On Feb. 28, Arjun Nimmala made his 2025 MLB spring training debut for the Blue Jays.
Four days later, the 19-year-old earned high praise by being named the Blue Jays’ top prospect by MLB Pipeline.
It’s another honor for the former first-round pick, who was recently named a top-100 prospect in baseball by FanGraphs and was already named a top-100 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Arjun Nimmala named top Toronto prospect by MLB Pipeline
Nimmala is coming off a season that was defined by two different halves. After struggling to start the year at Single-A, Nimmala was sent down to the Florida Complex League for a mid-season reset. He looked like a different player after he came back up, as he had a .895 OPS in the final 52 games of the season.
He was the youngest player in all of A-Ball last season, and will likely continue to be the youngest player at whatever level he plays at as he continues his minor league ascension.
An Arjun Nimmala home run for your timeline 👀 pic.twitter.com/NrhNdlLLWU
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 12, 2024
Ranking behind Nimmala is right-handed pitcher Trey Yesavage. Nimmala is the MLB Pipeline’s No. 86 prospect while Yesavage is the No. 87 prospect.
Yesavage was Toronto’s first round pick in last year’s MLB Draft and he didn’t appear in any minor leagues after being drafted.
He has a fastball that sits around 94 miles per hour along with a spider and splitter that both work as plus pitches.
At 21, Yesavage is a bit older than some other prospects, so he could end up in the MLB faster than some other prospects from his draft class. The biggest thing to watch with him will be how careful Toronto is with his arm.
Alex Manoah and Ricky Tiedemann (who ranked at No. 4 in the new rankings) both went down with elbow injuries last year, so Toronto might elect to continue slow play Yesavage’s development. If he makes an impact in MLB this year, it might be out of the bullpen.
Orelvis Martinez rounds out the top-three after being the No. 2 prospect in the system. Martinez missed the second half of last year after he got hit with an 80-game suspension for PEDs, but he’s got off to a strong start this spring. He’ll factor into the Blue Jays’ MLB equation this year even if his position is still up in the air.
Tiedemann stays at the No. 4 spot as he recovers from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last July. Like Yesavage, he could factor into the bullpen later in the year depending his recovery goes. He should be fighting for a spot in Toronto’s MLB rotation next spring.
The top-five is closed out by Alan Roden, who is one of the fastest rising prospect’s in Toronto’s system. Roden jumped 12 spots compared to last year and opened camp with praise from Ross Atkins.
He gets on base at a high clip, is a burner on the bases and can defend at all three outfield positions — three things that should help him break into MLB sometime this season.
While the Blue Jays’ farm system might not have the unparalleled depth of some other franchises, it’s clear that it’s a system that’s on the rise.