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Yosver Zulueta

Reds Designate Davis Wendzel For Assignment

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The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Rhett Lowder, a promotion that was previously reported, while also appointing righty Yosver Zulueta the 27th player for the double-header. In corresponding moves for Lowder, they optioned left-hander Brandon Leibrandt and designated infielder Davis Wendzel for assignment.

Wendzel, 27, was acquired from the Rangers in a cash deal at the end of July after Texas had designated him for assignment. He was sent to Triple-A Louisville, where he has slashed .233/.327/.279 in his 101 plate appearances, production that translates to a 66 wRC+.

With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, the Reds will have to place Wendzel on waivers in the coming days. Though his recent output wasn’t great, he could garner interest based on his larger track record. Prior to the deal, he had hit .289/.384/.492 in 151 plate appearances for Triple-A Round Rock, leading to a 117 wRC+.

He also hit 30 home runs for the Express last year and drew walks at a 14.1% clip. His .236 /.361/.477 batting line only translated to a 101 wRC+ in the heightened offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, but that may have been held back by a .259 batting average on balls in play. His BABIP corrected to .298 with Round Rock prior to the deal, roughly average, which helped nudge his wRC+ up.

At a minimum, Wendzel provides defensive versatility, with the ability to play all four infield positions. He also has a full slate of options and just a few days of service time, meaning he wouldn’t need an immediate roster spot and comes with years of club control. Despite the offensive downturn since coming to the Reds, he had been hitting pretty well at the Triple-A level in 2023 and in the first few months of 2024.

The overall package could perhaps entice some club to put in a claim. He doesn’t have a previous career outright, nor does he have at least three years of service time, so he would stick with the Reds in a non-roster capacity if he goes unclaimed.

Reds Activate Emilio Pagán From 60-Day IL

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The Reds have activated Emilio Pagán from the 60-day injured list, the team announced today. To free up a spot on the active roster, Yosver Zulueta was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. The team had two open spaces on the 40-man roster, so no additional corresponding move was necessary.

Pagán, 33, signed a two-year, $16MM contract with the Reds this past offseason. Before reaching free agency, he spent the first seven seasons of his career pitching for the Mariners, Athletics, Rays, Padres, and Twins. Despite being traded four times in less than five years, Pagán put up solid numbers, pitching to a 3.71 ERA and 3.39 SIERA across 369 appearances. What’s more, although he compiled 22 wins, 32 saves, and 60 holds – and a 1.80 ERA in 11 postseason appearances – his most impressive accomplishment in that time was, perhaps, his durability. From 2017-23, he only took one trip to the injured list: a brief stint on the 10-day IL with right biceps inflammation in 2020. He pitched at least 50 innings in every full season. Only five players threw more innings in relief over those seven years: Raisel Iglesias, Héctor Neris, Miguel Castro, Adam Ottavino, and Kenley Jansen.

Unfortunately, the injury bug finally caught up to Pagán in his first season with Cincinnati. The veteran righty landed on the IL with a right lat strain in mid-June, and he was transferred to the 60-day IL later that month.

Results-wise, Pagán has had his ups and downs throughout his career. He put up a strong performance in his walk year last season, tossing 69 1/3 innings for Minnesota with a 2.99 ERA. Yet, there were warning signs that his success wasn’t entirely sustainable. His 23.8% strikeout rate was a career-low, his 5.3% HR/FB was well below his career average, and his 4.01 SIERA was more than a full run higher than his ERA. Nonetheless, he managed to secure a $16MM guarantee from the Reds. He is making an $8MM salary this season, and he has an $8MM player option for 2025.

Pagán looked solid but unspectacular over his first 22 appearances with Cincinnati. His strikeout rate climbed back up to 29.9%, but his home run rate jumped up too; he gave up four long balls in just 22 games. His 3.06 SIERA is a marked improvement from last season, but his 4.43 ERA is not. Most concerningly, his velocity is down by at least one and a half miles per hour on all three of his pitches (a four-seam fastball, a cutter, and a splitter). He has also allowed hard-hit balls (95+ mph EV) at the highest rate of his career. Then again, his SIERA, xERA, and xFIP are all significantly better than the league average, and pitch modeling systems like Stuff+ and PitchingBot agree that Pagán remains an above-average arm. Ultimately, what this tells us is that 20 1/3 innings is a pretty small sample size with which to evaluate a pitcher. With seven weeks remaining in the season, it will be interesting to see if Pagán performs well enough that he might choose to reject his player option this offseason and return to free agency.

