© Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Blue Jays 19th In Baseball America's 2022 Farm System Rankings
Graduating some of baseball's best young stars has taken a toll on Toronto's farm system.
In the latest Baseball America 2022 MLB Organization Talent Rankings, the Blue Jays' farm system ranked 19th in baseball.
The Blue Jays have three members of BA's Top 100 prospects, headlined by young Venezuelan catcher and No. 6 prospect Gabriel Moreno. The 21-year-old catcher posted a 1.060 OPS across three minor league levels in 2021, spending most of the season in Double A prior to a thumb injury. Moreno has since played in the Arizona Fall League and Venezuelan Winter Leagues, posting OPB over .390 at both stops.
After dealing multiple top prospects to acquire starter José Berríos, breakouts from some of Toronto's top prospects "softened the blow" to the farm, Baseball America noted. Moreno tops Toronto's system alongside SP Nate Pearson, INF Orelvis Martinez, SP Gunnar Hoglund, and INF Jordan Groshans. Six of Toronto's top 10 prospects on MLB Pipeline are currently 21 or younger, with rising infielder Manuel Beltre just 17 years old.
"The Blue Jays feature a young prospect group," BA's blurb said. "With a majority of their best talent having never played above High-A."
Though ranking as a middle-of-the-pack farm, the Blue Jays have the lowest-ranked system in the division, as Toronto's American League East division rivals rank as follows:
2. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Baltimore Orioles
11. Boston Red Sox
13. New York Yankees
The Seattle Mariners topped the list as BA's top-ranked farm, while the Chicago White Sox ranked as the 30th minor league system.
H/T Baseball America
