Welcome to the Blue Jays Top 30 list for another year. It is the 22nd edition of the Top 30. This years top 30 is a tale of two not quite halves. The top of the list is impressive but the bottom three quarters has a lot of maybe's and what-if's. Here are the fist ten of those questionable prospects.

30. JR Freethy | 2B/OF

Photo from csplusbaseball.ca

“All Right Now, baby, it’s all right now”. That is a good way to sum up 2025 for JR Freethy. What’s his game? Getting on base, as evidenced by a .395 on-base percentage over his two-year professional career.

In a chat with C’s Plus Baseball, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Freethy was asked about how he developed a good batting eye.

“It’s mostly, I would say, natural ability. Since I was a young kid, like, BP (batting practice) throwers didn’t like throwing to me. Like, my coaches would get mad at me because I’d only swing at the good pitches, right? Like the strikes. So I think it’s always kind of been there. But you know, you learn to see shapes and different spins, and I think that’s something, like I said, in college you definitely learn as well.”

The Toronto Blue Jays drafted the switch-hitting utilityman in round 14 of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Nevada and received a signing bonus of $150,000. That convinced Freethy not to join the University of Georgia for the 2025 campaign after entering the transfer portal.

The Walnut Creek, California native attended Nevada after starring at Granite Bay High School just outside of Sacramento. A UCL tear in his right elbow limited Freethy to just eight games in his freshman season of 2022. The jumping-off point for Freethy was a turn in summer college ball with the Macon Bacon in 2023, as he put together a hitting line of 287/.374/.478 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 14 extra-base hits, 25 runs batted in and seven stolen bases in 34 games. That led to a spectacular junior season in Reno in 2024 as he finished just six points shy of a 1.000 OPS thanks to 10 home runs among 31 extra-base hits in 51 games. Freethy walked more than he struck out with 35 walks against 31 whiffs.

Freethy began his pro career in Dunedin and managed to collect his first home run, an inside-the-park job to drive in the winning run against Tampa near the end of the season.

He was back with Dunedin to begin 2025, and disaster literally struck as he was hit in the face with a line drive while playing center field in a game against Dayton in early May. At the time of his injury, Freethy was tied for first in the Florida State League with 21 runs scored and was second in the circuit with 22 walks. After rehabbing at the Florida Complex League in June, Freethy was back with the D-Jays on July 2 and started to lift his batting average by hitting .281 for the month.

In early August, Freethy was promoted to Vancouver and had two hits in his first game with the C’s. He then had a week to remember in Spokane by capturing Northwest League Player of the Week honours for August 11-17. He batted .458 with a home run among seven extra-base hits and he drove in eight runs at Spokane in six games. Freethy was promoted to New Hampshire after Vancouver’s season was done, and he hit his first Double-A home run to drive in the winning run against Chesapeake in the Fisher Cats season finale.

A San Francisco Giants fan growing up, he decided to become a switch-hitter after watching Angel Pagan bat both ways. A lefthanded batter starting out, Freethy spoke about the challenges of maintaning both swings.

“I feel like my right-handed swing usually just needs a few tweaks to get it going, whereas the routine’s a little bit longer on the left-handed side to get it going. So it’s kind of a blessing there.”

The numbers bear that out as Freethy had an OPS of .811 versus lefthanded pitchers as compared to a .741 mark against righthanders. His line drive rate between Dunedin and Vancouver was in the 24-25 percent range according to FanGraphs but two things jump out at you. One was his pull rate as he pulled the ball over 52 percent of the time with Dunedin, nearly 17 percent more than his pull rate with Vancouver. He was using the opposite field nearly 37 percent of the time in Vancouver, an increase of 12 percent from Dunedin.

Defensively, Freethy played more second base than the outfield with Dunedin but he made more starts in left field than second base with Vancouver and all four of his starts in Double-A New Hampshire were also on the big grass, including one start in right field. He handled all 33 of his chances at second base with the C’s and showed decent enough range there while committing three errors in left.

Freethy could return to Vancouver in 2026 before getting more exposure to Double-A ball in New Hampshire. He will turn 25 year on December 3.

