal, he had never thrown more than 38 innings in a season.

Macko went to Vancouver in 2023 for his first season with the Jays. He had a very good season, making 20 starts and getting his innings total up to 86. He struck out 106 in those 86 innings and his one blemish was walking 40 hitters, and hitting eight more.

It was off to New Hampshire for Macko in 2024. He made four starts in April with a 3.15 ERA. Five starts in May had a 4.13 ERA. The higher ERA was down to one start with five runs allowed. Five more starts in June had a 5.60 ERA. Again, there was one bad start but several with three runs conceded in five or six innings. Macko made one July start before going on the IL for seven weeks. He returned in late August to make three starts for Dunedin, one in New Hampshire when he gave up six runs and a final start on September 17 in Buffalo where he gave up three runs in three innings.

A couple of things stand out from Macko's stat line. First, he had just one shutout in 17 starts above A-ball. He always seems to give up a run or two or three. He is a bit homer-prone, nine in 17 starts above A-ball. Also, he pitches worse than his FIP or WHIP. Between Vancouver and New Hampshire over the last two seasons, he has ERAs above 4.50. His FIP is almost a run lower. His WHIP was 1.35 in Vancouver and 1.22 in New Hampshire. This is despite a good strikeout rate although the walks are a little high. There is not a good explanation for his ERA to be higher than expected but it could be that he is prone to a big inning, possibly he is not as good out of the stretch. Or it could be bad luck. There is one other theory, Macko has been relatively wild all his career, grooving a pitch or two too many each start.

Macko can throw five pitches. For example, in his lone AAA start where we have Statcast data, he used a four-seam fastball just 14% of the time and a sinker 18 for a combined 33% for his fastballs. The slider use was 36%, the curve 20% and change 11%. His fastball sat around 92 mph with a high of 94. For a left-handed pitcher, that is a nice mix and the FB velocity could be OK with that mix, if he can command it.

It is hard to pin down exactly what the Jays have in Macko. On the positive side, he has five pitches, he is left-handed and has reached AAA at age 24. On the other hand, his ERAs are higher than you would like or expect. He will likely head to Buffalo for 2025 and his performance there should give a better picture of what to expect. If he can stay healthy, command his stuff and keep his ERA around four, he could be in line for a major league start.

7. Josh Kasevich | SS

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Josh Kasevich is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Jays system, he gets no respect. Most baseball players' performance declines as they jump a level but not Josh. He hit .262 in Dunedin in 2022, .284 in Vancouver in 2023 and .325 in Buffalo in 2024. His slugging has gone from .336 to .365 to .433. He is defying baseball norms.

Kasevich was a second-round pick in 2022 out of the University of Oregon. He had a stellar career in college before joining the Jays from a strong Oregon program. The pre-draft scouting report on Kasevich was that he had great bat control but not much power. While Kasevich has improved his batting average and slugging percentage. that great eye has dimmed a shade as he has jumped levels. In Dunedin, he walked more than he struck out. That flipped in New Hampshire in 2023, but it was a 10% walk rate to a 10.7% K rate which is still excellent. In AAA, the walk rate dropped to 8% and the K rate went up to 14.5%. Now 14.5% is still very good, one of the best in the Jays minor leagues. So it is fair to say that Josh has a very good eye at the plate. In Buffalo, Kasevich's bat was on fire, hitting .325, so he possibly didn't want to hang around for a walk. If you are seeing the ball well, just swing, baby!

Kasevich has a flattish swing, he hits the ball hard but he does hit a lot of ground balls. As shown above, he controls the zone well and makes good swing decisions. There are two "knocks" on Kasevich. One is the lack of power, the modern game looks for every player to have home run potential. Kasevich hit six in 2024 between AA and AAA. Secondly, as a hitter who keeps the ball on the ground, will the better major league infielders turn minor league ground ball hits into major league ground ball outs?

Kasevich is a good shortstop, rated as the best in the minor league system by Baseball America. He played one game at second base last season but was mostly at short. His arm has been called fringy, he should stick at short but also become a utility guy covering second and shortstop.

The Jays have plenty of competition at shortstop. Besides Bo Bichette and newly acquired Andrés Giménez, Leo Jiménez showed he can play in the major leagues last season. Kasevich will probably head back to Buffalo next season and wait on a Bo Bichette resolution.

6. Jake Bloss | LHP

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Jake Bloss joined the Jays in July as a part of the Yusei Kikuchi trade. At the time of the trade, Bloss had had a meteoric rise from being drafted to debuting in the major leagues in under one year. Bloss had been drafted in the third round in 2023 from Georgetown. He signed for $500,000, less than the pick value of $680,000. Bloss was a senior sign which explains his under-slot signing. Bloss completed his degree in economics and mathematics. He finished that in three years and went on to pursue a master's degree in Finance. He and Alan Roden, another big student, could have some interesting discussions.

