The Toronto Blue Jays announced the 16 non-roster players who will participate in big league Spring Training next month. Five pitchers (four RHP, one LHP), three catchers, five infielders, and three outfielders were selected.
Of the group, five were not with the club at the start of last year, with most being acquired at the 2024 trade deadline while Myles Straw was added just last week after being acquired from the Cleveland Guardians.
Let’s take a look at three players fans should keep an eye on this spring.
Alan Roden – OF
At the start of last winter, the Blue Jays lacked depth in their outfield. Following the trade deadline, they added some players to beef up the group – Joey Loperfido, Jonatan Clase, Yohendrick Pinango, and RJ Schreck – and all joined in alongside the top-ranked outfield prospect in the system, Alan Roden.
Roden has bull-rushed his way up the Blue Jays’ pipeline since his draft year. The former third-round pick out of Creighton University started in single-A to finish the 2022 season and made his way all the way to triple-A Buffalo last year. Through 125 games, almost a 50/50 split between double-A New Hampshire and Buffalo, Roden slashed .293/.391/.475 with 26 doubles, 75 RBIs and a career-high 16 home runs. He also posted a .865 OPS while collecting a 136 wRC+ and generating a 12.1% walk rate and a 14.2% strikeout rate. Defensively, Roden split his time between the corner outfield spots and collected nine outfield assists with just two errors.
Alan Roden hit .317 with an .890 OPS to climb up our prospect rankings in ‘23 👀
His first spring at-bat was a 3-run double! pic.twitter.com/AGmsubNPb1
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) February 25, 2024
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While the competition for spots in the outfield is more dense compared to last winter, Roden still is on track to make an impact at the big league level in 2025. This will be his third foray into big league Spring Training, as he suited up in four games in 2023 and 11 games in 2024, collecting six hits, one double, and two home runs with four walks through 30 at-bats.
The club’s #12 ranked prospect at the end of last year saw some solid offensive results after tweaking his stance heading into the 2024 season and is knocking on the big league doors this year. It’s been quite some time since the Jays had an outfield prospect reach the Major Leagues and grab hold of a spot on the roster, but if there was one player to put your chips on, Roden is the likely candidate.
Mason Fluharty – LHP
Similar to Roden, left-hander Mason Fluharty is also knocking on the big league doors and has been a consistent name on the Blue Jays top-30 prospect list since being drafted by the Jays out of Liberty Univeristy in 2022.
A reliever through and through, Fluharty handled high-A Vancouver well following the draft and impressed even more when he returned in 2023, allowing just seven hits and one earned run through 15 1/3 innings. This prompted a call-up to double-A where he faced some adversity, authoring a 4.25 ERA through 42 1/3 innings with a slight uptick in his walk numbers (3.8 BB/9). The Blue Jays decided to further test Fluharty in triple-A to begin the 2024 season and while he had a couple of rough outings in early April, the Delaware product settled in nicely and was consistent out of the Bisons bullpen the rest of the way.
Through a career-high 67 innings, Fluharty pitched to a 3.63 ERA and posted a 1.179 WHIP through 56 appearances, the most of any Bisons reliever last year. He collected a 10.2 K/9 with his 76 punchouts and limited the walks to a 3.4 BB/9 mark while seeing action late in games, finishing 19 with three saves mixed in as well.
After further review, it’s a perfect first career Triple-A inning for Mason Fluharty.
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout looking@BlueJays | @MLBPipeline pic.twitter.com/QHl99es7kq— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) March 30, 2024
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Fluharty joins a crop of left-handers looking to occupy what appears to be one open spot in the bullpen (barring further additions) and the Jays currently only have one reliever looking like a lock for Opening Day who throws from the left side in Brendon Little. Using his three-pitch mix – cutter, sweeper, and a four-seam fastball – Fluharty will be looking to earn a spot while trying to fend off fellow southpaws Easton Lucas, Josh Walker, Richard Lovelady, and Eric Lauer, as well as a host of other right-handers, to claim a spot in the bullpen. Should he start the year in triple-A, a strong opening with Buffalo will put him on the shortlist to Toronto, as he won’t have much left to prove down in the Minors. This will be his second stint in big league Spring Training, having posted a 4.91 ERA through seven appearances last year, collecting one save while striking out 12.
Charles McAdoo – 3B/OF
Acquired at the 2024 trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Pirates, this will be Charles McAdoo’s first Spring Training with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The third baseman was drafted in the 13th round by the Pirates in 2023 and has been hitting his way up the minor league ladder, starting the 2024 season in high-A Greensboro before being promoted to double-A Altoona roughly a month before the trade to Toronto. After joining the Blue Jays, McAdoo spent the rest of the season in double-A New Hampshire.
McAdoo found a lot more success under the Pirates and struggled to find the barrel to the bat under the Jays, as the right-handed hitting power bat authored a .186/.287/.323 slash line with six doubles, three home runs, and 15 RBIs to the tune of a .609 OPS. He also had some tough times at the hot corner, posting a .926 fielding percentage with four errors committed through 224 1/3 innings.
However, despite the tough finish to the year, there is a lot like McAdoo’s bat and overall projection in the Jays farm system. The eighth-ranked prospect via MLB Pipeline stands tall on the right side of the batter’s box and has a patient approach at the plate, which paired with his quick hands, has turned him into a real power threat at the plate – evidenced by his 17 home runs last year collectively. While he may not be fit for third base moving forward – a move to right field or first base, both positions he has toyed with, likely in the cards – it will be his bat that is his calling card at the end of the day.
Of the group, McAdoo is likely the longest shot of the bunch to reach the Majors this season but fans have seen what a hot bat in triple-A can do, especially if the Blue Jays are struggling to find production (ala Spencer Horwitz 2.0). McAdoo might return for a quick trip to double-A after the rough end to the 2024 season but should see lots of time in Buffalo this season, which puts him in the running for a late-season call-up if the bat continues to play. He has one Spring Training at-bat from last year with the Pirates.
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