29. Javen Coleman | LHP

Photo from csplusbaseball.ca

Maybe the Toronto Blue Jays will get one over on the Los Angeles Dodgers when it comes to Javen Coleman. The Sherman, Texas native was taken by the Dodgers in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Louisiana State University but opted to return to the Tigers for his redshirt junior year in 2024. 2024. Coleman had Tommy John surgery in 2022 and was limited to just six innings that year. When he returned to the Tigers in April of 2023, Coleman struck out 21 batters while walking 16 and got to celebrate a College World Series title with Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews. After going 3-1 with a 5.19 earned run average with a 28-21 K/BB total in 26 innings in 2024 at LSU, the Blue Jays signed the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Coleman as a free agent that July.

Coleman’s professional debut was pushed back to 2025 with Dunedin and he was the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week in his first week as a pro thanks to nine punchouts in 4⅓ shutout innings over a couple of appearances. On May 6, Coleman authored an Immaculate Inning at Fort Myers. He earned a promotion to Vancouver in late June, which came about after fellow hurler Colby Martin was traded to the Miami Marlins just one day after his Northwest League debut. Coleman took advantage and adapted very well to life in the Northwest League, winning another Pitcher of the Week award with 5⅓ innings of no-hit ball, striking out nine and walking one. His ERA rose to 2.08 halfway past July but it remained below 2.00 the rest of the way. Coleman’s first nine outings were of the multi-strikeout variety and he ended the year with seven consecutive scoreless appearances.

In an interview with C’s Plus Baseball, Coleman says he throws a four-seam fastball that touches around 94 miles per hour along with a splitter and a slider in the low 80s. He said his splitter began to take shape prior to the 2025 season.

“I knew I had to come into spring training with something a little bit sharper, something a little bit more consistent, because that was something I was kind of struggling with coming off of Tommy John. So, I actually went to Tread (Tread Athletics), worked with Tread on some pitch design and pitch analysis and whatnot, and ended up just figuring out this splitter grip. And it has just been the most consistent off-speed pitch I’ve been able to throw, and I just was really comfortable with it, and I just stuck with it.”

Coleman also described his delivery as being athletic.

“I just try to get in my legs well, and it just kind of sets up where my arm is. I would say I’m a lower slot guy, so it helps my fastball gets a little deception. Looks like it carries up. I know my release height is at, like, about 5’5″, so it gives me a good angle to come at hitters from both the left and the right side.”

Even more encouraging was Coleman’s FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) mark for 2025 was 2.46, 54 points lower than his 3.00 ERA.

Coleman should begin 2026 at Double-A Hampshire. He will turn 25 on December 3.

28. Blaine Bullard | OF

Photo from @AriA1exander

Blaine Bullard had a strong 225 high school season in the Houston area and was named the #151 prospect by Baseball America. That set him up to be a 3rd to 5th round pick. Bullard had committed to attend Taxes A&M so he would have to get a sizeable payday to not go to college. The Blue Jays picked him in the 12th round and saved enough money elsewhere in the draft to offer him $1.7M, easily the second highest amount they offered to any of their draft picks.

So what convinced the Jays to open their purse strings? Bullard is described as very athletic, quick twitch in scouts words. He is a switch hitting centre fielder with very good contact skills and a ton of speed. He can spray the ball around the field from both sides of the plate. He doesn't have a lot of power at the moment but that could come in time.

Bullard was 18 when drafted but turned 19 later in the year. He will start in the complex league as he gets used to the better opposition. .

27. Jackson Hornung | 1B/OF

Photo from csplusbaseball.ca

A three-sport athlete in high school, Division III product Jackson Hornung enjoyed his best season as a pro in year three.

A defenceman in hockey and a quarterback and free safety in football, baseball was Hornung’s sport of choice at Ashland High School in his hometown of Ashland, Massachusetts, where he batted well over .400 in his three seasons on the varsity.

