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Blue Jays Prospect Notebook: Moreno, Tiedemann and Other Early Standouts
Trading for José Berríos, Matt Chapman, and overhauling a bullpen on the fly last year, the Blue Jays dipped into the prospect pool to help the big league roster.
Despite dealing top youngsters like Austin Martin and Gunnar Hoglund, the Jays have a next wave of young talent closing in on the big leagues. Below, find notes about the prospects drawing attention in Toronto's minor league system a few weeks into 2022:
C Gabriel Moreno, AAA
Gabriel Moreno's strengths are well documented—elite bat-to-ball skills and explosive athleticism come to mind.
"Athletically, he's extremely talented," Bisons' manager Casey Candaele said. "He can do some pretty special things behind the plate and with the bat."
On top of increased game-calling experience and pitcher management skills as a catcher, Moreno's biggest goal for improvement this year is his two-strike approach and avoiding strikeouts, he said. Like Bo Bichette, a hitter he's been compared to, Moreno has the skills to hit basically every pitch at his current level. Refining the approach will be crucial for continued success into the bigs.
Through 10 games, the 22-year-old is slashing .286/.324/.400 with four doubles in Triple A.
INF Addison Barger, High A
An infielder with High A Vancouver, Barger kicked off his 2022 with a .370 batting average and .956 OPS in 13 games. The 22-year-old is building off a strong spring training, sparked by an intrasquad homer off Toronto's biggest offseason acquisition.
Barger dug in against Kevin Gausman at Toronto's complex in Dunedin in late March, and squared up a high fastball, launching a homer into deep right field. After the game, Gausman gave props to the young infielder, saying he executed what he was trying to do on the pitch and Barger just beat him.
A 2018 sixth-round pick, Barger spent two seasons in rookie league in '18 and '19, but a power breakout from last year seems to have carried over into early 2022.
SP Ricky Tiedemann, A
It's hard to get far into a conversation with anyone around Dunedin, Florida without the name Ricky Tiedemann coming up.
After bulking up and filling out his six-foot-four frame, Tiedemann's sheer size was the first thing that caught my eye in spring training, and Dunedin pitching coach Drew Hayes had the same reaction after meeting the lefty.
"He just looks like a big leaguer," Hayes said. "He's just built that way, tall, broad."
In his first three professional starts, Tiedemann has a 1.20 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 10 walks in 15 innings. Despite his place in the low minors, the growth for Tiedemann will come with subtle improvements—locating his slider, avoiding unnecessary walks. The organization's main ask of the young lefty is to hold his increased velocity over an entire season, because the potential is undeniable.
"At this point, he's a one of one with guys that I've seen," Hayes told Inside The Blue Jays. "I don't know that I've seen anybody that's this good at this level."
Other Hot Starts:
Part of an opener/follower time split with Connor Cooke, Dunedin SP Matt Svanson (pictured above) has caught attention with eight scoreless innings to start his 2022 season. With mainly sinkers and sliders, Svanson's combination of velocity and strike-throwing has impressed coaches in the low minors.
SP Rafael Ohashi began his 2022 with four no-hit innings for Dunedin, striking out 10 of the 14 batters he faced. The 19-year-old Brazilian has just 50 professional innings, and is beginning to separate the walks from strikeouts.
"He's always had pretty good command," Hayes said of Ohashi. "But for whatever reason he would still walk guys or lose the zone. This year, he's just been pumping a lot of strikes."
Another strong start to 2022 has come from SP Chad Dallas, nicknamed 'Cheese'. In two starts for High A Vancouver, Dallas owns a 3.38 ERA, 1.0 WHIP, and 15.8 K/9.