Cincinnati has had one of the better bullpens in baseball all season, and Nick Krall bolstered that group with Jakob Junis at the trade deadline. Even so, the Reds will need all the help they can get if they want to stay alive in the NL Wild Card race; they’re currently five games back of the third Wild Card spot, with six teams standing in their way.

The Reds claimed Zulueta off of waivers from the Blue Jays on Opening Day, and he made his MLB debut with Cincinnati in late June. The 26-year-old has already been recalled and optioned several times this season, pitching to a 3.09 ERA and 3.63 SIERA over eight low-leverage appearances. He will return to the Louisville Bats, with whom he has pitched 40 1/3 innings this year with a 2.23 ERA and 3.24 FIP.

Reds Place Nick Lodolo On Injured List, Recall Yosver Zulueta For MLB Debut

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The Reds announced Tuesday that they’ve placed lefty Nick Lodolo on the 15-day injured list due to a blister on his left index finger and recalled righty Yosver Zulueta in his place. If Zulueta gets into a game, he’ll be making his MLB debut. Francys Romero first reported early this morning that Zulueta was being called up for his debut.

The 26-year-old Lodolo’s IL placement is retroactive to yesterday. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings in that start and issued four walks in his shakiest start in over a month. While injuries like blisters and cracked fingernails can seem minor on the surface, they can often make it difficult for a pitcher to properly grip his pitches, depending on their placement. A blister on the fingertip of the index finger would make it particularly difficult for Lodolo to execute his curveball, which he’s thrown at a 28% clip this season. He’ll let the issue cool down for the next couple weeks in hopes of a quick return.

Lodolo has been the Reds’ most effective starter this season, pitching to a 2.96 ERA in 70 innings. He’s fanned 25.1% of his opponents against a sharp 6.5% walk rate. This will be his third IL placement of the season, having previously missed time due to minor groin and calf injuries. He’s also spent time on the 60-day injured list in each of the past two seasons, owing to back and calf injuries.

With Lodolo shelved for what’ll presumably be a relatively brief stay on the IL, the Reds’ rotation will be down to Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Frankie Montas and Carson Spiers. Right-hander Graham Ashcraft, who was optioned to Triple-A earlier this month, has tossed consecutive quality starts since being sent down and yielded a total of four runs in 12 innings with a 12-to-2 K/BB ratio. He could be in the mix to come back to the big league roster in short order and step into Lodolo’s vacated rotation spot, but for the time being the Reds will add Zulueta to give their bullpen an extra arm.

Zulueta, 26, has pitched in 23 games this season and logged 30 2/3 innings of 2.93 ERA ball with a strong 28.3% strikeout rate and elite 60.5% ground-ball rate — but also an ugly 14.5% walk rate. The right-hander came to the Reds via an Opening Day waiver claim after he’d been designated for assignment. In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level between the two organizations, the Cuban-born righty has a 3.71 ERA, 26.2% strikeout rate and 15.4% walk rate.

Reds To Re-Sign Mike Ford, Claim Yosver Zulueta From Blue Jays

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The Reds announced that they’ve claimed Yosver Zulueta from the Blue Jays and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville. Infielder Matt McLain, who had shoulder surgery this week, has been placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the roster. Francys Romero reported on Zulueta’s claim prior to the official announcement. The timing is surprising, as Toronto only announced earlier today that Zulueta was being designated for assignment. It’s likely that the move was actually made earlier in the week but not formally announced at the time. Outright waivers are typically a 48-hour process. The Reds also re-signed first baseman Mike Ford to a minor league deal after releasing him last week, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

With McLain’s recent surgery, the Reds effectively had a free roster spot to use. It’s unclear exactly how long the infielder will be out but it’s evidently longer than two months, as he is now ineligible to be activated until late May at the earliest.

The Reds have used that spot to snag Zulueta, an intriguing arm but one with significant control issues. In 2022, he tossed 55 2/3 innings across four different levels of Toronto’s system with an earned run average of 3.72. He struck out 33.9% of batters faced that year but also gave out free passes at a 12.9% clip, starting 12 of his 21 appearances.