Saratoga Springs, New York was Hornung’s next stop as he joined Division III Skidmore College. He went off to the races with the Thoroughbreds where he had an outstanding four-year career that saw him bat .430/.540/.735 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 57 extra-base hits and 28 stolen bases in 31 attempts over 98 games. Those numbers could have been higher had his 2020 freshman season not been cut short by COVID when he played just seven games. The 2022 and 2023 Liberty League Player of the Year made 56 appearances as a catcher but also saw time at first base, left field, right field and shortstop.

Division I Kansas State was to be Hornung’s next stop in 2024 after entering the transfer portal but he would not put on a Wildcats uniform. Instead, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound righthanded hitter was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft, agreeing to a $150,000 signing bonus. He headed to Dunedin where he singled in his first plate appearance but hit just .143 over 17 games, making 14 starts behind the plate.

The 2024 season saw Hornung spend the entire year in Vancouver and batted .267 in April but endurance three toughs months in a row, hitting just .211 in July. He turned up the heat with a .326 batting average and a .478 slugging percentage in August to help him raise his BA by 27 points.

You would think a team-leading 105 hits in 112 games and a Northwest League All-Star berth as a catcher would be enough for Hornung to make the C’s Opening Night Lineup in 2025 but he would be placed on the Development List instead. When he returned on April 18, he would only be in front of home plate instead of behind it as he played at first base and in left field, where he made a number of highlight reel catches in left at Nat Bailey Stadium. However, Hornung’s bat did all the talking. After opening the year with a four-game hitting streak and a seven-game on-base streak, he batted .324 and slugged .479 in May and that led to a promotion to New Hampshire in late June.

Hornung’s Double-A career began with a nine-game hitting streak and was hitting .311 at the end of July before tailing off in August. Still, he boosted his ISO (isolated power) by 50 points from 2024 and had a line drive rate near 26 precent, an increase of almost eight percent according to FanGraphs. Of concern for Hornung is his strikeout rate which jumped six percent to nearly 31 percent in 2025. Also, Hornung had a lot of balls fall in him with a .413 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) in ’25 as compared to a .341 mark in ’24.

In an interview with C’s Plus Baseball in 2024, Hornung talked about his approach at the plate.

“I would say try to stay up the middle or oppo (opposite field). I try to just keep the swing there because I know the pull side will come with that when the (pitchers) start to miss their spot. It’s something I’ve changed throughout the years. In college, I would say I was definitely more of a pull hitter and never really went backside. To be able to work with some guys here and being able to unlock that part of my game has been great.”

Hornung was not pulling the ball as much in 2025 as his 41 percent mark was five percent lower than 2024. He used the opposite field nearly five percent less from last year with a mark of just over 35 percent.

On the bases, he may not be a burner but he has shown his baserunning smarts by stealing nine straight bases after getting thrown out in his first career attempt with Dunedin.

Hornung will more than likely return to New Hampshire to start 2026. He will be 25 years old on February 6.

26. Austin Cates | RHP

Photo from csplusbaseball.ca

The Toronto Blue Jays may have hit the jackpot when they picked Austin Cates in the 7th round of the 2024 Draft from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The Henderson, Nevada native went to Coronado High School in his hometown and hit .448 as a first baseman while going 5-1 with a 1.62 earned run average and posted a 50-15 strikeout-walk total over 34⅔ innings in his senior season.

Cates would attend the College of Southern Nevada in 2022 and was an All-Region 18 First Team honours as a freshman. In two years at CSN, he batted .355 with a .935 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage in 85 games and was 10-3 with a 4.02 ERA and 100 punchouts against 24 in 103 innings.

Cates’ days in the batter’s box were over when he transferred to UNLV in 2024. He won All-Mountain West Conference honours as he proved to be allergic to ball four. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound righthander led all NCAA Division I pitchers in strikeout-to-walk ratio with just over seven Ks for every BB. He walked just 15 batters and whiffed 107 in 90⅓ innings while posting a 6-5 record with a 4.08 ERA.

With a signing bonus of $222,500, Cates’ professional debut was pushed to 2025 with the Dunedin Blue Jays. After five shutout innings in his debut against Clearwater on April 6, he was roughed up over his next few outings and saw his ERA balloon to 7.25 in early May but he rebounded in June and July with ERAs of 2.12 and 0.90, respectively.

