This is an interesting group, with two former top prospects whose star has faded but whose tools demand another chance and two less heralded players who are performing their way up the organizational ranks.
2025: Full List and Index | 13-16 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40
2024: Full List and Index | 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-12 | 13-16 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-28 | 29-32 | 33-36 | 37-40
16. Ryan Jennings, RHP, age 25/26 (DOB: 6/23/1999), grade: 35+, 2024: 35th
Jennings was the Blue Jays’ 2022 fourth round pick out of Louisiana Tech. He popped up in his draft spring after a move to the bullpen allowed him to run his fastball up into the mid-90s and touch 99mph. He had success as a starter in A ball in 2023 but an elbow injury cost him three months. In 2024, he moved to A+ Vancouver and continued to succeed, although another nagging injury shelved him for a month. He was promoted to AA New Hampshire late in the year and moved to the bullpen, where he posted a 12:4 strikeout to walk ratio in 10 innings.
As we saw in his appearances this spring, the improvement in Jennings’ fastball has stuck in short stints. It sits 94-96 and can touch 98 out of the bullpen, although it’s more 93-94 when he goes longer. It has average vertical ride but excellent arm side run and generates a lot of weak contact. His primary swing and miss weapon is a gyro slider around 87mph, and he also has a mid-80s changeup with nice vertical separation from his fastball and a short downer curve around 83mph. None of these pitches are clearly plus, but it’s a deep arsenal of pitches that are average or half a grade better. He has feel to locate all four, although his efforts to draw chases have lead to slightly worse than average walk rates.
I think Jennings still has a shot to work himself into being a back end starter if he can overcome his elbow issue. Matt argues that they should give that up and just let him become a weapon in the bullpen. If that’s the path, with his higher end velocity and feel he has everything he needs to develop into a setup guy. His role coming out of camp will tell us which future the Blue Jays intend to pursue. At almost 26, he’s aging off the list and will need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this winter if the organization sees a significant future for him.
15. Enmanuel Bonilla, OF, age 19 (DOB: 1/22/2006), grade: 35+, 2024: 10th
The $4.1m bonus Bonilla received was the highest in the January 2023 International Free Agent Class. That summer, he had a decent run in the Dominican Summer League, striking out at a 24% clip but taking his walks and flashing major power. 2024 was a disaster, though. In the Florida Complex League Bonilla swung at everything and usually missed. He struck out almost 36% of the time, rarely walked, and although the prodigious power is still there he couldn’t connect enough to really get to it.
Bonilla is listed at 6’1” and 180lbs and looks like he’ll fill out to be larger than that. He’s already got average raw power, and there’s the potential for it to get to 70 on the 20-80 scale as he matures. His swing is geared to pull the ball and should be able to elevate it (although because of poor contact he hits a lot of grounders right now), which could make him a 30+ home run threat if the hit tool comes through. He was reported as one of the more advanced hitters in the class when he signed, but last year’s results show that he’ll need to revamp his approach and maybe his swing to hit enough for his power to play.
Defensively, Bonilla is a solid average runner with a strong arm. He’s played almost exclusively centre field so far, but is likely to lose a step as he fills in and move to right.
We’re largely giving Bonilla a mulligan on last season. He was a barely 18 year old in a new environment and things clearly got away from him. The physical tools that made him a top prospect in his international class are still there. It’s hard to give up on his kind of power because if the hitting comes even a little it could carry him to stardom. Another year of failure and that will become a distant dream, though.
14. Brandon Barriera, LHP, age 21 (DOB: 3/4/2004), grade: 35+, 2024: 6th
Last year, we closed our blurb on the Jays’ 2022 first round pick with this: “it’s likely next year Barriera’s expected value and ranking is either significantly higher, or significantly lower.” Well.
After a strong spring, Barriera pitched just 1.1 innings last season before being shut down with elbow soreness. Unlike in 2023, when he appeared to have successfully rehabbed the issue, he underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery at the end of April. MLB Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra reports that he’s been on a throwing progression in minor league camp this spring and is on track to see game action in June.
At this point, Barriera will be three full calendar years into his pro career before he reaches the 50 innings pitched mark. There’s a good chance that the stuff that got him taken 23rd overall comes back intact, and reports are that he’s overcome the conditioning issues that marred his debut. Before the injuries, when he was on, he could flash two plus pitches in his fastball and slider, and his change up was advanced for a high school pitcher and projected as another above average weapon. That’s the arsenal of a #2 starter if the command is there to harness it.
It’s become harder to imagine him holding up to a starter’s workload, though, and the lost development time will make it harder for him to overcome the command issues that he showed in the brief look we got at him. For that reason we’ve cut way back on the odds that he produces top end value. It’s certainly possible that Barriera proves us wrong. Working himself back up to something like full starts by the end of the year and displaying progress will be key.
13. Adrian Pinto, 2B, age 22 (DOB: 9/22/2002), grade: 35+, 2024: 29th
It’s hard to know what to do with Pinto. He was acquired from the Rockies in the Randal Grichuk/Raimel Tapia trade just one year after signing out of Venezuela for a modest bonus. Not an auspicious beginning, although the Rockies letting a real prospect slip through their hands as filler in a minor trade would be on brand. The limitations are also obvious. Pinto is 5’6” and listed at 156lbs. He’s been hurt basically every season of his career, managing just 455 PAs in three regular seasons in the Blue Jays organization.
You can’t, at a certain point, overlook a .330/.378/.573 slash line mostly in High A, though. Whenever he’s on the field Pinto hits. He begins from a deep crouch and his swing is a whole-body affair with a stride and rotation that allows him to get everything out of his minimal raw power. In spite of that, he’s able to remain under control and make a good amount of contact. His approach was very aggressive this year, but he kept his swing and miss in check, and his swing decisions are mostly good. Assigned to the Arizona Fall League for more work this past October, he walked more often than he struck out.
An above average runner, Pinto is a base stealing threat. He has good range and hands in the infield and while he probably lacks the arm for short he should be a plus defender at second. He’s also gotten looks in centre occasionally and has the speed to profile.
Lack of power puts a cap on Pinto’s ceiling, but if everything comes together he could be a plus hit, plus glove second baseman who racks up doubles and adds value on the bases. Getting there will require him to put together a healthy season, and for his swing to continue to hold up against advanced pitching. He’s aced every test except the health one to date.