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Examining how Blue Jays prospect heading to the AFL did in 2026

Photo credit: © Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

By Cynthia Ryley Delaney

Sep 27, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 26, 2026, 21:00 EDT

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While the Toronto Blue Jays’ 2026 season is set to wrap up on Sunday, several prospects will continue to play into October.

In early September, eight Blue Jay prospects were named as representatives to the Arizona Fall League, which begins in early October. Three are position players, Aaron Parker, Jake Cook, and Jake Casey, while the other five are pitchers, Fernando Perez, Brandon Barriera, Jake Bloss, Yondrei Rojas, and Gilberto Batista.

The Arizona Fall League is an annual league that runs for a month, with teams usually sending prospects needing extra reps. Sometimes it’s because of injury, other times it’s because the prospect is raw, and there are a few other reasons.

That being said, let’s take a look at how the eight players set to head to the Grand Canyon state did in 2026, as well as their reason for going.

Jake Casey

Casey’s reason for heading to the Arizona Fall League is simple: He missed significant time with injury. After one game in April, the outfielder spent just over two months on the injured list, with his season truly starting in mid-June.

And what a season it was for the Blue Jays’ 15th-rounder in the 2025 MLB Draft. He hit a home run in a rehab assignment with the Florida Complex League Blue Jays, but found a ton of success with the High-A Vancouver Canadians.

Over 57 games, Casey slashed .244/.373/.502 with 12 home runs in 252 plate appearances, good for a 129 wRC+. His strikeout rate of 27.8% is a bit concerning, but Casey was a big reason why the Canadians won their second Northwest League Championship in the past four years.

The 23-year-old raised his prospect stock considerably this season, quickly becoming a top 30 prospect in the organization.

Jake Cook

It was a tough season for Cook. Beginning his season in May, the Blue Jays’ third-rounder in 2025 slashed .247/.366/.361 with five home runs in 348 plate appearances, all but 20 of which came with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays.

Cook’s situation is different to Casey’s, as Cook is a raw prospect. He only started hitting at the collegiate level in his junior year, where he rarely struck out and hit for a high-average. While five home runs and a bunch of stolen bases were a positive sign, Cook’s strikeout rate sat at 28.4% in Single-A, a totally different player than the one the Blue Jays drafted.

The Arizona Fall League gives Cook an extra 100 or so plate appearances where he can work on stuff. His potential is high, but Cook is still an incredibly raw prospect.

Aaron Parker

The last of the position players is Aaron Parker. Drafted in the sixth-round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Parker isn’t a raw prospect, nor did he spend the 2026 season injured. Instead, his trip to the Arizona Fall League is likely to help him get reps in the outfield.

Coming up as a catcher, Parker allowed 96 stolen bases in 112 attempts in Double-A last season. By the end of the season, the 23-year-old was getting reps in left field, where he’ll likely play in the AFL.

The bat makes him an intriguing prospect, as Parker slashed .253/.347/.467 with 19 home runs in 350 plate appearances, though there is some swing and miss in his game as well. Parker’s strikeout rate jumped from 19.6 percent in 2025 to 32.3 percent this past season.

If he can develop into a power-hitting right-handed outfield bat with adequate defence, there should be spots available for Parker on the big league roster in the future.

Brandon Barriera

The 2026 season was the healthiest season Barriera has played, but he still missed some time on the injured list. Overall, the Blue Jays 23rd overall pick in 2022 posted a 4.89 ERA and 5.19 FIP in 38.2 innings of work split between the Florida Complex League, Single-A, and High-A. Before 2026, his career-high in innings pitched came in 2023, when he made seven starts and hurled 20.1 innings.

The season itself didn’t go great for the 22-year-old southpaw, as Barriera struggled with command. However, Barriera’s final four starts with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays saw him throw 13.2 scoreless innings with a 30.2 K%, so there’s some hope yet.

Barriera will get a few extra reps before a make or break season.

Jake Bloss

A healthy Bloss would’ve been huge for the Blue Jays in 2026, as their rotation never had any stability. Bloss’ injury also ruined an opportunity to show what he can do at the big league level in what turned out to be a losing season.

Bloss’ trip to the AFL is as clear cut as they come, as his stint is to get him some extra reps in a season that turned injury-filled. When healthy, Bloss struggled in Triple-A, posting an 8.69 ERA and 7.66 FIP in 19.2 innings of work with the Bisons.

He could factor into the Blue Jays’ plans in 2027, so a good trip to Arizona could put him in a good position to make his Blue Jays’ debut.

Yondrei Rojas

This will be Rojas’ second stint at the AFL, as he made four appearances with the Glendale Desert Dogs in 2025.

Rojas, 23, had a strong 2025 season, posting a 1.43 ERA and 2.19 FIP in 37.2 innings of work, but didn’t find the same success in 2026. Mainly spending his season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the right-handed pitcher posted a 5.53 ERA and 4.83 FIP in 42.1 innings of work. Rojas also pitched five and two-thirds innings in Triple-A.

Rojas appeared in more games than he did in 2025, but missed the first half of the season. He’s one of the Blue Jays’ better pure relief prospects at his best, so we’ll see how he does with the extra reps.

Fernando Perez

Perez had a lot of helium heading into 2026, as he finished the 2025 season with a 3.04 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 121.1 innings of work. But over his first four months, he allowed 10 earned runs in 12.2 innings of work. That earned him a stint on the development list, which essentially lasted the entire year as he didn’t pitch again until late August.

The development list tends to be used to rework something. On top of missing most of the season, Perez’s AFL stint is to put whatever he reworked to the test against actual hitters, as he only appeared in three games following his activation for the development list.

Gilberto Batista

Lastly, 21-year-old Gilberto Batista had a tough season in High-A. Over 87 innings of work, the righty had a 7.86 ERA and 6.61 FIP, making four starts in 31 appearances. Interestingly, Batista spent the entirety of the season healthy, so his trip to Arizona is likely to work on something as well.

Acquired in the Danny Jansen trade before the 2024 trade deadline, Batista’s numbers since joining the Blue Jays’ organization haven’t been encouraging. In 2025, he finished with a 4.96 ERA and 4.80 FIP in 85.1 innings of work with the D-Jays.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.