Prospects who could make an impact for 2026 Blue Jays

Spring training is often dominated by storylines of players fighting for available Opening Day roster spots, but that talk could be limited for the Toronto Blue Jays this year.

While the long-term absence of Anthony Santander created some initial uncertainty, the addition of Jesús Sánchez has quickly quelled that. Shane Bieber’s forearm fatigue will affect the rotation early in 2026, but it allows the group to accommodate both José Berríos and Cody Ponce out of the gate.

Bringing Sánchez in means that the bench appears that it will feature Davis Schneider (who is likely to platoon with the newest Blue Jay, who struggles against southpaws), Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw and Tyler Heineman. On the pitching side, Toronto has a logical five-man rotation, (Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Berríos and Ponce) while the bullpen has a minimum of five locks (Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Rogers, Yimi García, Louis Varland, and Eric Lauer) — with at least one of Brendon Little or Mason Fluharty looking like a sure thing as a short-stint southpaw. 

Braydon Fisher and an out-of-options Tommy Nance look difficult to dislodge, and there are two Rule 5 picks (Spencer Miles and Angel Bastardo) lurking as relievers the Blue Jays are incentivized to keep if the opportunity arises.

While Toronto’s spring training won’t be completely devoid of roster battles if more injuries arise, when it comes to players and storylines to watch, there is likely to be more intrigue around guys who might contribute as the 2026 season progresses, even if they aren’t in consideration for Opening Day.

Below are five players who have almost no chance of breaking camp with the Blue Jays, but are worth watching closely in spring training because of what they might do later on in the season.

Ricky Tiedemann

Age: 23

Position: SP/Leverage RP

Highest 2025 level: N/A

2025 stats: N/A

FanGraphs Blue Jays prospect rank: 5th

Road to Toronto: Tiedemann has logged just 158 pro innings since 2022, with just 14 of them coming at the triple-A level, and he’s coming off a season wiped out by Tommy John surgery. His injury-marred career will make him devilishly difficult to build up to a starting role, but his stuff is electric, and the Blue Jays are interested in the possibility of Tiedemann contributing out of the bullpen late in 2026, even if that puts constraints on him throughout the season.

For all of Tiedemann’s long-term potential — and the uncertainty about how he can reach it —  in the present, he’s a lefty arm who touches upper 90s who should be able to miss bats at an impressive clip. Those guys aren’t common, and the Blue Jays are coming fresh off a post-season where their lefty relievers produced a 6.52 ERA in 23 appearances. 

If Tiedemann started the season with the Blue Jays, he might be able to have MLB success out of the gate as a reliever, but Toronto seems keen on doing a tightrope walk between getting him as many development innings in the minors as they feasibly can while leaving the door open for him to be a late-season/potentially post-season short-stint weapon. 

A natural Blue Jays comparable would be Aaron Sanchez, who logged 100.1 innings as a minor-league starter before becoming a high-leverage reliever for the 2014 Blue Jays down the stretch. Tiedemann would have to succeed at triple-A and stay healthy to replicate that path (probably with fewer innings), but it’s a distinct possibility — and arguably Toronto’s Plan A — for him. 

Yohendrick Pinango 

Age: 23

Position: LF

Highest 2025 level: Triple-A

2025 stats:

FanGraphs Blue Jays prospect rank: 11th

Road to Toronto: Santander’s absence and the addition of Sánchez are a wash for Pinango on the depth chart. Joey Loperfido’s departure removes a barrier to playing time, but Lukes is a threat to step into a significant role if someone falters, while Jonatan Clase’s speed and ability to hang in centre give him a solid bench profile.

Pinango is hanging on the periphery, though. The prize of the Nate Pearson trade didn’t excel in his first taste of triple-A, but he combined solid walk and strikeout rates (12.6 per cent and 19.1 per cent) with impressive contact quality numbers. The corner outfielder’s average exit velocity (91.9 mph), which was within spitting distance of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s (92.0 mph) and his max exit velo (115.4 mph), would’ve ranked 28th among qualified MLB hitters, tied with Mike Trout. To be fair, it’s a little easier to hit the ball hard against triple-A competition, but there’s no doubt Pinango has pop in his bat.