Bloss is from Greensboro, NC. After the draft, he threw 18 innings across the Complex League and the Carolina League. To start 2024, Bloss went to Asheville in the South Atlantic League where he made four starts. He struck out 25 in 17 innings with a 2.08 ERA so the Astros moved him up to AA Corpus Christie. He made eight starts there with a 1.61 ERA. His strikeouts dropped to 35 in 44 innings but hitters had just 19 hits and a .127 batting average.

At this time, Houston had a lot of pitcher injuries so on June 21, Bloss was called up to make his first major league start. He went 3.2 innings against Baltimore and was charged with two runs on six hits. After the game, he was placed on the IL with shoulder discomfort. He came back after 15 days and made a rehab start with Sugarland in AAA. That went well so he was recalled to start against Miami on July 11th. That start went OK, with two runs allowed over four innings. He did not pitch again until July 23rd, with the All-Star break in between. He faced Oakland and it didn't go well. He was taken deep four times in four innings. Six days later he was a Blue Jay.

Bloss was assigned to Buffalo with thoughts that he could get a look in Toronto before the end of the season. His first three starts went well, 9.2 innings, no runs allowed on six hits. Then he had a bad start, eight runs allowed to Durham in less than two innings. The next start was another four-inning shutout. But in his last three starts, he was hit a lot...12 innings, 15 runs, 16 hits.

What happened in Buffalo? It was the end of his first pro season and tiredness could have been an issue. It was also an eventful year so that could also take a toll. Or the Jays could have been tinkering with something? We don't know. But evaluators still believe in him.

Bloss is 6'3" and throws from a three-quarters arm slot. Bloss's success is built on his five-pitch mix, a four-seam fastball with a cutter, slider, changeup and sinker. Baseball America says Bloss's fastball sits 93-95. Per Baseball Savant, he averaged 93.4 in MLB. All of his pitches have good movement.

Bloss will probably head back to Buffalo to start 2025. If he pitches well, he could be first in line for a call-up.

5. Ricky Tiedemann | LHP

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You cannot talk about Ricky Tiedemann without talking about injuries. In the three-and-a-half years since he was drafted, Tiedemann has thrown 158 innings for an average of less than 50 per season. His annual totals have dropped from 78 to 44 to 17. All those injuries lead to the following questions...Can he stay healthy and can he survive as a starting pitcher? Relief pitchers are less valuable than starting pitchers so if it is expected that Tiedemann will end up in the bullpen, it lowers his prospect ranking. Remember the most important ability for a starting pitcher is availability. Ricky has not had it so far.

There is not much to see in Tiedemann's 2024 performances. He started the season in Buffalo and threw just eight innings before going on the IL. He then went on the IL until June. He made one start in the Complex League and three for Dunedin before returning to Buffalo on July 10th. He lasted just one inning. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that he was going to have Tommy John surgery. He had the surgery on July 30th, meaning it is 50/50 as to whether he pitches in 2025.

Although Tiedemann was once recognized universally as the Blue Jays number-one prospect, he was only a third-round selection in 2021, selected at number 91 overall. All 30 teams passed on him at least twice. And then he signed for an under-slot deal! Something happened between the draft and Tiedemann pitching professionally where he added several MPH to his fastball. If that had happened a month earlier, he would have been picked much higher in the draft.

Tiedemann throws from the left and has a lower arm slot. His fastball sits in the mid-to-high 90s, 94-97 mph. He complements the fastball with a slider that moves a lot horizontally and a changeup. There has always been some concern that Tiedemann's delivery could make it difficult for him to have enough command of his pitches to be successful as a starting pitcher. We will have to see if the surgery changes anything.

As mentioned, it will be a close call as to whether Tiedemann gets on the field in 2025. The AFL could be a possible option to get him some innings before 2026. Tiedemann's recovery from surgery will determine next steps. The Jays would probably like to have Tiedemann continue as a starting pitcher. That looks like it will be a 2026 decision.

4. Alan Roden | OF

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The story of Alan Roden in 2024 revolves around his swing. In 2022 and 2023, Roden started his at-bats with his bat high above his head. While that was successful, Roden changed it coming into 2024, I assume, based on some feedback from the Jays hitting team. Roden's setup was obviously different in 2024 spring training and his setup was more "normal" with the bat around his shoulders. When the season started, that new approach did not work as well for Roden as his old swing did. In New Hampshire, Roden hit .282 in April but dropped to .240 in May. Even though he had not replicated his 2023 form, Roden was promoted to Buffalo on June 15th.