The Jays moved him more firmly into a relief role in 2023, as he started just seven of his 45 appearances at Triple-A. Even those seven starts were mostly two or three innings as an opener, leading to a tally of 64 innings on the year. He had a 4.08 ERA in that time while striking out 25.4% of batters faced and keeping 51.3% of balls in play on the ground, but also walked 15.7% of batters that came to the plate against him. Here in the spring, he tossed five innings, notching just two strikeouts but giving out four walks.

He still has a couple of options and the Reds have quickly sent him down. They will surely try to help him get a better grasp of his stuff and see if he can become a useful piece at some point. For now, he can serve as depth until the big league club needs a fresh arm or he forces his way into their plans.

Ford, 31, is a strong power bat but he has strikeout issues and no versatility since he’s only capable of playing first base or serving as a designated hitter. He hit 16 home runs in 251 plate appearances with the Mariners last year while striking out at a 32.3% rate.

He nonetheless had to settle for a minor league deal with the Reds and destroyed opposing pitchers this spring, hitting three homers in 35 plate appearances and slashing .455/.486/.727. Despite that, he didn’t break camp with the club, getting released last week. The Reds have plenty of first base options in Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jeimer Candelario, Spencer Steer and Jonathan India, making it difficult for Ford to be squeezed in.

Ford had an opt-out on his deal so he either triggered it or the Reds let him proactively search for his next opportunity, but he has come back to the club on another minor league deal. He’ll presumably go to Triple-A for some regular playing time and await his next opportunity, whether it’s with the Reds or somewhere else. Each of Encarnacion-Strand, Candelario, Steer and India can play other positions, so Ford could be of use down the line if the club’s injuries mount and the path to playing time opens. But he also may have another opt-out on his new deal that could allow him to go somewhere else as the season progresses, while the Reds could also maybe flip him if he’s hitting well and another club comes calling.

Blue Jays Designate Yosver Zulueta For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contracts of catcher Brian Serven and designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach. They had previously opened one roster spot by trading Santiago Espinal to the Reds and opened another today by designating right-hander Yosver Zulueta for assignment. The moves for Serven and Vogelbach were previously reported.

Zulueta, 26, came up as a starter but significant control problems got him moved to the bullpen in recent years. The switch to a relief role didn’t help him rein in his stuff and now has contributed to bumping him off the roster entirely.

In 2022, he tossed 55 2/3 innings across four different levels with an earned run average of 3.72. He struck out 33.9% of batters faced that year but also gave out free passes at a 12.9% clip, starting 12 of his 21 appearances.

The Jays moved him more firmly into a relief role in 2023, as he started just seven of his 45 appearances at Triple-A. Even those seven starts were mostly two or three innings as an opener, leading to a tally of 64 innings on the year. He had a 4.08 ERA in that time while striking out 25.4% of batters faced and keeping 51.3% of balls in play on the ground, but also walked 15.7% of batters that came to the plate against him. Here in the spring, he tossed five innings, notching just two strikeouts but giving out four walks.

The Jays will now have one week to trade Zulueta or try to pass him through waivers. Despite his wildness, he has strikeout stuff and still has a couple of options remaining, which could make him appealing for a club with an open roster spot and a need for pitching depth. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Jays in a non-roster capacity.

MLB Announces Futures Game Rosters

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Major League Baseball announced rosters for the 2023 Futures Game this evening. The contest — a seven-inning exhibition between some of the sport’s most talented minor leaguers — kicks off All-Star festivities in Seattle on Saturday, July 8.

As Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com notes, 28 of the 50 players on the roster are included on MLB Pipeline’s recent Top 100 prospects list. Six of Pipeline’s top ten will participate. The full rosters (MLB Pipeline prospect rank included, if applicable):

American League

National League

MLBTR Poll: Blue Jays’ Fifth Starter

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Four of the Blue Jays’ five starting jobs are set. Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman both had great seasons last year and will be back in 2023. José Berríos is coming off a disappointing season but has a strong track record and six years left on his extension, making him a lock on another spot. Chris Bassitt will also be in there after the club agreed to give him $63MM over three years this winter, in addition to surrendering a draft pick and international bonus space because Bassitt rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets.