That pop hasn’t always manifested as strong power numbers, and his 15 home runs in 2025 weren’t too impressive for a bat-first corner outfielder. Still, Pinango’s combination of plate discipline and power potential is compelling, and a step forward in his second look at triple-A could put him on the radar for a midseason call-up. 

Adam Macko

Age: 25

Position: SP/RP

Highest 2025 level: Triple-A

2025 stats:

FanGraphs Blue Jays prospect rank: 17th

Road to Toronto: It’s unlikely, though not impossible, to imagine Macko getting a start or two for the Blue Jays, but he was used in a multi-inning relief role late in 2025 and seems a better bet to find his way into the bullpen at some point.

The Slovakian-born southpaw doesn’t have standout velocity, but he features two different breaking balls that have allowed him to post a K/9 above 11 in his minor-league career. His inconsistent production in the upper minors creates some uncertainty, but bullpen lefties with any kind of juice tend to get a shot at one point or another.

It’s worth remembering that the 2025 Blue Jays used five different relief southpaws outside their core trio of Little, Fluharty, and Lauer. It seems pejorative to say Macko could be the next Justin Bruihl, Josh Walker, or Richard Lovelady, but if he pitches well in triple-A, he may get a shot like they did. Thanks to his bat-missing ability, he might just run with it. 

R.J. Shreck

Age: 25

Position: RF

Highest 2025 level: Triple-A

2025 stats:

FanGraphs Blue Jays prospect rank: 19th

Road to Toronto: Schreck’s route to playing time is the same as Pinango’s, and, to his credit, he’s already been more successful at triple-A offensively.

He is a more difficult player to dream on, though, with significantly worse contact quality (86.9 mph average exit velocity and 109.9 mph max exit velo at triple-A) limiting his power potential. That leaves him with an offensive profile heavily reliant on drawing walks (16.4 per cent across two levels in 2025). 

That plate discipline would serve him well in the majors to some degree, but it’s also worth asking if opposing MLB pitchers will feel empowered to pound the zone against an opponent with below-average raw power. The Blue Jays have had mixed success with hitters of Schreck’s broad type, like Cavan Biggio, Danny Jansen, Spencer Horwitz, Will Wagner, and Davis Schneider. It normally takes a truly elite eye or the ability to pull the ball in the air (or both) to make the package work sustainably.

If Schreck builds on his strong triple-A debut early in 2026, we may find out if he can overcome some of his limitations to remain productive against big-league pitching.

Brandon Valenzuela

Age: 25

Position: C

Highest 2025 level: Triple-A

2025 stats:

FanGraphs Blue Jays prospect rank: 28th 

Road to Toronto: Valenzuela wasn’t the most exciting addition of the Blue Jays’ 2025 trade deadline, but he’s positioned to contribute at some point in 2026. Third catchers are rarely needle-movers, but the physical toll of crouching behind the plate means they often get some run over the course of a 162-game season. 

Valenzuela has a little more upside than the average player in his position thanks to his well-regarded defensive skillset and ability to hit for respectable power. He is in line to get a shot if either Alejandro Kirk or Heineman are injured, but he’s worthy of inclusion on this list because there is a slight chance he nabs the backup catcher role on merit at some point.

That notion may seem far-fetched with Heineman coming off an impressive 2.1 fWAR season, but the veteran backup’s career wRC+ before 2025 was 65. His expected numbers last year (.213 xBA and .291 xSLG) were well below average, indicating his breakout was heavily luck-aided. As much as the Blue Jays like the veteran, he is a risk to fall off dramatically with the bat, and Valenzuela could be an appealing option if he’s producing at triple-A.

It’s not the most likely scenario, but it’s inconceivable either.

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