For prospect watchers, spring training is the best time of the year on the baseball calendar.

It’s when prospects from all 30 clubs are put under the spotlight, hoping to leave a lasting impression on their organizations before heading to minor-league camp, where they’ll continue preparing for the upcoming campaign. A select few will compete for a roster spot with the big-league club, though, showcasing their talents in hopes of breaking camp in the majors.

For a franchise like the Toronto Blue Jays, whose farm system is considered bottom-third in the sport by most industry experts, the odds of any prospect beginning the 2025 season on their Opening Day 26-man roster appear relatively slim. But not impossible.

There’s always a chance that an injury could accelerate a certain prospect’s timeline or a performance that forces the front office’s hand much sooner than anticipated. It’s all about improving your position within the organization during this time of the year.

With a subpar crop of prospects, that will understandably be tougher for Toronto’s system compared to other franchises. Even so, those who follow this team still have a handful of intriguing youngsters they should closely monitor during Grapefruit League action this spring.

Few are off to a better start — albeit it over a minuscule sample size thus far — than Martinez, who’s recorded a pair of hits in five plate appearances during the early going, including the club’s first home run of the spring during their Grapefruit League opener last Saturday.

This is a massive camp for the 23-year-old infielder after playing just 75 games last season — 74 at triple-A and the other in the majors — due to his 80-game PED suspension. He’s looking to climb back up Toronto’s infield depth chart, and he could certainly kick start that process with a strong showing over these next four-plus weeks.

It’s no secret that the Blue Jays’ system is overflowing with infielders, particularly at the MLB and triple-A levels. But what hasn’t been lost in the mix is Martinez’s ceiling as a potential impact hitter.

The time he missed a year ago further clouded his defensive future, with most of his recent experience coming at second base, a position currently blocked by Andrés Giménez on the major-league roster. If not for his suspension, the Blue Jays likely would’ve been able to determine his fate at the hot corner — where he logged nearly 200 innings last season in Buffalo — more concretely. But that can has since been kicked down the road.

Perhaps Martinez’s position can be debated at a later time, though. Toronto’s lineup could still use another meaningful addition before this season opens. And if management can’t address that need externally, their best bet might be to call upon the power-hitting infield prospect — even if it’s as a platoon DH versus left-handed pitching.

As much as this season is a pivotal year for Martinez, a similar sentiment can also likely be said regarding Roden’s upcoming campaign as he enters his final season before becoming Rule 5-eligible next winter.

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the organization with anything negative to say about the 25-year-old outfielder. It’d be like searching for the smallest needle in the world’s largest haystack. All everyone has done is praise him for his maturity and rapid ascension since becoming a third-round selection in 2022.

That includes Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins, who unpromptedly named the left-handed-hitting prospect as one he’s most excited to observe this spring. And it’s easy to understand why.

There’s a lot to like with Roden. He features a high-contact, low-swing-and-miss profile that saw him register a walk rate (12.1 per cent) almost two per cent lower than his strikeout rate (14.2 per cent) between double-A and triple-A in 2024.

He arrived in Buffalo on June 15 and didn’t miss a beat, especially with his contact ability, producing the 11th-lowest whiff rate (18.1 per cent) at that level the rest of the way among qualified hitters with at least 250 plate appearances. Additionally, he slashed a remarkable .314/.406/.510 with a 140 wRC+, placing 40 per cent above league average.

The power is still coming along for Roden, although he hit 16 home runs in 125 games last season between two levels, six more than his 2023 total across 10 fewer games. Still, he profiles more as a doubles hitter than a pure home-run-hitting threat.

Chances are we’ll see Roden make his highly-anticipated major league debut in ’25. It may not happen on Opening Day or shortly after the regular season begins. However, with left field still a major question mark, he should have a legitimate opportunity to help this team soon, even with Joey Loperfido and Nathan Lukes ahead of him on Toronto’s depth chart.

Kasevich, also a standout from the Blue Jays’ 2022 draft class, is another quick riser and someone who isn’t too far away from knocking on the door of the major leagues.