Cates was bumped up to Vancouver around mid-August and settled in nicely by striking 10 batters over five innings of one-run ball in his Nat Bailey Stadium debut against Tri-City. He backed that up with two starts of six shutout innings apiece and struck out 17 without walking a batter to get two straight Ws against Hillsboro and the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week award. In his final start of the season, Cates did allow a run in his final start but struck out nine over six innings for another victory against Everett on September 6.

The pitching repertoire for Cates features a four-seam fastball that touches 94 miles per hour along with a splitter, slider and a curveball. He discussed his pitching repertoire with C's Plus Baseball.

“I like to play the north-south game with my fastball and splitter. I think they play well off each other. Being a carry guy, it kind of helps with that. You know, I started trying to tuck my thumb a little bit more when I’m throwing my heater. And I think it’s really helped a lot with the velo and the carry. So I think that’s been a big change in it,” Cates told C’s Plus Baseball.

Cates said one thing stood out to him when he went to the Player Development Complex in Dunedin.

“I could throw a pretty good slider, and I didn’t know that. At UNLV, I was mainly fastball-splitter, so being able to add that pitch and knowing I can have that in my pocket is pretty cool.”

Batted ball luck did factor into Cates’ season with a mark of .266 and he had a 3.55 FIP, which was 43 points higher than his season ERA. He put his outfielders to work as he induced ground balls at a rate of nearly 34 percent.

The Blue Jays could challenge Cates with a promotion to New Hampshire, but he may return to Vancouver to begin 2026 before heading east. He will celebrate his 23rd birthday on May 20.

25. Brandon Barriera | LHP

Photo from @bluejays

Brandon Barriera has been a professional baseball player for three and a half seasons and has thrown 27 innings. Barriera has worked through arm problems and Tommy John surgery but it seemed that all of that was behind him and 2025 would be a reset year. It didn't work out that way. He made his first start on June 6th in the FCL throwing two good innings. That was followed by three more June starts where Barriera did not get out of the first inning. He walked seven across those three starts. Farm Director Joe Sclafani told Doug Fox that Barriera had a mental block. Brandon came back for two good innings on July 3rd but then was diagnosed with a small fracture in his arm. He was done for the season.

So where is Barriera now? He has not shown any progress, he has been largely invisible over the last two years. Between the questions over his conditioning and approach when he was first drafted and now the mental blocks its hard to be confident about his future. His appearance on this list is solely due to his being a first round pick and a left handed starting pitcher. Between Barriera, Ricky Tiedemann and Carson Messina the Jays have pitching prospects who don't pitch.

When he was last seen in a game above the FCL Barriera had a low to mid nineties fastball with a spin heavy slider. He was also working on a changeup and a curveball. But is this still his arsenal?

Where will Barriera start 2026? It could be the FCL to make sure he is back on track. It could be Dunedin where he has pitched before. Or if he has a great spring training the Jays could push him to Vancouver. Barriera is still just 21 and will turn 22 during spring training. Age is on his side but he needs to show something this season.

24. Micah Bucknam | RHP

Photo from dbupatriots.com

Micah Bucknam has been drafted twice by the Blue Jays. He was drafted in the 16th round in 2021 but elected to go to college. The Jays drafted him again in the 4th round of the 2025 draft. Bucknam was born in New Zealand but grew up in BC and was drafted initially out of an Abbotsford high school. Bucknam went to Louisiana State for two years, not pitching much, before transferring to Dallas Christian for his final year of college ball. There he became their number one starter and had a big season.

Bucknam's biggest strength is his ability to spin the ball. He had a slurve when he went to Dallas but there working with his pitching coach and the new pitching technologies they split his slurve into two pitches, a tight slider that ranges from 85-88 and a low 80's curveball. Bucknam reportedly was one of the best pitchers at spinning the ball in the draft.

