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Players to keep an eye on early this season with the Buffalo Bisons
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Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski - USA Today
Matthew Spagnuolo
Apr 1, 2025, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 1, 2025, 15:17 EDT
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With the excitement of the 2025 MLB season comes the one thing we all keep our eyes on: triple-A Baseball!
All joking aside, the Buffalo Bisons are a team that Blue Jays fans tend to keep an eye on, especially since the next group of Blue Jays tend to make a stop just south of the border before finding themselves in Toronto. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette both followed this route, and newcomers Alan Roden and Mason Fluharty also spent some time in the International League at some point in their careers. Some players even end up having to start the campaign in triple-A instead of the big leagues – a name or two in this article being part of that group. 
With the Bisons boasting a 1-1 record heading into their first full series of the season, let’s take a look at some names to monitor just down the road on Queen Elizabeth Way.
Orlevis Martinez – INF
Let’s start with the player everyone had a lot of eyes on in spring training, Orlevis Martinez. The Blue Jays #3 ranked prospect heading into the new year, Martinez did make a strong impression this past spring with his bat as he hit .320 with a home run and three RBIs in 25 at bats. 
While Martinez’s bat has always been a strength, the issue that has dogged him as of late comes on the field, as the organization feels his defence has been subpar whether he’s at second or third. There is an argument to be made that he could have broken camp as the Blue Jays DH, but the club opted for additional outfielders to cover Varsho’s absence, Davis Schneider, and Will Wagner to round out the bench. The Jays have also used Anthony Santander in the DH spot as well, meaning there might not have been enough playing time for Martinez to even get regular reps in that spot anyways.
The best thing for Martinez is for him to go back down to triple-A and put the barrel to the ball while improving his glove a bit to make him a servicable infielder. He did not play this past weekend due to illness.
Addison Barger – 3B/OF
Addison Barger came into Dunedin shredded and looking to make a name for himself after a cup of coffee in the big leagues last year, and after a strong spring, he did just that. He did struggle a little out of the gate but finished spring training hitting .367 with three home runs and six RBIs in 30 at bats. He also finished second on the Blue Jays in terms of OPS with a 1.162 OPS in 15 games (second to Alan Roden 1.244)
When looking at that, you may wonder, why would you not keep Barger up with the organization? Well, John Schneider did say on the last day of spring training that his playing time would be severely impacted with Ernie Clement and Will Wagner platooning at third base and with the surplus of outfielders that the team has in George Springer, Alan Roden, Anthony Santander, Nathan Lukes, and Myles Straw. Straw and Lukes are in the big leagues to cover Varsho’s absence, and with the strong spring Roden had, Barger was the odd man out. 
Given how Barger has shown how powerful his swing is, in addition to his cannon of an arm, you best believe he’s going to see the majors again if he can show as much discipline at the plate as he did in the latter half of the spring. Through the weekend mini-series against Rochester, he collected one hit – a two run homer – while walking once compared to three strikeouts. 
Jake Bloss – RHP
With the newest injury to Max Scherzer and the lack of starting pitching depth the Blue Jays have, Bloss is in a very intriguing spot. Considering that numerous arms like Alek Manoah and Ricky Tiedemann are rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and a knee injury that has Adam Macko on the sidelines to start the campaign, the right-hander is sitting in a prime call-up spot early this year. 
Bloss is ranked sixth in the Blue Jays’ prospect rankings for 2025, but with Tiedemann hurt, he sits as the team’s second-best arm outside of Trey Yesavage, who is still a couple of years away from sniffing the big leagues. This past spring, Bloss struggled through his first few outings, giving up eight runs across five innings of work where he only struck out a single batter. He also gave up four walks in his second last game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 
However in his last appearance of the spring, which was ironically against his former team in Houston, Bloss was able to showcase his velocity as he hit 97-98 MPH on his fast ball and got the most whiffs he ever got with his slider, managing to strike out five Astros batters across three innings of work. He also had a solid showing at the Spring Breakout prospect showcase game, pitching two clean innings while striking out four Twins prospects. Now, that is more of what the Blue Jays want to see.
Given the high expectations of Bloss, as he was a top prospect in Houston, Buffalo should be a good opportunity for him to channel his strengths and make strong starts going forward. He got a taste of the big leagues last year with the Astros and is looking to find that rhythm that got him on their radar in the first place. He gets the nod tonight. 
Joey Loperfido – OF
With the amount of outfield depth this club acquired this past year, Loperfido was a name to watch when he came over last summer at the trade deadline. Granted, his stock took a bit of a hit this spring with the emergence of Roden and him struggling to control the strikeouts this spring, but he will continue to be a name to monitor given his potential raw power. 
2024 wasn’t the best sample size for Loperfido, as he only hit .197 in 43 games after being acquired from Houston. The strikeouts were an issue then and dogged him again in the spring, with the outfielder tinkering with his batting stance throughout the winter, and something he will need to work on in triple-A. 
As of now, Loperfido has only played two games for Buffalo (one in RF and one as the DH) and has shown some good promise out of the gate, going two for six with a home run. Finding a rhythm in triple-A will go a long way for the lefty-bat, who should get a shot in the big leagues sometime in 2025. 

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