Looking at which Blue Jays prospects are playing in Winter Leagues
Photo credit: © Mark J. Rebilas - Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2025, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 19, 2025, 03:43 EDT
There are a handful of Toronto Blue Jays’ prospects playing Winter Ball.
The Blue Jays may still be playing in the American League Championship Series, but it’s the off-season for their prospects. Well, most of their prospects, as they have eight attending the Arizona Fall League, as well as six prospects playing in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico.
Let’s take a look at which players are playing in Winter Ball!
Damiano Palmegiani
This winter, Damiano Palmegiani joined Cardenales de Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League. Palmegiani represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic, but the 25-year-old was born in Venezuela. In five games with the team, Palmegiani is slashing .333/.444/.467 with two doubles and four strikeouts in 18 plate appearances.
It was a rough season for the first baseman/third baseman/outfielder, as he slashed .159/.299/.232 in 167 Triple-A plate appearances, finishing the season in Double-A. As much as he’s struggled the past two seasons, Palmegiani’s power is real, and it’s paired well with a good eye at the plate.
In recent times, the Jays’ development team has attempted to expand his versatility, playing him in left field after coming up as a corner infielder. Hopefully, Palmegiani can have a good winter and carry the momentum into the 2026 season.
Gabriel Martínez
Also in Venezuela is Palmegiani’s New Hampshire Fisher Cats teammate, Gabriel Martínez. The 23-year-old plays for the Aguilas de Zulia, registering just two plate appearances without a hit.
The outfielder split the 2025 season between the High-A Vancouver Canadians and Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. As a whole, he slashed .247/.321/.341 with two home runs in 313 plate appearances, but made this spectacular catch.
Martínez was once a top 10 Blue Jays’ prospect, but has struggled since the beginning of the 2023 season. Like Palmegiani, let’s hope he has a strong winter season and carries the momentum into the 2026 season.
Richard Gallardo
During the 2024 winter meetings, the Blue Jays selected Richard Gallardo in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft. The 24-year-old didn’t pitch in 2025, nor has he pitched with the Tigres de Aragua in Venezuela.
His most recent action came in 2024 with the Chicago Cubs, where he threw 16.1 innings, authoring a 5.50 ERA and 3.11 FIP, with a 20.7 K% and 4.9 BB%. In Fangraphs’ 2024 updated top prospect rankings, the right-handed pitcher ranked as the Cubs’ 36th-best prospect.
Gallardo features a mid-90s fastball and generates a ton of groundballs.
Eddinson Paulino
Moving to the Blue Jays’ prospect currently playing in the Dominican Winter League, Eddinson Paulino’s MiLB roster page notes that he was transferred to the Gigantes del Cibao, but has yet to play a game with them.
Teammates with former Blue Jays José Ureña and Yerry Rodríguez, young players like Paulino usually don’t get much action in LIDOM. Of course, former Blue Jay Rainer Nuñez is an exception, as he finished with the most home runs in 2022-23. That said, don’t expect Paulino to get much action, if any at all.
It’s too bad, as Paulino missed a significant portion of the 2025 season due to injury. When healthy, he slashed .198/.264/.362 with 13 home runs in 360 plate appearances. The 23-year-old matched a career high in the long balls.
CJ Van Eyk
When scrolling through rosters from the Dominican, Venezuelan, and Mexican winter leagues, I was a bit surprised to see CJ Van Eyk’s name appear for Aguilas de Mexicali. In his only start so far, the 27-year-old pitched four and one-third innings, giving up four earned runs and striking out four.
The right-handed pitcher spent most of the 2025 season in Triple-A, authoring a 4.94 ERA and 5.52 FIP in 89.1 innings pitched, with an 18.1 K% and 9.9 BB%. His first seven starts came with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, where he had a 4.42 ERA and 4.33 FIP in 36.2 innings pitched.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Blue Jays have planned for him in 2026.
Brandon Valenzuela
Brandon Valenzuela (who is from Mexico) is listed as a player on Naranjeros de Hermosillo’s 70-man roster. It’s unclear if the catcher will play for them this season, as his MiLB page doesn’t say he’s transferred to his hometown team.
He did participate with the team in 2024-25, slashing .259/.415/.383 with one home run in 106 plate appearances. Acquired in a trade deadline deal in late July, the 25-year-old slashed .208/.295/.370 with three home runs in 105 plate appearances after the trade, giving him a career-best 15 home runs in 2025.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.