Bucknam's fastball averages 93-94 mph. It is somewhat straight though, will the Jays try and tweak his grip? Bucknam also throws a changeup but it is his fourth pitch. Other than a straight fastball Bucknam's other issue is command. The one worry scouts have is whether his command issues will force him to the bullpen.

Like most draftees these days, Bucknam did not pitch after being drafted. Bucknam should start 2026 in Dunedin with a chance to start in Vancouver with a strong spring.

23. Tim Piasentin | 3B

Photo from @piasentintim

Canadian Tim Piasentin was selected by the Jays in the fifth round of the 2025 draft. Piasentin had been playing for Foothills HS in Okotoks, Alberta. Born in BC, Piasentin played in the little league world series for Coquitlam in 2019. Then in 2023, at age 16, Piasentin left home to join Okotoks and play baseball year round. He was living with a billet family to pursue his dream. Piasentin was the top ranked Canadian in the draft and he signed with the Jays for $747,000. He turned 18 in March last year so was 18 and three months when drafted.

Piasentin is listed at 6'3" and 205 pounds and was drafted based off his power. He participated in the draft combine and impressed scouts with his raw power and excellent exit velocities. This was after a spring trip to Florida with Team Canada when he pulled a upper 90's fastball from a Royals minor leaguer. His exit velocities have reached 110 mph with a wood bat. He has an uppercut swing which helps with power but will have to make sure he isn't vulnerable to better pitching. There is an element of swing and miss in his game. Scouts believe Piasentin has room to develop more physically. Like many Canadian baseball players Piasetin is considered to be "raw". Some scouts believe he might need more than a year in the complex league to catch up.

After signing Piasentin made his way to Dunedin. He noted he was familiar with complex as he had been there with Team Canada several times. Between playing in the LLWS and his Team Canada experience he has had plenty of playing time in high profile events. Piasentin is a left handed hitter and plays third base. Some scouts wonder if Piasentin will be too big and not have quick enough reactions for the hot corner. Some wonder if he will end up at first or in right field.

Piasentin will start 2026 in the complex league where he should share the left side of the infield with Jojo Parker and Juan Sanchez.

22. Sam Shaw | 2B/OF

Photo from csplusbaseball.ca

Former Toronto Blue Jay Michael Saunders was the first player from Lambrick High School in Victoria, British Columbia to reach the major leagues and Sam Shaw is looking to be the second.

The Victoria native grew up playing lacrosse and hockey, but Shaw emerged in baseball circles with back-to-back Perfect Game All-Tournament Team selections at the World Wood Bat Association Championships in 2021 and 2022 at Jupiter, Florida. In 2022, he represented Canada at the 18U World Cup in Mexico and took part in the Canadian Futures Showcase, featuring the best amateur players in the country. The Ottawa event gave the host Toronto Blue Jays brass a chance to see Shaw put up a .364 batting average and .897 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in four games.

After playing for the Victoria Mariners in the BC Premier Baseball League in 2022, Shaw would join the BCPBL’s Victoria Eagles in 2023 and travel to TNXL Academy in Ocoee, Florida to continue honing his game. He also secured an invite to the MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field in Arizona to work out among the 300 draft-eligible players who attended.

Shaw had an opportunity to go to Xavier University in Cincinnati but the chance to join his favourite major league team growing up was too good to pass up. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound lefthanded hitter was taken in the ninth round of the 2023 MLB Draft and he agreed to a signing bonus worth $282,500.

Shaw’s maiden voyage as a pro took place at the Florida Complex League and drew 10 walks in 40 appearances at the plate for a .425 OBP in nine games.

In 2024, Shaw took part in the Blue Jays first-ever Spring Breakout game during Spring Training before returning to the FCL where he hit .220 but managed to get on base at a .361 clip.

Shaw’s full-season debut came in 2025 with Dunedin and overcame an early-season injury in the season’s first week to get on base in 21 of 22 games during May, putting up a batting line of .322/.430/.500. Though he struggled in the batting average department with a .211 June, his OBP was a more than acceptable .364 for the month.

