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Blue Jays Nation’s 2026 Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 30: Angel Bastardo
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Feb 11, 2026, 18:30 ESTUpdated: Feb 11, 2026, 18:49 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays will need to make some decisions regarding their bullpen before Opening Day, including one about our 30th-ranked prospect, Angel Bastardo.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s bi-annual prospect ranking, where we’ll look at the top 35 prospects in the system in the month of February. As always, I’ll look at the player’s stats, what other publications have to say, as well as my own observations of the players. If you missed the 31st-ranked prospect, you can read about Brandon Valenzuela here.

Getting to know Angel Bastardo

Position: Pitcher
Throws: Right
Born: June 18th, 2002
Acquired: 2024 Rule 5 draft
Previous ranking: 38th
During the 2018 International Free Agency period, the Boston Red Sox signed Bastardo to a bonus of $35,000. He made his debut the following season, starting all 12 games he appeared in, posting a 3.71 ERA and 3.32 FIP in 51 innings pitched. Due to the pandemic, Bastardo didn’t pitch in 2020, but returned to action in the 2021 season with the Red Sox’s Florida Complex League team, where he made six starts in 10 appearances and had a 6.67 ERA.
The 2022 season marked the beginning of his “A” affiliate tenure, where he had a 4.50 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 82 innings pitched in 22 games with the Red Sox’s Single-A team. In 2023, he had a 4.62 ERA and 3.82 FIP in 103.1 innings pitched in High-A, making three starts in Double-A to end the season.
Bastardo’s last season pitched was in 2024. With the Red Sox’s Double-A team, he had a 5.36 ERA and 4.28 FIP in 45.1 innings pitched, with a 26.6 K% and 10.6 BB%. That summer, Bastardo underwent Tommy John surgery, missing the remainder of the season.
Late in the year, the Blue Jays selected the right-handed pitcher in the Rule 5 draft, but he failed to make his debut in 2025. Toward the end of the season, it looked as if he would get some innings in the Arizona Fall League, but the Blue Jays shut him down before the season began. In December, they also selected another injured pitcher in the Rule 5 draft, Spencer Miles.
Bastardo will have to stay on the Blue Jays roster for 90 days next season before he can be optioned, meaning he must earn a job out of Spring Training. That’s been made a bit easier due to Shane Bieber’s injury to start the year, freeing up a spot in the Jays’ bullpen with José Berríos moving to the rotation.
There’s a lot to like about Bastardo as a reliever. Ranking as Fangraphs’ 12th-best Blue Jays prospect ahead of the 2026 season, the right-handed pitcher’s bread and butter is his mid-80s changeup with a bunch of fade. Paired with a fastball that touched 98 mph as a starter, it stands to reason there’s a chance his average velocity will tick up with a full-time move to the bullpen. The biggest concern about Bastardo is his command, but there’s a lot to like about the 23-year-old’s makeup.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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