TORONTO \u2014 The Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 minor-league system will be in the spotlight in two weeks, regardless of how the big-league team fares. Either prospects will be used to acquire help at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, or the farm system will represent hope for a turnaround in 2027. After Monday\u2019s 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays dropped Toronto to eight games under .500, the latter scenario appears more likely.<\/p>\n
Here are notes from across Toronto\u2019s farm, from JoJo Parker\u2019s early development to Jay Harry\u2019s surge, and more:<\/p>\n
JoJo Parker\u2019s progress and comparison to a Silver-Slugger shortstop<\/p>\n
Across four years and four minor-league levels, Ryan Casteel watched Trevor Story blossom into a future All-Star and core piece for the Colorado Rockies. A decade later, Story has two Silver Sluggers on his mantel and Casteel is nurturing the next wave of young stars as manager of the Blue Jays Single-A affiliate in Dunedin, Fla. Casteel sees similarities between Story and top Jays prospect JoJo Parker.<\/p>\n
Thoughts on the All-Star Game & pitchers being too good<\/p>\n
Keith Law<\/p>\n
\u201cThe professionalism and the maturity for his age,\u201d Casteel said. \u201cIt rivals Trevor\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are certainly plenty of differences between Story and Parker. The young infielder isn\u2019t as thin or raw as Story, despite both entering professional baseball as first-round picks out of high school. Story had more raw speed, while Parker relies on intuition to steal bases. At the plate, Casteel said, Parker has Story beat.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoJo is a way better hitter, I think,\u201d Casteel said. \u201cI saw Story when he was really good and really bad. JoJo has a way better eye, controls the zone better, way less whiff than (Story) did at that age. That\u2019s still with working through different mechanical adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his first professional season, Parker has a .802 OPS with nine homers and 21 stolen bases. In Baseball America\u2019s midseason rankings update, he ranks 56th among all prospects. Parker\u2019s debut season didn\u2019t start so hot, though. The 19-year-old, the youngest player on Dunedin\u2019s Opening Day roster, hit around .230 in his first two months with just three homers. Struggles were expected as he faced college pitchers and international arms consistently for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew there was going to be struggles,\u201d Casteel said. \u201cBut one thing that really just stands out to me is his even-keeledness through the whole process.\u201d<\/p>\n
After some mechanical adjustments and increased familiarity with the minors, Parked found his form in July. He rattled off a six-homer month with a 1.092 OPS. He struck out less, walked more and hit for power. His defence at shortstop also continued to improve and, according to Toronto player development director Joe Sclafani, it\u2019s been better than many expected.<\/p>\n
Parker has what it takes to be a big-league shortstop defensively, Casteel said, and he also has the right amount of patience at the plate. His stolen base ability has shocked many in the Jays\u2019 organization, too, as Parker\u2019s 21 swiped bags are second on Dunedin.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a long, long way from Single A to the majors, but Parker is checking boxes. He\u2019s on track to eventually become a middle-infield anchor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really think he\u2019s only going to get better,\u201d Casteel said.<\/p>\n
Jay Harry is knocking at the door<\/p>\n
Blue Jays designated hitter Sean Keys had a front-row seat for Jay Harry\u2019s breakout season. The off-day golf partners blasted homers in New Hampshire together and earned promotions to Triple-A Buffalo in the same week. Keys got his MLB call-up in late June, and Harry may not be far behind.<\/p>\n
After joining the Jays organization in a deal for Trevor Richards at the 2024 trade deadline, Harry posted an OPS under .680 over his next 127 games. He wasn\u2019t on many radars back then. Over this past offseason, though, the 24-year-old made several swing adjustments and spent the entire winter working at Toronto\u2019s player development complex in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he worked his ass off in the offseason,\u201d Keys said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s just stuck to exactly what he planned on doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through 75 Double- and Triple-A games this season, Harry has hit .317 with a .925 OPS. He already has more homers in 2026 (13) than in each of his previous three minor-league campaigns. He\u2019s a pull-happy left-handed hitter, which the Jays currently have plenty of, but Harry has played five different positions this year and is capable at both shortstop and centre field. With his versatility, and amid a breakout season, there should be room for Harry on the big-league roster eventually.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s turned himself into a very, very interesting player,\u201d Sclafani said.<\/p>\n
Other Blue Jays prospect notes<\/p>\n
Outfielder Sam Shaw\u2018s 2025 season ended in July when a blood clot was found near his right shoulder. It wasn\u2019t even guaranteed he\u2019d get back to professional baseball, and Shaw lost significant weight after he was shut down for months.<\/p>\n
A year later, Shaw is back on the field at High-A Vancouver with much of his lost weight regained. Despite the scary end to last season, the 21-year-old has a .961 OPS with more walks than strikeouts for the Canadians, possessing one of the best plate approaches in the system.<\/p>\n
Lefty reliever Javen Coleman was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday. He was one of the buzziest names in spring training this year, but missed a few weeks to injury to start 2026. In 25 innings at Double-A New Hampshire, Coleman struck out 37 batters and walked just six to earn his shot at the top minor-league level.<\/p>\n
For pitchers, the jump to Triple A is a big one. It\u2019s their first shot at using the big-league ball. If Coleman\u2019s strikeout stuff continues to play at that level, it might not be long before he joins a Jays team in need of lefty relievers.<\/p>\n
Starting pitcher Nolan Perry continues to climb prospect rankings in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. The 22-year-old righty, alongside Parker, earned a spot in the MLB All-Star Futures Game thanks to his 2.41 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 56 innings. He\u2019s up to Double-A New Hampshire now, but the Jays will likely limit his innings down the stretch, with Petty coming off surgery.<\/p>\n
In a scary incident, Perry took a 104 mph line drive off the head over the weekend and left the game. The Jays will monitor him for concussion symptoms in the coming days, but he is believed to have avoided a significant injury.<\/p>\n
When the Blue Jays selected right-hander Danny Thompson Jr. in the eighth round of the 2025 draft and signed him for $5,000, the pick was seen as a cost-saving move that would help the club ink players like Blaine Bullard to overslot deals. Thompson was a college reliever with a big fastball and sporadic success.<\/p>\n
Since joining Toronto\u2019s system, though, Thompson has gotten stronger, his stuff ticked up and he\u2019s now been converted into a starting role. Still buoyed by an elite fastball, Thompson has a 3.41 ERA across 18 appearances this year, earning a promotion to Double A. His fastball-changeup combination could still fit in a future relief role, but just a year out from his draft selection, Thompson now flashes legit starter upside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 The Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 minor-league system will be in the spotlight in two weeks, regardless of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82,507],"class_list":["post-816192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}