The final spot is less certain, however, with a few potential options that could step up and take the job. Hyun Jin Ryu is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and could be back around the All-Star break, though that’s still an estimate at this point. Someone will have to take the fifth spot for at least the first half. Even if Ryu does meet that timeline and comes back for the second half, it’s possible that an injury to one of the other pitchers creates a continued need for another arm. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the candidates.

Yusei Kikuchi

Kikuchi is probably considered the frontrunner for the fifth starter right now, just based on experience. After years of strong work in Japan, Kikuchi came over to North America by signing with the Mariners prior to 2019. He spent three years with Seattle, posting some intriguing but inconsistent results.

He reached free agency after 2021 and signed a three-year, $36MM deal with the Jays. He made 2o starts last year but got bumped to the bullpen after registering a 5.25 ERA in that time. He’d go on to toss 18 1/3 innings in the bullpen with a slightly better 4.91 ERA, though the underlying numbers were more encouraging. His 24.5% strikeout rate as a starter jumped up to an incredible 39.8% rate as a reliever, while his control also improved. He posted a 13.2% walk rate in the rotation but walked just 10.8% of batters faced out of the ’pen. A .371 batting average on balls in play as a reliever perhaps helped to push his ERA up, with his 4.15 FIP and 2.28 xFIP suggesting he deserved better, though it’s also possible he was just getting hit hard.

That’s a small sample size but it perhaps suggests there’s a chance Kikuchi has a nice floor as a left-handed reliever if he eventually gets pushed out of the rotation for good. However, it’s also possible he gets another chance to start since he’s the most experienced of this bunch, turning 32 in June. He can at least bring some velocity, as he averages around 95 mph on his fastball, one of the best such marks among left-handed starters in the game. But it doesn’t seem to be a challenge for big league hitters, as Kikuchi ranked in the first percentile last year in terms of barrel rate, hard hit rate and average exit velocity. He has a 5.02 ERA through 466 1/3 MLB innings at this point and will have to figure out a way to get better results. Even if he gets the fifth starter job out of Spring Training, he should have other guys on his heels throughout the season.

Mitch White

White, 28, was a second round pick of the Dodgers in 2016 and had been a well-regarded prospect in the years after that. He’s spent the past three years without a firm role, frequently being optioned to the minors and recalled to the majors as needed, making starts but also relief appearances.

In 2021, he made 21 appearances in the majors, including four starts. He tossed 46 2/3 innings with a 3.66 ERA, getting grounders at a 47.7% rate while striking out 24.9% of batters faced and walking 8.6% of them. Things went even better in 43 2/3 innings in the minors, with White posting a 1.65 ERA, with a 30.1% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate.

In the first few months of 2022, White only made a couple of Triple-A appearances, spending most of his time with the big league club. He made 10 starts and five relief appearances, logging 56 innings. He had a solid 3.70 ERA and 8% walk rate, though his strikeout rate dipped to 19.8%. The Blue Jays acquired him at the deadline but the switch didn’t help his results. He made 10 appearances for the Jays, including eight starts, and posted a 7.74 ERA in that time. His walk and ground ball rates stayed around average but his strikeout rate fell even further to 15.3%.

Despite that rough start to his Toronto tenure, there’s plenty to like in White overall. He was in the 79th percentile last year in terms of hard hit rate, 77th in barrel rate and 63rd in average exit velocity. His .276 BABIP as a Dodger and .368 mark as a Blue Jay explain the different results somewhat. All of the advanced metrics liked his Toronto work much better than that huge ERA, including a 3.76 FIP, 4.68 xFIP and 4.70 SIERA. White is now out of options so the Jays will have to keep him in the bullpen as a long man if he doesn’t snag the rotation job, but he has five years of control remaining and should get some starting opportunities whenever the circumstances allow.

Nate Pearson

Pearson, 26, arguably has the most upside of anyone on this list. Selected by the Jays in the first round of the 2017 draft, he posted great results in the minors and shot up prospect rankings. Baseball America considered him one of the top 100 prospects in the game by the start of 2018 and he got as high as #7 in 2020.

Unfortunately, injuries have stalled Pearson out since then, as he hasn’t been able to throw 50 innings in any of the past three seasons. Elbow tightness limited him to 18 innings in 2020, plus two more in the postseason. The following year, he dealt with a groin strain and a shoulder impingement, then underwent surgery on a sports hernia at season’s end. Between the majors and minors, he tossed 45 2/3 innings on the year. In 2022, his early season ramp-up was delayed by mononucleosis and he then suffered a lat strain while rehabbing. He was only able to throw 15 1/3 innings in the minors, though he was healthy enough by the end of the year to play in the Dominican Winter League. He tossed 12 innings for Tigres del Licey without allowing an earned run, striking out 36.4% of batters faced.

