1 player to watch at each level of Blue Jays' farm system

May 17th, 2026

This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson's Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DETROIT -- The Blue Jays’ farm system is already helping the big league club with prospects like Brandon Valenzuela and Yohendrick Piñango, but they only represent the tip of the iceberg.

From each level, this is what’s standing out:

TRIPLE-A BUFFALO: INF (No. 13)
There’s a lot going right in Buffalo’s lineup right now, including third-baseman Charles McAdoo and outfielder RJ Schreck, both of whom are pushing themselves onto the fringes of the Blue Jays’ roster decisions later this season and into the winter. In Kasevich, though, it’s easier to see a potential path to playing time in the near term.

While McAdoo is stuck behind Kazuma Okamoto, Addison Barger and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the corners, and Schreck is behind a crowded outfield picture, Kasevich’s ability to play a rock-solid middle infield is a major advantage here. Ernie Clement and Andrés Giménez aren’t going anywhere, but the depth beyond them is thin and Lenyn Sosa hasn’t done anything to run away with the job. Between the Blue Jays and White Sox this season, Sosa entered Sunday having come to the plate 95 times without taking a single walk, rarely even seeing a three-ball count.

Davis Schneider is essentially operating as the backup second baseman, too, but his offensive numbers aren’t jumping off the page, either. Kasevich hasn’t lit Triple-A pitching on fire, but was batting .292 with a .749 OPS coming into play Sunday and impressed the big league coaches in Spring Training. Speaking with people throughout the organization, you hear plenty of the same things about Kasevich and Valenzuela, two prospects who are big league ready and mature enough to handle the challenges. Kasevich’s call could come any time.

DOUBLE-A NEW HAMPSHIRE: RHP (No. 6)
There’s a lot to love about Stanifer, but his start in Double-A has been complicated. Walks have been an issue, including a six-walk performance on April 30, but everything else about Stanifer looks like a big leaguer.

In Stanifer’s most recent start, he threw five innings and allowed one earned run with nine strikeouts, more than enough to cover up for the two walks. With a big fastball and a slider that could work as an out pitch in the Majors right now, Stanifer has a strong foundation to work with. That slider, which has far more downward drop than right-to-left movement, is going to be a problem for hitters.

Consider this Stanifer’s “setup” year. His 110 innings in 2025 were a great baseline. If Stanifer can build up to 130 innings this season and get a taste of Triple-A as a 22-year-old, that’s a success, and would set him up to compete for a rotation job as early as next spring with the Blue Jays.

HIGH-A VANCOUVER: LHP (No. 4)
Make some room on the Top 100 lists. King, the 19-year-old lefty, might just be the most exciting thing happening in this system right now.

King owns a 0.81 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 22 1/3 innings in Vancouver, pitching in shorter stints as a starter. The Blue Jays have been slowly and steadily building his pitch count, too, which reached a new high at 69 over five innings of scoreless ball his last time out, where he struck out eight.

Yes, King is going to walk some batters along the way, but his overwhelming stuff is making up for that, at least in the lower Minors. As he climbs through Double-A and Triple-A, the Blue Jays will need to see his control improve a bit, but he doesn’t need pinpoint accuracy to win. King is coming off 61 2/3 innings in 2025, so anything close to 100 this year would be a great step.

King is entering “next big thing” territory.

SINGLE-A DUNEDIN: OF (No. 15)
Bullard has a tantalizing collection of tools, including some of the best speed in the system and tremendous upside as a defender. He’s already stolen 16 bags and been caught stealing just once through his first 30 games.

There are still holes in Bullard’s offensive game, which we see in 45 strikeouts compared to 12 walks, but the 19-year-old has plenty of time to iron those out. If the Blue Jays can get Bullard to put the ball in play a bit more, his natural power will handle the rest and he’ll be a problem for opponents on the bases.

Looking at the prospects in the range of Nos. 8-20 on the list, Bullard may have the highest potential to jump into the top five over the next year.