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Blue Jays: Where the top performing prospects in Spring Training are now
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Photo credit: © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 15, 2026, 07:00 EDTUpdated: May 14, 2026, 21:03 EDT
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The 2026 season is over a quarter of the way done.
One of the biggest reasons for the Toronto Blue Jays’ success in 2025 was thanks to young players from the Buffalo Bisons emerging as important players in the run. Addison Barger got some MLB experience in 2024, but began the season in Triple-A. Braydon Fisher, Mason Fluharty, and others became key players down the stretch.
That doesn’t even mention the improvement on their farm system, which helped them land players like Louis Varland, Shane Bieber, Seranthony Domínguez, and Brandon Valenzuela.
It feels like yesterday that the Blue Jays were oh so close to winning their third World Series in franchise history. It was a short off-season for the team, just three and a half months off before Spring Training began.
That said, how are the prospects who performed well in Spring Training doing early into the 2026 season?

Josh Kasevich

Shortstop Josh Kasevich was the biggest standout during his 20 games of Spring Training action. In 40 plate appearances, the Blue Jays’ second-rounder in 2022 slashed .305/.375/.500 with a home run and higher BB% (7.5%) than K% (5%).
Kasevich needed a Spring Training like that, as he struggled to stay healthy during the 2025 season. When he did play towards the end of the season, Kasevich slashed just .228/.331/.243 with no home runs in 160 plate appearances, including just a .173/.272/.184 slash line in 114 plate appearances with the Bisons.
The shortstop had a bunch of helium heading into the 2025 season thanks to a strong 2024, where he slashed .296/.348/.385 with six home runs in 566 plate appearances for a 107 wRC+. Thankfully, he has been performing well with the Bisons to begin 2026.
So far this season, the 25-year-old is batting .277 with one home run and eight doubles in 164 plate appearances. If there’s an injury in the Blue Jays’ infield this season, Kasevich could be the first to be called up.

Brandon Valenzuela

Of the five prospects we’ll look at, Brandon Valenzuela is the lone prospect to make his big league debut already. Acquired from the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, the switch-hitting catcher had an unremarkable end to his 2025 season, slashing just .207/.295/.370 with three home runs, bringing his home run total to career-best 15.
Valenzuela looked good in Spring Training, slashing .304/.370/.478 with one home run in 27 plate appearances. More importantly, the 25-year-old got familiar with catching the Blue Jays’ pitching staff. That became important early in the season as Alejandro Kirk suffered a fractured thumb.
At the end of the 2025 season, Valenzuela was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. After slashing .200/.294/.400 with a home run in 17 plate appearances with the Bisons, Valenzuela was called up by the Blue Jays.
Since then, the catcher is slashing .222/.300/.429 with four home runs in 70 plate appearances, along with a 10 BB% and 28.6 K%. That production from a backup catcher is great, but Valenzuela has also been one of, if not the best defensive catchers in baseball, amassing 6 Defensive Runs Saved and 5 Fielding Run Value in just 175 innings behind the plate.
Among big league catchers with 170 or more innings, Valenzuela’s DRS ranks first and his FRV ranks tied for second. Once Alejandro Kirk returns, it’d be wise for the Jays to keep Valenzuela on the 26-man roster.

Eddie Michletti Jr

The Blue Jays drafted Eddie Micheletti Jr. in the eight round of the 2024 draft out of Virginia Tech. Ever since then, he’s been one of the more underrated prospects in the Blue Jays system. It started with two home runs in 90 plate appearances to end the draft.
He didn’t struggle in High-A either, slashing .228/.375/.418 with 14 home runs in 464 plate appearances for a 124 wRC+. More importantly, Micheletti Jr. had a higher BB% (16.8%) than K% (15.1%).
The outfielder only had a cup of tea in big league Spring Training, but impressed nonetheless. Over nine plate appearances, the 24-year-old slashed .375/.44/.875 with a double and a home run.
Beginning the season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Micheletti Jr. has continued to perform well, slashing .259/.385/.463 with five home runs in 130 plate appearances for a 124 wRC+. He is an important member of one of the best offences in all of Double-A, with Jace Bohrofen and Sean Keys also performing well.

Javen Coleman

Left-handed reliever Javen Coleman signed as a non-drafted free agent following the 2024 draft, and made his professional debut the following season. The 24-year-old didn’t get off to the best start in Single-A, posting a 4.45 ERA and 3.65 FIP in 28.1 innings pitched with a 36.3 K% and 13.7 BB%.
Something changed once he reached High-A midway through the season, as Coleman posted a remarkable 1.40 ERA and 1.15 FIP in 25.2 innings pitched, thanks to a 40.4 K% and 6.1 BB%. Thanks to his strong end to the season, Coleman was invited to the big league Spring Training camp.
Over six and two-thirds innings, Coleman didn’t allow any earned runs, and in fact, allowed just three hits in his six outings. Facing big league hitters, Coleman only had a 22.2 K%, while his BB% jumped to 14.8%.
The Jays placed Coleman in Double-A to begin the 2026 season, where it’s been a mixed bag depending on which stat you look at. Over his eight and one-third innings, Coleman has given up five earned runs, good enough for a 5.40 FIP. However, he’s struck out 36.1% of the batters he faced and has issued just one walk, giving him a 2.88 FIP.
Unfortunately, Coleman is currently on the 7-day injured list, and hasn’t pitched since April 26th.

Chad Dallas

Thanks to a strong 2023 where he had a 3.65 ERA and 4.08 FIP in 123.1 innings pitched, Chad Dallas had some serious helium heading into 2024. Unfortunately, his 2024 season with the Bisons was hampered due to injury, posting a 6.21 ERA and 5.29 FIP in 66.2 innings pitched.
By the end of the 2024 season, Dallas needed Tommy John surgery, leading to the 25-year-old right-handed pitcher missing the entirety of the 2025 season. He appeared in two games for the Blue Jays during Spring Training, going two and two-thirds innings with a 3.38 ERA and 4.03 FIP, but also striking out six of the 10 batters he faced.
With the Blue Jays rotation in flux, Dallas is viewed as a pitcher who can make some starts in the big leagues sooner rather than later. A big part of that is thanks to his start with the Bisons, where he has a 3.41 ERA and sub-2.60 FIP in 29 innings pitched. In that span, Dallas has a 26.4 K% and 9.1 BB%.
His last outing on Thursday saw him go four innings of one-run ball, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out five. He’d have to be added to the 40-man roster, but if he keeps performing this way, he may force the Blue Jays’ hands.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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