Checking in on the Blue Jays at the Arizona Fall League and Dominican Winter League

The eight Toronto Blue Jay prospects attending the Arizona Fall League have had some success through eight Scottsdale Scorpions games. Overall, the team is 4-4, with a handful of prospects from the Jays contributing to the team’s success.

In this article, we’ll look at how the eight players in the Fall League are doing. Moreover, the Dominican Winter League kicked off on Wednesday, with two Blue Jays prospects participating in the Winter League. 

Arizona Fall League

Eddinson Paulino

Out of the three Blue Jays position players, Eddinson Paulino has been the best hitter. So far in the AFL, he’s slashing .300/.364/.600 in 11 plate appearances. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but he’s also the Blue Jay prospect with a home run this fall.

The Blue Jays acquired Paulino, alongside Cutter Coffey and Gilberto Batista, before the trade deadline, moving catcher Danny Jansen to the Boston Red Sox. Paulino was already on the injured list and only appeared in 34 plate appearances split between Single-A and Double-A. Overall, he slashed .248/.328/.363 with three home runs last season.

Peyton Williams

A common theme amongst players who play in the Arizona Fall League is that they missed time due to injury during the regular season. It’s not always the case, but it is regarding Peyton Williams.

So far this season in 15 plate appearances, Williams is slashing .267/.267/.533 with two doubles, a triple, and a runner batted in. The 24-year-old first baseman was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft and slashed .289/.362/.476 with 11 home runs in 334 plate appearances for the Vancouver Canadians.

Adrian Pinto

Like Williams and Paulino, Adrian Pinto spent a portion of the season injured. So far in the AFL, the 22-year-old centre fielder/second baseman is slashing .235/.417/.235 in 24 plate appearances, along with three walks, three strikeouts, and four singles.

The Blue Jays acquired Pinto before the start of the 2022 season, trading Randal Grichuk to the Colorado Rockies for the 5’6”, 165 lbs utility player. Between the Florida Complex League, Single-A, and High-A, Pinto slashed .330/.378/.573 with four home runs in 112 plate appearances, along with 11 doubles and a triple.

Kendry Rojas

Surprise, surprise, Kendry Rojas missed a chunk of the season and was sent to Arizona to play in the Fall League. The Blue Jays’ top prospect at the tournament has had a rough go of things in his two starts, allowing five earned runs in four innings pitched, along with two strikeouts and two walks.

With that being said, it was a terrific season in Single-A for the 21-year-old left-handed pitcher, as he finished the season with a 2.43 ERA and a 3.02 FIP in 55.2 innings pitched. Moreover, he had a 27 K% and a 5.3 BB%, finishing the year with six quality starts in his final seven games.

Lazaro Estrada

On the opposite end of the spectrum, fellow Cuban pitcher Lazaro Estrada has been one of the better pitchers for the Scorpions this season. In 5.2 innings pitched, all in relief, the 25-year-old righty has a 1.59 ERA. Moreover, his eight strikeouts are tied for the team lead, giving him a 34.8 K% so far in his two appearances.

Estrada missed a handful of starts to begin the season but had a great year between Single-A, High-A, and Double-A, posting a 3.29 ERA and a 3.31 FIP in 98.1 innings pitched, with a 28 K% and an 8.2 BB%.

T.J. Brock

Like most players on this list, relief pitcher T.J. Brock missed a part of his season. In fact, he missed most of the season. With that being said, he’s been great for the Scorpions, not allowing a run in his two innings pitched while striking out 62.5% of batters. The 25-year-old right-handed pitcher has been by far the team’s most dominant pitcher.