The 24-year-old shortstop is a prototypical prospect for this organization — a middle infielder who hits for lots of contact, rarely strikes out, but doesn’t hit for much power. He’s considered a plus defender with an MLB-ready glove, although with a bat that requires additional seasoning — think of Leo Jiménez during his prospect days.

After completing double-A last season, Kasevich — Rule 5-eligible next winter — concluded his third professional campaign with 41 games at triple-A, where he’ll resume his development this season. From there, his progress will be monitored closely, especially if he can build off the 116 wRC+ he recorded with the Bisons.

Kasevich will likely spend most, if not all, of 2025 in the minors as he continues refining his offensive skills. Given Bo Bichette’s pending free agency, though, he could become an important piece of the puzzle heading into ’26.

Outside of Martinez, McAdoo’s swing might consist of the most raw power in Toronto’s system, which was an integral part of the front office’s motivation behind trading Isiah Kiner-Falefa (signed through 2025) to the Pittsburgh Pirates last summer — a departure from the club’s rentals-only sell-off.

McAdoo isn’t like most Blue Jays prospects. But in a good way. His most notable trait is creating damage, something this pipeline desperately needed more of, which he displayed with 17 home runs and a .479 SLG across 124 combined games split between high-A and double-A in 2024.

Of course, that type of approach is typically associated with an ample amount of swing-and-miss, as was the case for the 22-year-old slugger. He struck out in nearly a quarter of his 118 plate appearances at double-A with the Pirates organization prior to being traded, with that figure rising to 30 per cent in 143 plate appearances following his arrival to Toronto’s system.

He had trouble adjusting to his new surroundings, slumping to a .185/.287/.323 slash line in 37 games with New Hampshire. Having said that, he was likely suffering from fatigue while compiling 124 games played during his first full year of pro ball, 96 more than the previous season.

McAdoo’s future in the infield will likely be at first base rather than third, and that could provide him with a quicker pathway to the majors since a certain Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is slated to test free agency next winter, creating an opportunity for a power-hitting thumper.

Now, here’s a pitcher you’ll want to keep a close eye on.

As currently situated, Brendon Little is the leading candidate to serve as the Blue Jays’ primary left-handed reliever in 2025, with veterans such as Josh Walker, Richard Lovelady and Amir Garrett also competing for that lefty specialist role this spring. That likely means Fluharty, another Rule 5 candidate after this season, will return to triple-A Buffalo out of camp.

But it won’t be shocking if he earns a shot with the big-league club later this season. He featured an impressive 18.4-per-cent strikeout-to-walk rate difference in 56 relief outings with the Bisons in ’24, dominating lefties with a sweeper that induced a swing-and-miss nearly half the time in those matchups.

While Bloss still technically holds his prospect status, after making three major league starts a season ago and being more advanced than your traditional 23-year-old pitcher, it felt more suitable to have him listed in the honourary status here than with the others above.

But he’s still arguably the most important pitcher in this system — beyond the Blue Jays’ top five starters, six if you include Yariel Rodríguez.

It was a rough start to the spring for Bloss over the weekend, allowing two runs (both earned) on two hits, a walk and a wild pitch over an inning and two-thirds, unable to complete his previously scheduled two innings of work against the Boston Red Sox. That’s okay, though. Results hold very little value in spring training. That’s part of its beauty.

The Blue Jays plan to slow play Bloss’ progression this season, and understandably so following his 2024 whirlwind, which included stints at four different levels, including the majors. They need to get this right with the wise-beyond-his-years right-hander, who’ll serve as triple-A depth coming out of spring training.

Bloss will likely be the first name Toronto calls up if a need arises in 2025. But his importance to this franchise stems beyond this season, especially with Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer — who made his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday, punching out four in two innings — headed to free agency next winter.

After dialing up 97 and 98 m.p.h. heaters in his first start, at least according to the stadium’s radar gun at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla., the former Houston Astros prospect will have plenty of eyes on his next outing on Friday against a New York Yankees lineup that’ll likely feature a handful of regulars at George M. Steinbrenner Field.