There isn’t a faster riser in the rankings from the start of the 2023 season to now than today’s prospect.

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 Alan Roden.
<h2>Getting to know Alan Roden…</h2>
Position: Outfield/First base
Bats: Left
Born: December 22, 1999
Acquired: 3rd-round, 2022 draft (Blue Jays)
2023 Team: Double-A New Hampshire
Previous Ranking: 12
In his first glimpse of professional action, Roden slashed .233/.374/.311 with a homer in 115 plate appearances with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays in 2022. Furthermore, he walked (14.8 BB%) more than he struck out (11.3 K%) and finished the year with a 105 wRC+.
The Jays saw it fitting to start Roden in High-A to start the 2023 season, which evidently was the right call. With Vancouver, he slashed .321/.437/.459 with four home runs in 323 plate appearances, along with a 13 BB% and a 9.9 K%. He finished the level with a 150 wRC+.
After his promotion to Double-A New Hampshire, Roden slashed .310/.421/.460 with six homers in 209 plate appearances. While the team and Roden are working on unlocking more power with his swing, the short porch for left-handed hitters at Delta Dental Stadium in New Hampshire certainly helped a bit. On top of the nice slash line, Roden walked 12.4% of the time and struck out 15.3% of the time.
Roden ranks on all three lists we’ve been looking at in this series. TSN’s Scott Mitchell has the 24-year-old outfielder as the ninth-best Blue Jays prospect, the same spot Baseball America has him ranked. Interestingly, Fangraphs has him ranked all the way down as the 19th-best Jays prospect, but they’ll come around to him hopefully.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Here&#39;s Alan Roden&#39;s sixth homer of the season for the Fisher Cats.
Suddenly, Roden has decided to become a power hitter. <a href="https://t.co/nKSlULg8tT">https://t.co/nKSlULg8tT</a> <a href="https://t.co/Fzv9P4lXy7">pic.twitter.com/Fzv9P4lXy7</a>
&mdash; Brennan qualifying offer Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1696662510470824082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to Fangraphs, Roden won’t be an impact player because he doesn’t have a lot of power and isn’t a good outfield defender. However, it depends who you talk to about his defence. They also note that fastballs outside will avoid whatever power he does have, and that “his feel for contact is a little bit artificial”, noting his swing is short, rather than being able to time up a ball.
Mitchell points to Roden’s ability to draw more walks than strikeouts in 2023, a trend that has happened since his Creighton Blue Jays days. Roden also had a 5.2% swing rate, one of the lowest in the organization. Mitchell’s report also mentions that Roden has a great approach and believes some see him as a plus corner outfielder.
Either way, Roden will probably start the season in Triple-A, and could be a call up at some point in the season, he’s that good of a hitter. You’d hope he can develop more power, but as long as he’s a serviceable defender and can continue to hit well, the Jays may have an everyday player in Roden.
<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-17-jace-bohrofen">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 17: Jace Bohrofen</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-16-alex-de-jesus">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 16: Alex De Jesus</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-15-dahian-santos">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 15: Dahian Santos</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-14-enmanuel-bonilla">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 14: Enmanuel Bonilla</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-13-tucker-toman">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 13: Tucker Toman</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-12-landen-maroudis">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 12: Landen Maroudis</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-11-juaron-watts-brown">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 11: Juaron Watts-Brown</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-10-damiano-palmegiani">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 10: Damiano Palmegiani</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-9-leo-jimenez">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 9: Leo Jimenez</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-8-addison-barger">Blue Jays Nation&#8217;s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown &#8211; No. 8: Addison Barger</a>
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As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.
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There isn’t a faster riser in the rankings from the start of the 2023 season to now than today’s prospect.



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 Alan Roden.
<h2>Getting to know Alan Roden…</h2>
Position: Outfield/First base

Bats: Left

Born: December 22, 1999

Acquired: 3rd-round, 2022 draft (Blue Jays)

2023 Team: Double-A New Hampshire

Previous Ranking: 12

In his first glimpse of professional action, Roden slashed .233/.374/.311 with a homer in 115 plate appearances with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays in 2022. Furthermore, he walked (14.8 BB%) more than he struck out (11.3 K%) and finished the year with a 105 wRC+.

The Jays saw it fitting to start Roden in High-A to start the 2023 season, which evidently was the right call. With Vancouver, he slashed .321/.437/.459 with four home runs in 323 plate appearances, along with a 13 BB% and a 9.9 K%. He finished the level with a 150 wRC+.

After his promotion to Double-A New Hampshire, Roden slashed .310/.421/.460 with six homers in 209 plate appearances. While the team and Roden are working on unlocking more power with his swing, the short porch for left-handed hitters at Delta Dental Stadium in New Hampshire certainly helped a bit. On top of the nice slash line, Roden walked 12.4% of the time and struck out 15.3% of the time.

Roden ranks on all three lists we’ve been looking at in this series. TSN’s Scott Mitchell has the 24-year-old outfielder as the ninth-best Blue Jays prospect, the same spot Baseball America has him ranked. Interestingly, Fangraphs has him ranked all the way down as the 19th-best Jays prospect, but they’ll come around to him hopefully.

https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1696662510470824082

According to Fangraphs, Roden won’t be an impact player because he doesn’t have a lot of power and isn’t a good outfield defender. However, it depends who you talk to about his defence. They also note that fastballs outside will avoid whatever power he does have, and that “his feel for contact is a little bit artificial”, noting his swing is short, rather than being able to time up a ball.

Mitchell points to Roden’s ability to draw more walks than strikeouts in 2023, a trend that has happened since his Creighton Blue Jays days. Roden also had a 5.2% swing rate, one of the lowest in the organization. Mitchell’s report also mentions that Roden has a great approach and believes some see him as a plus corner outfielder.

Either way, Roden will probably start the season in Triple-A, and could be a call up at some point in the season, he’s that good of a hitter. You’d hope he can develop more power, but as long as he’s a serviceable defender and can continue to hit well, the Jays may have an everyday player in Roden.
<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-17-jace-bohrofen">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 17: Jace Bohrofen</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-16-alex-de-jesus">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 16: Alex De Jesus</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-15-dahian-santos">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 15: Dahian Santos</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-14-enmanuel-bonilla">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 14: Enmanuel Bonilla</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-13-tucker-toman">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 13: Tucker Toman</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-12-landen-maroudis">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 12: Landen Maroudis</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-11-juaron-watts-brown">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 11: Juaron Watts-Brown</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-10-damiano-palmegiani">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 10: Damiano Palmegiani</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-9-leo-jimenez">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 9: Leo Jimenez</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-pre-season-prospect-countdown-no-8-addison-barger">Blue Jays Nation's Pre-Season Prospect Countdown - No. 8: Addison Barger</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>
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Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 7: Alan Roden

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