Another prospect article, another reliever.
Just a quick recap of the mid-season list: We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and finally other publications (Prospects Live, MLB Pipeline, Baseball America)’ scouting reports.
Let’s look at Hayden Juenger.

Getting to know Hayden Juenger…

Position:  Relief Pitcher
Throws: Right 
Born:  August 9, 2000
Acquired: 6th round, 2021 draft (Blue Jays) 
Current Team:  Triple-A Buffalo
Previous Ranking: 17
The 23-year-old righty had one of the quickest ascents up the Blue Jays system in 2022, starting his season in Double-A New Hampshire, before ending his season with Triple-A Buffalo. Interestingly, Juenger was drafted in 2021, so this is a good indicator of how the Blue Jays front office views him.
This season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, he has a 6 ERA and a 4.28 FIP in 60 innings pitched, along with a 27.5 K% and a 10.9 BB%. Last season, home runs were a big problem for the Illinois-native, as he gave up 18 in 88.2 innings pitched. In those 60 innings this season, Juenger has only given up seven.
Another intriguing aspect to his statistics is his insanely high Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP), which sits at .384. One possible reason why Juenger’s BABIP is so high is due to his 31.9 line drive percentage. As you may know, the higher a batter’s line drive percentage is, the way more likely they are to get a hit.
Despite some worrying aspects of the 23-year-old’s season, Juenger has an interesting profile. His fastball averages 94.3 mph, but has reached the upper-90s on occasion. The 23-year-old’s second-best pitch is his cutter/slider, with has a 30% whiff%. Juenger’s changeup made me start appreciating changeups, and that averages 86.1 mph and has a 26.9 whiff% (and is thrown the most next to the four-seamer.)
Results aside, Juenger’s profile is an interesting one, and he should be able to help the Blue Jays eat innings in the next few seasons, similar to what Bowden Francis is doing in the majors.

Next up:

We’ll look at the Blue Jays top international free agent signing in the 2021 period in the next article!

In case you missed it…

As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO