Blue Jays Nation’s countdown of the top Canadian prospects entering 2025 continues with the second Blue Jays prospect to appear on the list.

Hometown: Surrey, B.C.

Organization: Toronto Blue Jays

Position: 1B/3B

Acquired: 14th round, 2021 draft (TOR)

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, but growing up in Surrey, B.C., Damiano Palmegiani has been knocking on the big league doors in recent years and could make his debut during the 2025 season.

The right-handed hitting infielder’s journey to the Blue Jays organization crossed paths with two other Canadian prospects who we will discuss later on in this countdown.

He went to high school at Vauxhall Academy, overlapping with fellow Blue Jays prospect Adam Macko, who was coincidentally also born outside of the country. The Jays took Palmegiani in the 35th round in 2018 (three years before the draft was shortened to 20 rounds), but he chose to head to Cal-State Northridge instead. During the 2019 season, he played alongside another Canadian in Oakland Athletics prospect Denzel Clarke. After the lost pandemic season of 2020, he transferred to the College of Southern Nevada where he posted record numbers with the Coyotes. The Jays once again drafted him, this time in the 14th round of the 2021 draft.

Palmegiani’s power is undoubtedly his best trait as a prospect, but his patient approach has allowed him to thrive throughout the minor league system. In his first full season in 2022, he smashed 24 home runs while splitting time between single-A and high-A, possessing a .342 OBP in the process.

His numbers improved in 2023 while playing against tougher competition, slashing .255/.365/.478 while playing 108 games in double-A and 20 in triple-A. The six-foot, 195-pounder continued to mash in the Arizona Fall League to finish that year, hitting six homers in 22 games while producing a .941 OPS. He even finished second in the league’s home run derby.

After appearing at #18 on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Blue Jays prospects last off-season, and as high as 9th on our mid-season list, Palmegiani’s stock took a bit of a hit in 2024.

After seeing some success in triple-A at the tail end of the 2023 season, he struggled with making solid contact and ended up slashing .210/.311/.381 across 123 games. He was still able to walk at a 10.6% rate, but his isolated power (ISO) mark of .171 was the lowest he’s produced in his pro career although he did collect 21 home runs, leading all Jays minor leaguers.

A low batting average on his balls in play may be partially to blame for his down year. The league average BABIP is typically around .300, so Palmegiani’s .261 mark suggests he may have suffered from some bad luck in 2024. Another positive to take away from the 24-year-old’s season was that he showed off some of his defensive versatility. He played 45 games at first base, 44 games at third base, and 19 in left field.

Given the fact that he turns 25 years old next month, Palmegiani has a great chance of debuting with the Blue Jays next season. There was speculation that the team may add him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft last month, but they opted against that decision, and he went unselected.

The power that he has displayed throughout the minor leagues is something that the Jays could certainly use. Despite the aforementioned defensive versatility, he is still most likely to settle in as a first baseman at the highest level. The fact that he can play at third or in a corner outfield spot gives him the floor of being a player who can fill in at several spots while providing pop off the bench.

In addition to his power, his keen batter’s eye will likely be the thing that allows him to become a starter in the big leagues. If he can bounce back from last season, there’s a good chance that he could become a .330+ OBP guy with power. He will likely have his fair share of strikeouts while settling in as a below-average runner and average at-best fielder, but his hitting profile could allow him to have a long career.

The makeup of the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays depends on what they do with the rest of their offseason. The makeup of the team’s corner infielders will dictate if there may be a spot up for grabs come spring training.

The most likely scenario is Palmegiani starting the year back in triple-A, with some success allowing him to get called up to the big leagues around mid-season.

13. Eric Cerantola

14. Dasan Brown

15. Émilien Pitre

16. Adam Maier

17. Liam Hicks

18. David McCabe

19. Calvin Ziegler

20. Jeremy Pilon