December 21, 2023

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

After the 2023 trade deadline, MLB Pipeline ranked the Blue Jays' farm system 25th overall in Major League Baseball.

Considering the club has traded away numerous top prospects in recent memory (Jordan Groshans, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Austin Martin, Gabriel Moreno, and Gunnar Hoglund to name a few), it makes sense that the Jays' farm system might be a bit bare compared to the rebuilding years. Factor in that a few players from the 2022 draft didn’t necessarily have the strongest campaigns this past season and the Jays' farm system isn’t stacking up like other teams across the league, at least in the eyes of the analysts.

That’s not to say the club doesn’t have some top prospects coming down the pipeline, as the likes of LHP Ricky Tiedemann and SS/3B Orelvis Martinez are setting themselves up for a big league promotion this year, while other higher-level prospects in Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, B.C.), Davis Schneider, Spencer Horwitz, and Addison Barger are all heading into spring training looking for a big league roster spot as well.

Besides the group mentioned above, there are prospects across all levels of the Blue Jays’ farm system who are going a bit under the radar and likely deserve some time in the spotlight, especially since the Vancouver Canadians locked down the Northwest League Championship this season.

Here are four of them that fans should keep an eye on in 2024.

Martin Gimenez – 2B/SS (2023: FCL Blue Jays)

Signed out of Venezuela prior to the the 2021 campaign, Gimenez spent the first two seasons of his pro career down in the Dominican Summer League, where his plus bat struggled out of the gate, posting a .558 and a .413 OPS in each season respectively. While he doesn’t possess plus power, he collected just eight extra-base hits through 268 at-bats and just wasn’t finding a good rhythm early in his career.

For the 2023 season, the Blue Jays brought him stateside, and he spent all year in the Florida Complex League, hitting to much better results albeit in a smaller sample size. Through 55 at-bats, he collected 16 hits (three fewer than what he collected in the DSL in 2022) and added his first professional home run and eight RBIs on the year. He drove his average up to .291 and boasted a .790 OPS while getting better contact results in Rookie League ball (.455 BABip and a 123 wRC+).

Defensively, Gimenez primarily splits his time between second base and shortstop but the Jays experimented with him in the corner outfield spots in 2022, which did not carry over into the FCL this year as he returned to the infield. This was his first pro season at second base and he did well, committing just one error through 93 innings.

The bigger test will be if Gimenez can add to an impressive 2023 season by replicating his results in 2024 on a greater scale, as he will most likely begin the year in single-A and should easily surpass the 55 at-bats he accumulated with the Blue Jays.

Ian Churchill – LHP (2023: Dunedin Blue Jays / Vancouver Canadians)

A 10th-round pick out of San Diego in 2022, southpaw Ian Churchill is probably one of the most underrated relief pitchers in the Blue Jays' farm system at the moment.

He made just eight appearances following his draft year and allowed just six hits and one earned run through 12 innings in single-A Dunedin while also closing out a combined no-hitter in his first week as a professional baseball player.

The 2023 season saw Churchill return to Dunedin to start the year where he continued to dominate, appearing in 16 games and allowing just three earned runs while holding opponents to a .162 average. A midseason callup to Vancouver only saw Churchill get better, as the left-hander posted a 0.44 ERA through 20 1/3 innings in High-A ball while allowing just seven hits and one earned run down the stretch, striking out 24 in the process. Churchill also earned the win in the third game of the Northwest League Championship Series against the Everett AquaSox, going 2 1/3 innings in relief and allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out three.

Combined on the year, Churchill finished with a 0.89 ERA through 31 relief outings with two saves and three holds. Across all levels of the Jays’ minor league system, Churchill led all qualified pitchers in terms of ERA and finished the year with a combined 11.5 K/9. The next step for the southpaw will be to bring his BB/9 down, as he got a bit wild with his command at times (5.5) and finished the year with 25 free passes.

Command aside, Churchill had an impressive 2023 campaign and should be moved to double-A next season for another challenge.

Devereaux Harrison – RHP (Vancouver Canadians)

A product of Long Beach State, right-hander Devereaux Harrison exploded on the scene in 2023, becoming one of the most dominant starters on the Vancouver Canadians' roster.

The Blue Jays' ninth-round pick in 2022 posted the top ERA out of the Canadians' starting rotation (2.95) and made 16 starts on the regular season, third most on the team while leading the club with 94 2/3 innings pitched (including 10 relief appearances). Harrison started the year out of the bullpen, locking down one save and pitching in the setup role before being moved to the rotation in mid-May.

Out of the 16 starts he made, he held opponents scoreless in six outings (while going at least four-plus innings) and went six or more innings through six of his starts as well. Besides two outings where he allowed five and seven runs respectively (during the season), Harrison was on point for most of the year, allowing three earned or fewer in all of his other appearances (including his time in the bullpen). He and Matt Svanson earned a seven-inning no-hitter last year as well, with Harrison going six innings while striking out eight before Svanson came in to earn the save against the Everett AquaSox.

Outside of the few blemishes, Harrison was one of the top starters on the Canadians' roster and should get a crack at double-A next season.

Mason Fluharty – LHP (Vancouver Canadians / New Hampshire Fisher Cats)

Another product of the 2022 draft class (fifth round), reliever Mason Fluharty started the 2023 season in High-A and quickly established himself as one of the top relievers on the Canadians' squad.

Through 15 1/3 innings, Fluharty allowed just seven hits and one earned run (via a solo home run) while striking out 21 opposing batters and walking just five. With such an impressive start to the year, the Blue Jays moved the southpaw to double-A in late May, where he remained the rest of the season.

Through 36 relief appearances with the Fisher Cats, Fluharty amassed a 4.25 ERA while working as both a middle reliever and in the setup role, routinely working in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. Through 42 1/3 innings, he got hit a bit harder to the tune of a 10.4 H/9 while seeing a slight increase in walks (3.8 BB/9) but still striking out 54 batters and racking up four saves. At 21 years old, Fluharty was one of the younger players on the roster but was up for the challenge, posting strong underlying numbers while having a few rough outings that pushed his ERA above the 4.00 mark amidst some solid relief appearances. Boasting a cutter that he uses most of the time and a slider, Fluharty also added a two-seam fastball this past offseason.

Looking ahead, Fluharty will likely return to double-A to start the year but with quite a bit of experience under his belt, which will go a long way for the reliever as he continues to work his way up the minor league ladder. It’s not out of the question that another strong start could see Fluharty see some action in triple-A next season.