The Blue Jays have bolstered their farm system in a big way over the last couple of days, acquiring 11 prospects while shipping off five veterans. They were able to take advantage of a lack of options on the market, adding seven prospects to their <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/bluejays/">top 30 prospect</a> list, per MLB.com. Most shockingly, the Astros gave up one of their top pitching prospects (Jake Bloss), along with two near-MLB-ready bats (Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner) for pending free agent Yusei Kikuchi. That deal in particular looks like it may go down as an all-time heist for Toronto.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
OFFICIAL: We’ve acquired RHP Jake Bloss, OF Joey Loperfido, and INF Will Wagner from the Astros in exchange for LHP Yusei Kikuchi. 
Welcome to our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> family! <a href="https://t.co/xmU9LXipjU">pic.twitter.com/xmU9LXipjU</a>
&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1818121883113476409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Hitting was clearly a priority for the front office, as nine of the eleven players acquired were position players. One trait was consistent amongst all of the hitters that the team acquired: the ability to take a walk.
Just take a look at the minor league BB% of each of the players acquired so far from the Jays:
<ul>
<li>Will Wagner (AAA): 16.7%</li>
<li>RJ Schreck (A+, AA): 16.1%</li>
<li>Jonathan Clase (AAA): 14.3%</li>
<li>Yohendrick Pinango (A+, AA): 13.0%</li>
<li>Josh Rivera (AA): 13.0%</li>
<li>Joey Loperfido (AAA): 11.1%</li>
<li>Eddinson Paulino (AA): 10.4%</li>
<li>Cutter Coffey (A+): 10.3%</li>
<li>Jacob Sharp (A): 9.4%</li>
</ul>
A walk rate of around 10% is usually considered to be a benchmark of a patient hitter. The Jays picked up several hitters who far exceed that mark, with Wagner and Schreck&#8217;s numbers being particularly impressive. Both of those men also managed to walk more than strike out so far this season.
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The RJ Schreck memes are gonna go crazy <a href="https://t.co/U4CjIw2lst">pic.twitter.com/U4CjIw2lst</a>
&mdash; Michael (@mic_mazz) <a href="https://twitter.com/mic_mazz/status/1818017866425450851?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
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For Schreck, the Jays had a close look at him for much of this season as he was playing for the Northwest League&#8217;s Everett Aquasox, playing 17 games against the Blue Jays&#8217; High-A Vancouver affiliate. Schreck was leading the league in walks and is still tied atop the leaderboard in home runs with 12 when he was called up to Double-A Arkansas. After playing eight games at that level, it appears likely that he will make his debut with Double-A New Hampshire in the coming days.
Will Wagner was perhaps the least exciting of the three players acquired in the Yusei Kikuchi deal. However, he has a strong chance to become a Major League regular in short order. At the time of the trade, he was leading the PCL (AAA) in on-base percentage with a .424 mark, all while sporting a batting average of .304. Perhaps most impressively, the 26-year-old has walked 54 times against only 33 strikeouts on the season. The son of longtime closer Billy has hit and walked at every stop in the minor leagues, and would have probably made his Major League debut by now if not for injuries that limited him to just 65 games last season. He won&#8217;t wow you with power (24 career home runs) or speed (22 career steals), but the Jays may have just acquired their future leadoff hitter.
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Jake Bloss &amp; Joey Loperfido are the headliners but don&#39;t forget about 2B/3B Will Wagner. 
The 26 y/o &#8212; R5 eligible this winter &#8212; has a .307/.424/.429 slash line, 5 HRs, 41 RBIs &amp; 122 wRC+ in 70 games at AAA this season. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://t.co/hE3wDdagLw">pic.twitter.com/hE3wDdagLw</a>
&mdash; Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hall_Thomas_/status/1818099572415004971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
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These deadline moves further illustrate the types of high-OBP players that the team covets. These acquisitions will join the likes of Spencer Horwitz, Addison Barger, Leo Jimenez, Alan Roden, and Damiano Palmegiani as young players whose primary value comes from getting on base at a high clip.

The Blue Jays have bolstered their farm system in a big way over the last couple of days, acquiring 11 prospects while shipping off five veterans. They were able to take advantage of a lack of options on the market, adding seven prospects to their <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/bluejays/">top 30 prospect</a> list, per MLB.com. Most shockingly, the Astros gave up one of their top pitching prospects (Jake Bloss), along with two near-MLB-ready bats (Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner) for pending free agent Yusei Kikuchi. That deal in particular looks like it may go down as an all-time heist for Toronto.



https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1818121883113476409

Hitting was clearly a priority for the front office, as nine of the eleven players acquired were position players. One trait was consistent amongst all of the hitters that the team acquired: the ability to take a walk.

Just take a look at the minor league BB% of each of the players acquired so far from the Jays:
<ul>
 	<li>Will Wagner (AAA): 16.7%</li>
 	<li>RJ Schreck (A+, AA): 16.1%</li>
 	<li>Jonathan Clase (AAA): 14.3%</li>
 	<li>Yohendrick Pinango (A+, AA): 13.0%</li>
 	<li>Josh Rivera (AA): 13.0%</li>
 	<li>Joey Loperfido (AAA): 11.1%</li>
 	<li>Eddinson Paulino (AA): 10.4%</li>
 	<li>Cutter Coffey (A+): 10.3%</li>
 	<li>Jacob Sharp (A): 9.4%</li>
</ul>
A walk rate of around 10% is usually considered to be a benchmark of a patient hitter. The Jays picked up several hitters who far exceed that mark, with Wagner and Schreck's numbers being particularly impressive. Both of those men also managed to walk more than strike out so far this season.

https://twitter.com/mic_mazz/status/1818017866425450851

For Schreck, the Jays had a close look at him for much of this season as he was playing for the Northwest League's Everett Aquasox, playing 17 games against the Blue Jays' High-A Vancouver affiliate. Schreck was leading the league in walks and is still tied atop the leaderboard in home runs with 12 when he was called up to Double-A Arkansas. After playing eight games at that level, it appears likely that he will make his debut with Double-A New Hampshire in the coming days.

Will Wagner was perhaps the least exciting of the three players acquired in the Yusei Kikuchi deal. However, he has a strong chance to become a Major League regular in short order. At the time of the trade, he was leading the PCL (AAA) in on-base percentage with a .424 mark, all while sporting a batting average of .304. Perhaps most impressively, the 26-year-old has walked 54 times against only 33 strikeouts on the season. The son of longtime closer Billy has hit and walked at every stop in the minor leagues, and would have probably made his Major League debut by now if not for injuries that limited him to just 65 games last season. He won't wow you with power (24 career home runs) or speed (22 career steals), but the Jays may have just acquired their future leadoff hitter.

https://twitter.com/Hall_Thomas_/status/1818099572415004971

These deadline moves further illustrate the types of high-OBP players that the team covets. These acquisitions will join the likes of Spencer Horwitz, Addison Barger, Leo Jimenez, Alan Roden, and Damiano Palmegiani as young players whose primary value comes from getting on base at a high clip.

Blue Jays continue to emphasize on-base skills in recent trade additions

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