We’re still months away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, but it’s never too early to forecast which prospects may be in line for a promotion to start the 2026 season.

Several players – both heralded and unheralded – had huge seasons in 2025, with their development stages dictating where they will play the majority of their games next year.

Let’s take a look at three Blue Jays prospects who should bump up a level to start the new season.

Drafted in the eighth round last July, Thompson Jr. quickly made it clear that his stuff was too polished for the Single-A level.

After giving up a run in his first pro outing, he rattled off 12 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to end the season. His final numbers were elite: a 0.66 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts against just four walks across his 13 2/3 innings. A relief-only prospect out of UNC-Greensboro, Thompson Jr. used his mid-90s fastball and slider combo to strikeout 11.8 K/9 in his college career, and could be a guy that develops quickly for the Blue Jays. After his performance at the end of 2025, there should be no doubt that the six-foot righthander is ready for the challenge of pitching with High-A Vancouver to begin 2026.

Drafted in the seventh round of the 2024 draft out of UNLV, Cates spent the majority of the 2025 campaign in Dunedin.

He has flown somewhat under the radar due to the emergence of some of the other pitchers in his draft class and D-Jays teammates to begin the year (Trey Yesavage, Khal Stephen, Gage Stanifer, Silvano Hechavarria). Across 20 games (18 starts) in A-ball, Cates posted a 3.52 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, along with an 8.3 K/9. Things really took off for him late in the season after a call-up to High-A Vancouver.

He engineered a 1.95 ERA and 0.79 WHIP across his five starts, with his strikeout rate shooting up to 12.0 K/9, including just one earned run allowed across his final three starts (18.0 innings). Since he only made five starts, it wouldn’t be shocking if he returned to Vancouver to start 2026, but signs are pointing to Cates being the organization’s next breakout pitching prospect. If he doesn’t start in New Hampshire, it might not be long before he gets promoted.

Hornung was drafted as a catcher in the 16th round of the 2023 draft out of Division III Skidmore College (NY), and has slowly worked his way up the organizational ladder.

After a mostly successful hitting season in 2024 in Vancouver (.715 OPS), the Blue Jays made the surprising decision to put the Ashland, Massachusetts native on the development list to open up 2025. He spent this time transitioning from behind the plate to first base and the outfield, making his season debut on April 18th. It quickly became clear that the bat had taken a big step forward, producing an .855 OPS in 44 games before getting the call up to A New Hampshire. Long viewed as the biggest jump in the minors for a hitter, Hornung’s bat remained consistent, slashing .269/.341/.446 at the higher level. Perhaps even more impressively, he proved to be a plus defender at both first base and left field, a surprising development for a former catcher.

Hornung has some Davis Schneider to his game, another late-round pick from a Northeast state whose bat carried him through the system. The soon-to-be 25-year-old should be in line for the challenge of playing at the Triple-A level to begin the season.

Introducing Off The Roster—Toronto Sports, Unfiltered! Toronto sports fans, your new favourite conversation has arrived. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, Off The Roster dives into the city’s legendary plays, brutal trades, OG jerseys, celebrity tweets, and everything in between. Raw, fun, and totally unfiltered, this is Toronto sports like you’ve never heard it before. Tune in live every weekday morning on the Nation Network YouTube channel, or catch episodes wherever you stream podcasts. Proudly brought to you by our founding partner, PROLINE. Off The Roster—the new sound in the 6ix.