Kennew Blanco is one of three notable shortstops the Toronto Blue Jays signed at the start of this year’s International Free Agency period.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual Pre-Season Prospect Countdown, this time looking at the top 40 prospects in the organization. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and other publications&#8217; scouting reports if available.
Let’s take a look at our 39th-best Blue Jays prospect, Kennew Blanco.
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<h2>Getting to know Kennew Blanco…</h2>
Position: Shortstop
Bats: Right
Born: June 21, 2006
Acquired: 2025 International Free Agency
Previous ranking: Not ranked
The Blue Jays were originally set to sign Blanco during the 2024 period as he ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 10th-best prospect in that period. However, <a href="https://x.com/TheBeatwriter/status/1750269948914475031">Marcos Grunfield of elemergente.com reported</a> that Blanco was a year older than initially thought, so his signing bonus of $1.7 million dropped and the Jays waited another year to sign him.
Instead, the Blue Jays signed him to a bonus of $800,000 during this year’s IFA period. <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/2024/international/kennew-blanco-815891">According to his MLB Pipeline’s scouting report</a> from last season, Blanco is athletic and has a spray-to-all-fields approach. As he fills out his 6’3”, 205 lb frame, Blanco will surely add power with a solid hit tool. He was also given a run tool of 55 to go along with his hit tool of 55.
Defensively, he’ll likely stay on the left side of the infield as his athleticism helps when paired with good mechanics at the position. He may eventually move to third base, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Blanco is likely to start the season in the Dominican Summer League, although there’s a possibility he will join the Florida Complex League Blue Jays due to him being 18 years old and the other two notable shortstop prospects they signed in that period.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how Blanco progresses as he does have a notable hit tool with future pop. While he may not be as highly rated as he would’ve been if he had signed last season and was a year younger, he’ll be an interesting prospect to monitor.
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In case you missed it…
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2025-pre-season-top-40-countdown-no-40-randy-soto">No. 40: Randy Soto</a>
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As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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Kennew Blanco is one of three notable shortstops the Toronto Blue Jays signed at the start of this year’s International Free Agency period.



This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual Pre-Season Prospect Countdown, this time looking at the top 40 prospects in the organization. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and other publications' scouting reports if available.

Let’s take a look at our 39th-best Blue Jays prospect, Kennew Blanco.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
&nbsp;
<h2>Getting to know Kennew Blanco…</h2>
Position: Shortstop

Bats: Right

Born: June 21, 2006

Acquired: 2025 International Free Agency

Previous ranking: Not ranked

The Blue Jays were originally set to sign Blanco during the 2024 period as he ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 10th-best prospect in that period. However, <a href="https://x.com/TheBeatwriter/status/1750269948914475031">Marcos Grunfield of elemergente.com reported</a> that Blanco was a year older than initially thought, so his signing bonus of $1.7 million dropped and the Jays waited another year to sign him.

Instead, the Blue Jays signed him to a bonus of $800,000 during this year’s IFA period. <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/2024/international/kennew-blanco-815891">According to his MLB Pipeline’s scouting report</a> from last season, Blanco is athletic and has a spray-to-all-fields approach. As he fills out his 6’3”, 205 lb frame, Blanco will surely add power with a solid hit tool. He was also given a run tool of 55 to go along with his hit tool of 55.

Defensively, he’ll likely stay on the left side of the infield as his athleticism helps when paired with good mechanics at the position. He may eventually move to third base, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Blanco is likely to start the season in the Dominican Summer League, although there’s a possibility he will join the Florida Complex League Blue Jays due to him being 18 years old and the other two notable shortstop prospects they signed in that period.

Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how Blanco progresses as he does have a notable hit tool with future pop. While he may not be as highly rated as he would’ve been if he had signed last season and was a year younger, he’ll be an interesting prospect to monitor.

<hr />

In case you missed it…

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2025-pre-season-top-40-countdown-no-40-randy-soto">No. 40: Randy Soto</a>

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As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

<hr />

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