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Blue Jays 2026 mid-season top prospect list: Position player honourable mentions
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Aug 18, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 18, 2026, 19:51 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays farm system is slightly worse off than it was before the 2026 trade deadline.
While they acquired a handful of prospects who will rank on this list, they happened to trade away their second-best prospect, Arjun Nimmala. The shortstop is one of three players who ranked on the pre-season top prospect list who have departed the organization, while others fell off and graduated.
For the 2026 mid-season top prospect list, Blue Jays Nation will look at the top 40 prospects in the Blue Jays’ organization. In this article, we’ll look at the position players worthy of an honourable mention, either for falling off the list, departed the organization, just missed, or graduated. If you missed it, you can read about the pitchers who are honourable mentions.
Let’s dig in!

Graduated

There are two players who ranked on the top prospect pre-season list who have gone on to graduate: Yohendrick Piñango and Brandon Valenzuela.
The former ranked as our 10th-best prospect in the pre-season list after the Blue Jays acquired him from the Chicago Cubs back in 2024. Piñango has had strong numbers in Triple-A, slashing .275/.354/.468 with seven home runs in 195 plate appearances. In the big leagues, he’s slashing .260/.306/.396 with five home runs in 180 plate appearances.
His future lies as either a bench bat or a designated hitter, as his defence is generally considered poor. Still, there’s a lot to like about his bat in the 58 games he’s played this season for the Blue Jays.
Acquired before the 2025 trade deadline for Will Wagner, Valenzuela appeared to be the backup catcher of the future. That future came early when Alejandro Kirk went down with an injury in the third series of the season. In the big leagues, the catcher is slashing .225/.304/.380 with eight home runs in 225 plate appearances, along with strong defence. Valenzuela ranked as our 31st-best Blue Jays’ prospect in the pre-season list.
Both Valenzuela and Piñango graduated because of the number of at-bats/days on the active roster they’ve had. Two other ranked players are also at risk, Sean Keys and Charles McAdoo, but for now, they rank on the list.

Fell off

There are two players who ranked on the 2026 pre-season top prospect list have fallen off, Edward Duran and Cutter Coffey.
Duran ranked as our 25th-best Blue Jays’ prospect in the pre-season list, but it’s been a tough season offensively for the catcher. With the High-A Vancouver Canadians, he’s slashing .231/.276/.331 with two home runs in 181 plate appearances, good for a 61 wRC+. With a recent promotion to Double-A, his offensive struggles are likely to continue.
The jump from High-A to Double-A is a big one, and Coffey is a prime example of a player who has struggled. Coffey slashed .273/.359/.427 with 11 home runs in 440 plate appearances in High-A in 2025, ranking as our 26th-best Blue Jays’ prospect in the pre-season update. This season, Coffey is slashing .224/.304/.320 with three home runs in 309 plate appearances.

Departed organization

Three players who ranked on our pre-season top prospect list have departed the organization. Both Nimmala and Eddie Micheletti Jr. were a part of the package that landed the Blue Jays José Soriano before the trade deadline.
Additionally, Riley Tirotta was released in early June before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. After spending a month and a half with the National League East team, Tirotta was released for a second time in 2026.

Just missed

There are nine players who just missed making the mid-season top prospect list. Three of them are 2026 draftees, Dean West, Brayden Martin, and Ryan Cooney.
West, an outfielder, has limited power but a fantastic run tool. Martin is a hit-over-power profile, but the analytics are encouraging. Cooney was the Blue Jays’ third-round selection back in July, but hasn’t started his professional career particularly well.
Dameury Pena was also acquired recently, as he was one of three prospects the Blue Jays acquired in the Jeff Hoffman deal. Pena also has limited power and a solid hit tool. Since joining the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, he’s slashing .346/.393/.500 with no home runs in 28 plate appearances.
Alexis Hernandez was under heavy consideration to make the list, as he slashed .284/.382/.513 with 14 home runs in 329 plate appearances in High-A. But as is the case with Coffey, his stats have taken a step back upon his promotion to Double-A, albeit a much smaller sample size.
Aaron Parker also has 14 home runs, as he’s spent his entire season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Overall, he’s slashing .260/.358/.468 with 20 extra-base hits in 269 plate appearances. His defence behind the plate isn’t great, and Parker also has a 30.5 K%.
Aldo Gaxiola has had a solid season with the D-Jays. Over 76 games, the corner infielder is slashing .255/.313/.448 with 12 home runs in 313 plate appearances, good for a 97 wRC+. Like Parker, Gaxiola has a high K% of 28.4%.
Michael Mesa was one of the Blue Jays’ top international free agent signings in the 2026 period. In the Dominican Summer League, the left-handed batting outfielder slashed .273/.356/.424 with two home runs and 20 doubles in 202 plate appearances. That’s good for a 93 wRC+. Not great, but the number of doubles hit is encouraging.
Finally, Angel Guzman will be on the 2027 pre-season list. Had Keys or McAdoo graduated, Guzman would have slotted somewhere in the 30s in this mid-season list, he was that darn good in 2026. With the Florida Complex League Blue Jays, the switch-hitting infielder slashed .285/.386/.459 with seven home runs, 11 doubles, and two triples in 249 plate appearances, good for a 113 wRC+.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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