Eventually, Shaw was promoted to Vancouver in late July where the fondest memory of his amateur career came racing back to him. He hit a walk-off grand slam for Beacon Hill Little League against visiting Little Mountain in the 2017 BC Little League Provincial Championships. Little Mountain’s ballpark is just a stone’s throw away from Nat Bailey Stadium. Shaw reached base in his first three games with the C’s at The Nat, but he was placed on the injured list on August 3 and would miss the rest of the season with an undisclosed ailment but is expected to be back to full health in time for the start of 2026.

Before being sidelined, Shaw spoke with C’s Plus Baseball and was asked about his hitting approach.

“I think I’m still learning that, which might not be the best answer I feel like people want to hear. But yeah, I’m gonna take quality at-bats, swing at my pitch. When I’m doing really well, I’m swinging at my pitch, and when I get it, I’m not missing it. So yeah, I won’t be a 50 home run guy, but I think I’m gonna be more physical next year, and continue to do that. I’m not going to be like an Addison Barger, but that’s something to strive for. I think get on my pitch, and when I get it, just don’t miss it, and be able to hit doubles and home runs, and walk. We’ll see if I’m a high average guy, I might be, a .250 (batting average), .400 on base (percentage), but we’ll see. I do think I might be able to slug a good number, but yeah, OPS is going to be probably my big thing, and I think that’s what a lot of people look at. So play good defence in center field, and try and be a .900 OPS guy, and just focus on the process, hitting the ball hard, and getting on my pitch.”

Shaw’s isolated power in Dunedin jumped up 81 points to .164 with Dunedin and had better luck with batted balls with a .303 BABIP mark, the first time that was over .300 in his three-year career. He was pulling the ball by more than 10 percent in the time with Dunedin with a mark of just over 52 percent.

In the field, Shaw spent most of his time at second base by making 45 starts with Dunedin in 2025 after not seeing any time at the keystone in 2024. He made 12 errors in 45 starts at second with Dunedin but did not play second at all with Vancouver. Shaw was patrolling center field with Vancouver in all seven of his games in center and that is where he would prefer to be.

“I think I’m better out in center field. I’ll probably continue to work, depending on what the front office tells me, but I’ll continue to work in the infield, and I do see myself being an elite center fielder. I’m gonna continue to work at that, but, yeah, whatever they have in store for me. It’s kind of out of my hands.”

Shaw is projected to return to Vancouver in 2026. He will celebrate his 21st birthday on February 26.

21. Cutter Coffey | 3B

Photo from csplusbaseball.ca

Cutter Coffey came to the Jays at the 2024 trade deadline as a part of the Danny Jansen trade. Coffey is a California kid and was drafted out of high school in the second round of the 2022 draft. Coffey was playing for Greenville which is the Red Sox high A level affiliate. After the trade he was assigned to Vancouver at the same high A level. Coffey had hit 12 doubles and 14 home runs in 61 games for Greenville. In Vancouver he hit four doubles and one home run in 22 games. His SLG went from .463 to .272. It probably was a shock to the 20 year old to be traded.

Coffey was back in Vancouver for 2025. He got off to a slow start hitting .229 in April and .244 in May. But he took off and hit .337 in June with eleven extra base hits for a .918 OPS. He hit .299 in July with a .868 OPS. Even though his OPS in July was lower than June he was named NWL player of the month for July.

At some point in early August Coffey was injured and he went on the IL on August 9th. He returned on August 27th but his end of season numbers tailed off, likely in part due to the injury. Coffey ended the season with 26 doubles and eleven home runs. HE had 47 walks vs 100 strikeouts.

In the field Coffey split his time between third base and second base, with a few shortstop innings added in. With Sean Keys also in Vancouver they had to share the position. That could be the case next year in New Hampshire also. Coffey has a strong arm and should stick at third base long term. As a high schooler Coffey could throw up to 94 mph but the Sox preferred him as a hitter.

After the season ended Coffey went to the AFL where he hit .328 and an OPS of .833.

Coffey bats from the right side. He has an upright stance and scouts believe that makes him vulnerable to breaking balls away. He will see more of those in AA where he is likely to start 2026.

Join us tomorrow for more of the Blue Jays Top 30 prospects.