Today’s prospect is the last one we’ll cover that was acquired through trade.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual pre-season list, in which I’ll take a look at the top 50 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 Alex De Jesus
<h2>Getting to know Alex De Jesus…</h2>
Position: Third Base/Shortstop
Bats: Right
Born: March 22, 2002
Acquired: Trade with Los Angeles Dodgers
2023 Team: High-A Vancouver
Previous Ranking: 16
De Jesus started his career in rookie ball in 2019, slashing .276/.326/.374 with two homers in 178 plate appearances, before moving up a level and hitting another home run in 63 plate appearances.
The shortstop played his entire season with Los Angeles’ Single-A team, where he hit 12 home runs and slashed .268/.386/.447 in 422 plate appearances, walking 16.4% of the time and striking out 30.3% of the time. He repeated the level to start the 2022 season, slashing .259/.398/.483 with seven homers in just 176 plate appearances.
Eventually, he was promoted to High-A with the Dodgers, and slashed .282/.376/.421 with four homers in 226 plate appearances, before the Jays traded for him and Mitch White at the 2022 trade deadline. With the Vancouver Canadians in 2022, De Jesus slashed .211/.298/.333 with two homers in 104 plate appearances for a 79 wRC+, along with an 11.5 BB% and a 34.6 K%.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Alex De Jesus&#39; second career cycle!! <a href="https://t.co/wFFT1oDGOY">pic.twitter.com/wFFT1oDGOY</a>
&mdash; Brennan qualifying offer Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1676441329931362304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
De Jesus repeated the level and started the season off slow, but eventually slashed .248/.340/.466 with 11 home runs in 344 plate appearances, along with an 11.6 BB% and a 26.5 K%. Unfortunately De Jesus missed time at the end of July, the middle of August, and all of September, missing out on playing in Vancouver’s championship series. It was reportedly a shoulder injury that required surgery
The 21-year-old has a power-over-hit profile and will more than likely stick at third base as opposed to shortstop. De Jesus ranks on two lists so far, he’s Fangraphs 24th-best Blue Jays prospect, as well as Scott Mitchell’s 20th-best Blue Jays prospect.
Fangraphs’ scouting report notes that he’s done much better at cutting down on swings and misses in 2023, but noted that since he’s so selective, older and more experienced pitchers may find the hole in his strike zone. Mitchell mentioned that his shoulder issue has been cleared up, and he’s poised to have a big breakout season if all goes well, but Double-A will be a test.
It’s likely he’ll start the season in Double-A, where he’ll face off against more advanced pitchers, perhaps even some with major league experience. The next step for De Jesus is to continue to cut down the strikeout rate while continuing to hit for power.
<h2>In case you missed it…</h2>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-the-honourable-mentions">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown: The honourable mentions</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-26-rafael-lantigua">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 26: Rafael Lantigua</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-25-kendry-rojas">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 25: Kendry Rojas</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-24-connor-cooke">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 24: Connor Cooke</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-23-cj-van-eyk">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 23: CJ Van Eyk</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-22-josh-kasevich">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 22: Josh Kasevich</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-21-yosver-zulueta">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 21: Yosver Zulueta</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-20-chad-dallas">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 20: Chad Dallas</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-19-cade-doughty">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 19: Cade Doughty</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-18-adam-macko">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 18: Adam Macko</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-17-jace-bohrofen">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 17: Jace Bohrofen</a>
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As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.
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<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png 727w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1-300x167.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" />

Today’s prospect is the last one we’ll cover that was acquired through trade.



This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual pre-season list, in which I’ll take a look at the top 50 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 Alex De Jesus
<h2>Getting to know Alex De Jesus…</h2>
Position: Third Base/Shortstop

Bats: Right

Born: March 22, 2002

Acquired: Trade with Los Angeles Dodgers

2023 Team: High-A Vancouver

Previous Ranking: 16

De Jesus started his career in rookie ball in 2019, slashing .276/.326/.374 with two homers in 178 plate appearances, before moving up a level and hitting another home run in 63 plate appearances.

The shortstop played his entire season with Los Angeles’ Single-A team, where he hit 12 home runs and slashed .268/.386/.447 in 422 plate appearances, walking 16.4% of the time and striking out 30.3% of the time. He repeated the level to start the 2022 season, slashing .259/.398/.483 with seven homers in just 176 plate appearances.

Eventually, he was promoted to High-A with the Dodgers, and slashed .282/.376/.421 with four homers in 226 plate appearances, before the Jays traded for him and Mitch White at the 2022 trade deadline. With the Vancouver Canadians in 2022, De Jesus slashed .211/.298/.333 with two homers in 104 plate appearances for a 79 wRC+, along with an 11.5 BB% and a 34.6 K%.

https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1676441329931362304

De Jesus repeated the level and started the season off slow, but eventually slashed .248/.340/.466 with 11 home runs in 344 plate appearances, along with an 11.6 BB% and a 26.5 K%. Unfortunately De Jesus missed time at the end of July, the middle of August, and all of September, missing out on playing in Vancouver’s championship series. It was reportedly a shoulder injury that required surgery

The 21-year-old has a power-over-hit profile and will more than likely stick at third base as opposed to shortstop. De Jesus ranks on two lists so far, he’s Fangraphs 24th-best Blue Jays prospect, as well as Scott Mitchell’s 20th-best Blue Jays prospect.

Fangraphs’ scouting report notes that he’s done much better at cutting down on swings and misses in 2023, but noted that since he’s so selective, older and more experienced pitchers may find the hole in his strike zone. Mitchell mentioned that his shoulder issue has been cleared up, and he’s poised to have a big breakout season if all goes well, but Double-A will be a test.

It’s likely he’ll start the season in Double-A, where he’ll face off against more advanced pitchers, perhaps even some with major league experience. The next step for De Jesus is to continue to cut down the strikeout rate while continuing to hit for power.
<h2>In case you missed it…</h2>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-the-honourable-mentions">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown: The honourable mentions</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-26-rafael-lantigua">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 26: Rafael Lantigua</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-25-kendry-rojas">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 25: Kendry Rojas</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-24-connor-cooke">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 24: Connor Cooke</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-23-cj-van-eyk">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 23: CJ Van Eyk</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-22-josh-kasevich">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 22: Josh Kasevich</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-21-yosver-zulueta">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 21: Yosver Zulueta</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-20-chad-dallas">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 20: Chad Dallas</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-19-cade-doughty">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 19: Cade Doughty</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-18-adam-macko">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 18: Adam Macko</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-17-jace-bohrofen">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 17: Jace Bohrofen</a>

<hr />

As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.

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<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 16: Alex De Jesus

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