Roden had a rough first six weeks in Buffalo. On July 27th, he was hitting under .200 after 90 at-bats. But that day, something changed. Roden had two hits on July 27th and two more on the 28th and 30th. He went back to a higher-hand setup, not quite as high as his 2023 level but higher than his spring training setup. He also changed how his feet set up in the box prior to the pitch. In an interview, Roden said that he also had been pressing and chasing off the plate. We can't be sure that his improved performance was due to one or all of these issues, but for one reason or another, his performance took a jump at the end of July and he had two months of knocking the cover off the ball.

Roden grew up in Wisconsin and comes from an intellectual family. Roden has said he went to college to get a degree in Physics and baseball was a sideline. Most baseball players declare for the draft after their junior year of college but that was never on the table for Roden, he was intent on completing his degree in Physics. That is not a degree you can just breeze through while concentrating on baseball. Because of that, Roden was a year older when he was drafted in the third round in 2022. He played as a 24-year-old in 2024 and will be 25 entering the 2025 season.

In addition to his ability to hit for average, Roden has an excellent eye at the plate. He will take a walk and has a low strikeout rate. He walked more than he struck out in 2022 and 2023 and in 2024, he walked 64 times and struck out 75. He walked more than he struck out in Buffalo in September. One of the reasons the Jays tried to change his swing was to let Roden tap into more power. He had one home run in 2022. That increased to 10 in 2023 and 16 in 2024. It's less power than you would expect from a corner outfielder but Roden would probably be good for 20 a year in the major leagues.

Roden is a good outfielder with an above-average arm. He could line up to be a George Springer replacement eventually. Roden will likely return to Buffalo for 2025. The Jays have suggested Daulton Varsho will not be ready for Opening Day. That leaves a short-term opening for someone. Could it be Roden?

3. Trey Yesavage | RHP

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Trey Yesavage was the Jays first-round pick in the 2024 draft. Like most drafted pitchers, he did not pitch for the Jays after being drafted. Yesavage was expected to be a Top-10 selection in the draft but fell to the Jays at number 20. It was never clear why he fell to the Jays but it could have been related to him being hospitalized with a collapsed lung late in the college baseball season. A collapsed lung is not an injury that is common in baseball and front offices could have been concerned with it. Another concern could be that Yesavage was hitting 96 mph in high school. Throwing that hard at a young age could be a predictor of a future Tommy John surgery.

Yesavage went to East Carolina University and spent his first season in the bullpen. He became a starter in his second season and the staff ace in his third. Yesavage was then drafted by the Jays as a 21-year-old for $4.2M. He is listed at 6'4"and 225 pounds. He throws from the right side.

Yesavage has an over-the-top delivery with good downward plane on his pitches. His fastball sits in the 93-95 mph range. He also has a good slider which he throws to righties and a splitter he uses against lefties. He also has a curveball which has been called a clear fourth pitch.

Yesavage could start in either Dunedin or Vancouver in 2025. Because he hasn't pitched professionally yet, Dunedin would be an easier start for him. Or the Jays could challenge him with an assignment to Vancouver. He is hoping to join newly acquired righthander and fellow East Carolina Pirate Jeff Hoffman with the Jays in the near future.

2. Orelvis Martinez | 2B

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Coming into 2024, Orelvis Martinez looked to be in a good place. Orelvis had always been rated highly as a prospect but some of the shine had gone off his star in 2022 when he hit .203 in New Hampshire. After a slow start, Orelvis broke out in New Hampshire in mid-2023 and earned a promotion to Buffalo where he had an OPS of .847. For 2024, the plan was to continue hitting well in Buffalo and earn a promotion to the major leagues. That plan worked, for a while.

On June 18th, Orelvis did get his call to the major leagues. He played on June 21, getting his first major league hit. Two days later, news came that Orelvis was being suspended for 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The dream turned into a nightmare. The suspension was actually less than 80 games as the Jays were allowed to send Orelvis to Buffalo on a rehab assignment in September. He was later optioned to Buffalo and in total was able to play 11 games in September.

Where does this leave Orelvis? He did lose half a season of playing time which is not good, but Orelvis played as a 22-year-old in 2024, he has plenty of development time left to get better. This will have hurt Orelvis' standing within the Jays front office but at the end of the day, performance counts. If he hits, the front office will forgive him. What about the home runs? Will the lack of PEDs hurt his power? This is an unknown but I don't think it will hurt his power. First, much of Orelvis's power comes from his bat speed. Orelvis has always been a power hitter and I assume Orelvis has been drug tested previously. I see this as something that happened for a shorter period of time, perhaps as Orelvis claimed for fertility reasons. In summary, I don't foresee a difference and he is ranked accordingly.

Orelvis had a 150 wRC+ in rookie ball at age 17. After missing 2020 due to Covid, he went to Dunedin in 2021 and had a 149 wRC+. That earned him a late season call-up to Vancouver where he hit nine home runs in 27 games, although the home runs took the attention away from a .214 batting average and 22% K rate. The Jays surprised by sending him to New Hampshire in 2022, where he had a very disappointing season as pitchers exploited his free-swinging tendencies. He struggled to start 2023, but then he began to show more discipline at the plate. In short order, he went from a free swinger to one that showed more plate discipline. That trend continued until his promotion to Buffalo in mid-July. Orelvis was promoted to Buffalo on July 17. His OPS was .847 in AAA. Around 50% of his hits went for extra bases.

Orelvis got off to a hot start in 2024. He hit .310 in April with a 1.103 OPS including seven home runs. His numbers dipped in May, he had a 30% strikeout rate and just hit .205. He bounced back in June, hitting .291 with an OPS of .898. That earned him his promotion.

Batted ball data showed small improvements in his batted ball profile in 2024. His AAA K rate improved from 26.8% to 23.8%. His walk rate dropped by 2%, partially offsetting this. His ISO power improved from .244 to .256.

Defense reports on Orelvis are not great. He played mostly second base in Buffalo with plenty of time at third base added in. The Jays seem to have settled as second base as the best spot for him but it wouldn't be a surprise if he also got some at-bats in left field.

Orelvis is likely to be back in Buffalo next April. He was deemed to be major-league ready in 2024 and if he can make a few more small improvements in his plate discipline, his power and his fielding, he could be a very valuable major leaguer. Remember, he will still be just 23 next season.

1. Arjun Nimmala | SS

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Arjun Nimmala was the Jays first-round pick, 20th overall, in the 2023 draft. He got off to a slow start in 2023 and in April and May of 2024 but after some tweaks to his swing, he emerged to show his potential in the second half of 2024. Nimmala is the highest-drafted player with an Indian background, his parents emigrated from India to Florida in the early 2000s just before Arjun was born. Nimmala had played cricket when he was younger but switched to baseball. He thrived at baseball, living in the Tampa area, and won several awards at the state and county level.

Nimmala was one of the youngest players in the draft. He was 17 when he was drafted and played 2024 as an 18-year-old. Nimmala is 6'1" and is listed at 170 lbs, a good size for a shortstop.

Nimmala's bat is his major strength. He has a quick bat and big hands. This bat speed helps him generate plus power. He also has a strong arm and enough range to handle shortstop.

Nimmala was assigned to Dunedin to start the season. It did not go well. In just over 100 at-bats, Nimmala hit just .156 and struck out 43 times. His swing had a bat wrap and he was selling out to pull the ball, making him vulnerable to pitches on the outside corner. The Jays transferred him to the Development Complex on May 14th where he remained for three weeks. He came back to the Complex League on June 3rd. He played eight games there, hitting .238, but he was walking more than he was hitting and he needed to go to Dunedin to be challenged.

Back in the FSL, he had at least one hit in his first seven games back. But it was not all smooth sailing; he didn't have too many hits in the second half of July. But August was a big month, with a .296 batting average, five home runs, seven doubles and a triple. That made for a .871 OPS. He still would strike out, although his K rate dropped from 40% in July to 30% in August. September was another good month, with an OPS of .976.

Nimmala is a toolsy, young player who has tremendous power. Another hitter with great power is Orelvis Martinez, who hit 19 home runs in Dunedin in 2021 with a .279 BA and a .972 OPS. In the second half of the 2024 season, Nimmala hit 13 home runs with an .895 OPS and a .265 BA. His numbers are slightly behind Orelvis' but Orelvis was 19 in Dunedin, Nimmala 18. They are comparable, except that, as of now, Nimmala is expected to remain at shortstop. Nimmala will likely start 2025 in Vancouver.

And that's it, we hope you enjoyed it. Big thanks to #2JBrumfield, aka Niall O'Donohoe, aka C's Plus, for being the other half of the Top-30 dynamic duo.

#2JB here! A million thanks to Gerry McDonald who may be on the injured list by carrying a large share of this year's Top 30 on his back. Hopefully he will be ready for Spring Training! ;D Gerry was an innings-eater this year. I feel like all I had to go was get the final out with a 20-run lead. Thanks a million for reading, Bauxites!!