The fact that Pearson finished the year healthy and dealing in winter ball is encouraging, but it’s hard to expect much from him in the immediate future. He might still be a big league starter someday, but after three straight seasons of injuries and scattered appearances, it’s probably unwise to expect him to suddenly jump to the range of 150 innings in 2023. When he was last healthy for an extended stretch, he pitched 101 2/3 minor league innings in 2019 with a 2.30 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. The talent is clearly there but his workload capacity is an unanswered question.

Thomas Hatch

Hatch, 28, was a third round pick of the Cubs in 2016 but came to the Jays in a 2019 deadline deal that sent David Phelps to Chicago. Hatch had an encouraging major league debut in 2020, tossing 26 1/3 innings with a 2.73 ERA. However, the last couple of seasons have been a struggle, with Hatch posting middling results in the minors and only getting into four big league games between the two campaigns. In 2022, he made a single start for the Jays and allowed 10 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. In 131 Triple-A innings, he had a 4.67 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate and 44.1% ground ball rate. He’s still on the 40-man and has another option year left, but he’s likely just an emergency starting candidate unless he takes a step forward this year.

Bowden Francis

Francis, 27 in April, was a seventh-round selection of the Brewers in 2017 but came to the Jays in the 2021 Rowdy Tellez trade. He was added to the Jays’ roster in November of that year to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. Unfortunately, Francis scuffled last year, despite a scoreless MLB debut that lasted 2/3 of an inning. He tossed 98 1/3 innings in the minors with a 6.59 ERA, getting outrighted off the roster in June.

However, Francis suited up for winter ball, joining Criollos de Caguas in Puerto Rico. That stint has gone extremely well for him, with Francis making nine starts with a 1.51 ERA over 35 2/3 innings. He’s struck out 47 of the 136 batters he’s faced for an excellent 34.6% rate. He’s still a long shot to earn a spot with the Jays since he’s no longer on the 40-man, but he could be an interesting wild card in this deck.

Yosver Zulueta

The Blue Jays picked up some extra international bonus pool money by trading Kendrys Morales and Dwight Smith Jr. and used that to sign Zulueta out of Cuba in June of 2019, just before the signing period which began in July of 2018 was set to conclude. At that time, Zulueta had already been clocked at 98 mph, per a report from Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

Since then, Zulueta’s rise has been stalled by a couple of factors. He required Tommy John surgery shortly after signing and spent 2020 rehabbing. In 2021, he faced one batter before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, wiping out the rest of that year. In 2022, finally healthy, Zulueta had a breakout year in the minors, going from Low-A to High-A to Double-A and then Triple-A. He posted a combined 3.72 ERA over 55 2/3 innings, striking out 33.9% of batters faced while walking 12.9% of them.

At the end of the year, the Jays added Zulueta to the 40-man to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 draft and Baseball America ranked him the second-best prospect in the system, trailing only the pitcher below him in this article. Zulueta is probably more of a long-term play than an immediate solution for the Jays. After some extended injury time, he still needs to build up his workload and refine his command. But once he does, he has a triple-digit heater that headlines a four-pitch mix. He turns 25 his month and has a full slate of options, suggesting there will be no rush to push him into the big league rotation. But as the Jays recently showed with Manoah, they can be aggressive with young hurlers once the pitcher shows himself ready.

Ricky Tiedemann

Tiedemann, 20, was selected by the Jays in the third round of the 2021 draft. In 2022, he began the year in Low-A and then jumped to High-A and Double-A in his age-19 season. He tossed 78 2/3 innings over those three levels with a 2.17 ERA, striking out 38.9% of batters faced while walking 9.6% of them.

That performance led to him shooting up prospect rankings last year. As mentioned, BA now considers him the best prospect in the system, with Gabriel Moreno having been traded to the Diamondbacks in the Daulton Varsho deal. They also currently have him ranked the #28 prospect in the entire league, with MLB Pipeline similarly bullish by ranking him #33.

