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Looking at the Dunedin Blue Jays’ season at the All-Star break
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Ryley Delaney
Jul 18, 2024, 22:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 20, 2024, 03:41 EDT
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The Dunedin Blue Jays are right in the thick of things to head back to the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Their first-half didn’t go great, finishing with a record of 34-32, nine games back of first place in the division. However, they’re off to a 12-9 start in the second-half, just 1.5 games behind the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels for first in the Florida State League West division.
The team isn’t loaded with offensive talent, but pitching has been solid throughout both halves and could spearhead a run to the postseason. Let’s take a look at some notable figures on the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Victor Arias

Without question, Victor Arias has been the team’s best player this season. The outfielder had a solid season in the Florida Complex League, Single-A, and Double-A, slashing .216/.375/.381 with a career-best five homers in 176 plate appearances.
The 20-year-old has been even better in 2024, as he is slashing .268/.375/.445 with seven home runs in 301 plate appearances, along with a 10.6 BB% and a 22.6 K% for a 137 wRC+. Among players in the Jays organization with 100+ plate appearances, Arias has the fifth-highest wRC+.
There’s a good chance he finds his way onto the top prospect list for the Jays, he’s certainly going to be on mine.

Cristian Feliz

Cristian Feliz slashed .196/.348/.393 with six homers in 135 plate appearances in the FCL last season, along with an 11.1 BB% and a 34.8 K% for a 99 wRC+.
In 2024, the 21-year-old leaned more into the power, hitting 14 home runs (tied for the second most in the organization), with an insanely high 42.9 K% and a slash line of .199/.312/.415 in 282 plate appearances. Thankfully, wRC+ doesn’t factor in K%, as the first baseman has a 110 wRC+.
He’ll need to make some significant changes as he climbs the minor league ladder, but he has some of the best raw power in the Jays’ organization since Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Arjun Nimmala

The Blue Jays’ first-round selection in 2023 has had a weird first season as a professional.
In his first stint with the D-Jays in 2024, Nimmala slashed .167/.280/.306 with three homers in 125 plate appearances, along with a 12 BB% and a 34.4 K%. He was sent down to the Florida Complex League, where he spent a few weeks and slashed .238/.467/.571 with a homer, a double, and a triple in 30 plate appearances.
Since returning to the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, the 18-year-old shortstop is slashing .300/.362/.700 with three homers in 58 plate appearances, along with an 8.6 BB% and a 31 K%. Moreover, he’s hit three triples and five doubles.
Hopefully the next prospect we’ll look at has the same kind of return.

Tucker Toman

The Blue Jays selected Tucker Toman out of high school with a compensatory pick in the 2022 draft. Although he was selected 77th-overall, he was ranked much higher by several publications.
His first full season in the Jays organization didn’t go great, though. In 2023 with the Dunedin Blue Jays, he slashed .208/.320/.313 with five homers in 503 plate appearances, along with a 12.5 BB% and a 26.8 K%.
The 2024 season hasn’t gone much better for the 20-year-old infielder, as he is slashing .237/.307/.351 with four homers in 274 plate appearances, with an increase in K% (31%) and a decrease in BB% (7.3%).
This led to the Jays adding Toman to the development list to work on some stuff. Hopefully when he returns, he can hit like Nimmala has.

Nolan Perry

Nolan Perry was also selected in the 2022 draft, but much later as the Jays selected the New Mexico-native in the 12th-round.
His debut season in the organization wasn’t great, posting a 7.28 ERA and a 4.05 FIP in 38.1 innings pitched with the FCL Jays in 2023. This included a 28.3 K% and an 8.9 BB%, which isn’t actually awful.
The numbers have improved, sort of, for the 20-year-old righty. This season with Dunedin, Perry has a 2.27 ERA and a 4.67 FIP in 31.2 innings pitched, and while his K% has increased to 29.1%, he’s struggled with command as he has a 20.6 BB%.
Still, he’s one of the most exciting young arms in the Blue Jays system.

Irv Carter

Big things were expected from Irv Carter when the Jays selected the prep pitcher in the fifth-round of the 2021 draft. Unfortunately, his first season in 2022 saw him post a 5.48 ERA and a 5.37 FIP in 47.2 innings pitched between the FCL and Single-A.
Carter declined further in 2023 with the D-Jays, making 10 starts in his 13 appearances, where he had an 8.60 ERA and an 8.34 FIP in 37.2 innings pitched. Moreover, he had a higher BB% (16%) than K% (15.5%), a good sign for hitters, but an extremely bad sign for pitchers.
The 21-year-old moved to the bullpen for the Blue Jays in 2024, where he’s gotten his career back on track. In 24 appearances out of the pen, Carter has a 3.24 ERA and a 4.82 FIP in 50 innings pitched, along with a 24.5 K% and a 13.9 BB%.

Fernando Pérez

Fernando Pérez was one of the organization’s breakout stars in 2023, posting a 2.72 ERA and a 3 FIP in 49.2 innings pitched with the FCL Jays, along with a 29.2 K% and a 6.2 BB%. This landed him on several Top 30 prospect lists heading into the season, including MLB Pipeline’s list where he ranked 23 in the preseason.
The 20-year-old has only boosted his stock so far in 2024, as he has a 3.48 ERA and a 3.26 FIP in 75 innings pitched, along with a 27 K% and a 6.7 BB%. Pérez also represented the Blue Jays organization at the Futures All-Star game, but didn’t pitch.
He could very well be a top five pitching prospect in the Jays organization at the end of the season if he can keep it up.

Kai Peterson

Selected with the Blue Jays’ final pick in the 2023 draft, Kai Peterson was a JuCo player selected in the 20th-round.
That hasn’t stopped him from quickly becoming one of the most intriguing relief pitchers in the lower-minors. With the Dunedin Blue Jays, he had a 4.60 ERA and a 3.34 FIP in 31.1 innings pitched, posting an insane 42.6 K% and a very high 19.6 BB%.
What’s more impressive is that 10 of his 16 earned runs came in a three-game stretch. Removing those three games, he’d have a 1.71 ERA in 31.2 innings pitched, a pretty bonkers number.
Peterson was called up to the Vancouver Canadians, where he has made three appearances without giving up a run. The 21-year-old has pitched 2.2 innings with a 40 K% and a 13.3 BB%. The lefty is certainly a reliever to keep an eye on.

Juaron Watts-Brown

Sticking with the 2023 draft, Juaron Watts-Brown was the team’s third-round pick in that draft, and made his professional debut with the D-Jays in 2024.
In the Florida State League, the 22-year-old had a 3.43 ERA and a 3.22 FIP in 57.2 innings pitched, along with a 30.3 K% and an 11.9 BB% in 12 starts. He earned a call up to Vancouver, where he’s struggled a bit, with an 8 ERA and a 7.24 FIP in nine innings pitched.
Still, this looks like a good draft pick for the Jays, as Watts-Brown’s stuff is electric.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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