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Five potential breakout candidates in the Blue Jays farm system in 2025
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Ryley Delaney
Nov 14, 2024, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 14, 2024, 05:57 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays farm system is in dire need of a player or two to break out.
Over the course of the past few seasons, there have been a handful of late-round picks who have figured something out at the minor league level and translated that to the big leagues, such as Spencer Horwitz and Davis Schneider.
However, the Blue Jays have struggled to develop early-round picks, as only one first-round pick has made a significant impact since Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins took over in late 2015.
In this article, we’ll look at five breakout candidates in the Blue Jays farm system in 2025.

Tucker Toman

The Blue Jays selected high school switch-hitter Tucker Toman with the compensation pick they received for Marcus Semien in the 2022 draft.
After a brief period of success immediately after being drafted, Toman hasn’t found traction in professional baseball as of yet. In 2023 as a 19-year-old, he slashed .208/320/.313 with five home runs in 503 plate appearances, along with a 12.5 BB% and a 26.8 K% for an 81 wRC+ with the Dunedin Blue Jays.
Toman repeated the level with the D-Jays in 2024, slashing .221/.301/.318 with four home runs in 326 plate appearances, while his BB% dropped to 8.3% and his K% rose to 31.9%. This gave him an 82 wRC+ for the season.
The 21-year-old third baseman has fallen off most top prospect lists, but the power is real and his strong arm will allow him to stick at third base. Toman’s success depends if his hit tool can come around and if he can drop the strikeout rate.

Gage Stanifer

Gage Stanifer was also selected in the 2022 draft out of high school, with the Blue Jays selecting him with their 19th-round pick.
His first professional season was in 2023 with the Florida Complex League Blue Jays, where he had a 6.33 ERA and a 4.42 FIP in 42.2 innings pitched, along with a 24.4 K% and an 11.9 BB%. The 20-year-old had a similar 2024 season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, posting a 6.34 ERA and a 5.27 FIP in 59.2 innings pitched, along with a 23.2 K% and a worrisome 18.1 BB%.
An encouraging sign that Stanifer could break out this upcoming season is a month and a half span from May 12 until July 2, where he had a 2.87 ERA and a 4 FIP in 31.1 innings pitched, with a 24 K% and a 15.5 BB%.
Stanifer has a four-pitch mix, a sinker, a four-seam fastball, a slider, and a changeup/splitter. His fastball sits in the low 90s.

Josh Kasevich

Josh Kasevich was also selected by the Blue Jays in the 2022 draft, as they used the 60th overall pick to acquire the shortstop.
It was a good season for the 23-year-old between Double-A and Triple-A, as he slashed .296/.348/.385 with a career-high six home runs in 566 plate appearances, with a 7.1 BB% and an 11.8 BB%.
Kasevich features strong defence and one of the best hit tools in the league, but you’re left wanting more due to the lack of pop in his bat. Ranking as the Blue Jays’ ninth-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, his scouting report notes that the team believes he could hit double-digit home runs in the future.
If he does that, Kasevich will go from a useful defensive shortstop to one of Toronto’s best prospects, and it could happen in 2025.

Sam Shaw

Canadian Sam Shaw was selected in the ninth round of the 2023 draft out of Lambrick Park Secondary School in Victoria, British Columbia. I was fortunate enough to see the 19-year-old in action at the Canadian Futures Showcase in 2022 and was quite surprised when the Jays drafted him.
In his first professional season in 2023, Shaw slashed .207/.425/.275 with no home runs in 40 plate appearances with the Florida Complex League Jays. The outfielder repeated the level in his first full season, slashing .220/.361/.304 with two home runs in 209 plate appearances, mainly playing left field.
Shaw ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 29th-best Blue Jays prospect before the start of the 2024 season but fell off the list in the mid-season ranking. Still, there’s potential pop in his bat and his contact rate is one of his best attributes.

Juaron Watts-Brown

Lastly, we have Juaron Watts-Brown who was selected in the third round of the 2023 draft.
The 22-year-old righty made his debut in 2024 with the Dunedin Blue Jays, posting a 3.43 ERA and a 3.17 FIP in 57.2 innings pitched, along with a 30.3 K% and an 11.9 BB%. His tenure in High-A with the Vancouver Canadians didn’t go nearly as well though, as he had a 6.35 ERA and FIP in 45.1 innings pitched, with a 27.3 K% and a 14.8 BB%.
It wasn’t a bad season for the 22-year-old by any means necessary, but Watts-Brown can do much better. His fastball sits in the low 90s, touching 93 mph, but his off-speed pitches (curveball and slider) are legitimate out pitches.
If he can add more velocity, Watts-Brown’s potential is immense in any capacity, whether that be as a starter or in the bullpen. He ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 19th-best prospect in their mid-season update.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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