Like Zulueta, Tiedemann is probably more of a long-term play than an immediate option for the Jays. He’s still incredibly young and won’t be Rule 5 eligible until December of 2025. However, since he reached Double-A last year, there’s a chance he’ll be knocking on the door this year.

External Addition

It’s also possible that the Jays look outside the organization to find someone they like better than any of these options. The club has reportedly shown interest in Johnny Cueto, suggesting they could add a short-term veteran to take over and push everyone else down the depth chart. Cueto seems to have plenty of interest, with the Reds, Marlins and Padres among those who seem to be in the mix. If the Jays miss on him, some other remaining free agents include Michael Wacha, Zack Greinke, Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer. If the Jays are willing to swing another trade, the Marlins have plenty of arms available, the Mariners seem to have some openness to dealing Chris Flexen, while the Brewers seem stacked in the rotation and could consider trading someone like Adrian Houser.

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Blue Jays Designate Raimel Tapia, Bradley Zimmer For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated outfielders Bradley Zimmer and Raimel Tapia for assignment. Toronto also released left-hander Foster Griffin. In corresponding moves, the Jays selected the contracts of righty Yosver Zulueta and infielders Addison Barger, Spencer Horwitz and Orelvis Martinez.

Tapia landed in Toronto in the Spring Training deal that sent Randal Grichuk to the Rockies. The hope was to more adequately balance an outfield that skewed right-handed with a lefty-swinging contact bat, but Tapia didn’t have a great year. In 433 plate appearances, he hit .265/.292/.380 with seven home runs. He demonstrated his customarily solid bat-to-ball skills, but he rarely walked or hit for much power.

The 28-year-old was eligible for arbitration for a final time this winter, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a notable $5.2MM salary. That always looked likelier than the Jays were hoping to pay for a fourth/fifth outfield type, and today’s designation functions as akin to a non-tender. Toronto can technically trade Tapia in the next few days, but it looks likelier he’ll go unclaimed on waivers and be sent to the open market.

Zimmer also worked as a left-handed bench bat in the outfield. He got into 109 games between Toronto and Philadelphia but only picked up 117 plate appearances. He’s a solid defensive outfielder but has always been very strikeout-prone in the big leagues. That included a 38.5% strikeout rate this season, which featured just a .124/.207/.229 overall mark.

The 29-year-old (30 later this month) had been projected for a $1.3MM arbitration salary. As with Tapia, he’s effectively being non-tendered a few days in advance to clear the 40-man roster spot.

Griffin made just one two-inning relief appearance for the Jays after being acquired from the Royals midseason. The former first-round pick of Kansas City spent much of his tenure with Triple-A Buffalo, working 23 1/3 innings out of the bullpen there. He posted a 2.31 ERA with a solid 24.8% strikeout rate as a Bison.

Turning to the players joining the roster, Martinez and Zulueta were two of the easier calls to keep out of the Rule 5 draft around the league. The former was a high-profile signee out of the Dominican Republic during the 2018-19 international period. He’s appeared among Baseball America’s top 100 overall prospects in each of the past two years, garnering praise for his big power potential. He spent the entire 2022 campaign at Double-A New Hampshire as a 20-year-old but stumbled to a .203/.286/.446 line — albeit with a 30-homer showing that demonstrated his power upside.

Zulueta had a breakout year that saw him traverse four minor league levels. A native of Cuba, he combined for a 3.72 ERA with a huge 33.9% strikeout rate while topping out at Triple-A. Baseball America slotted him fifth in the Toronto organization midseason, praising his four-pitch mix. Zulueta, 25 in January, figures to start next season in Buffalo but could play his way onto the big league roster at some point during the year.

Barger, 23, was a sixth-round selection in the 2018 draft out of a Florida high school. He’s played all around the infield and performed at three minor league levels this year. The left-handed hitter combined for a .308/.378/.555 showing in 526 plate appearances, albeit with higher than average strikeout totals. BA ranked him 18th in the Jays’ system midseason.

Horwitz, 25, went in the 24th round of the 2019 draft out of Radford. He’s outperformed that modest draft stock and now sits on the brink of the majors after combining for a .275/.391/.452 mark in 483 plate appearances at the minors top two levels. He’s primarily a first baseman, putting plenty of pressure on his bat. According to Baseball America, he’s the #13 prospect in the organization.

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