Under the Radar Blue Jays prospect: Rainer Nuñez

The prospect we’ll look at in this article is one of the most overlooked prospects in the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization.

In this edition of Under the Radar Blue Jays prospect, we’ll look at Rainer Nuñez, who never finds himself on top prospect lists. It’s odd because he has consistently put up good numbers while posting some of the best exit velocities in the organization. If you missed last week’s article, we looked at Je’Von Ward.

The Blue Jays signed Nuñez during the 2017 International Free Agency for $350,000, with the first baseman making his professional debut the following season. In rookie ball in 2018, Nuñez slashed .247/.298/.328 with two home runs in 272 plate appearances. His 2019 season was nothing special either, slashing .173/.248/.286 with three home runs in 58 plate appearances for a 58 wRC+.

Something changed when the minor league season returned for the 2021 season, as the first baseman slashed .273/.373/.476 with six home runs in just 169 plate appearances, giving Nuñez a 128 wRC+ 

He followed that up by slashing .299/.328/.482 with 15 home runs in 384 plate appearances in Single-A, eventually winning the batting title. Nuñez didn’t finish the season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, as he was promoted to the High-A Vancouver Canadians, where he slashed .321/.379/.491 with four home runs in 116 plate appearances.

Nuñez also led the Dominican Winter League in home runs during the 2022-23 season, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year. Beginning the 2023 season in High-A, the first baseman slashed .309/.390/.446 with three home runs in 159 plate appearances for a 131 wRC+. However, he struggled after a promotion to Double-A, slashing .224/.273/.352 with 10 home runs in 326 plate appearances for a 71 wRC+, his worst since 2019. Nuñez also finished with an elevated K% of 27%.

Thankfully, Nuñez got back on track in 2024 with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, slashing .275/.349/.416 with 12 home runs in 433 plate appearances for a 121 wRC+ in his second go-around in Double-A. Moreover, his K% dropped to 20.1%, while Nuñez’s BB% rose to 10.2%.

After a good Spring Training, Nuñez earned a spot in Triple-A to begin 2025. So far with the Buffalo Bisons, Nuñez is slashing .284/.355/.438 with seven home runs in 217 plate appearances for a 115 wRC+. His K% has remained at 22.1%, while he’s walked 8.3% of the time. More importantly, he’s continued to smack the ball, with his 119.6 mph exit velocity being in the top percentile according to Prospect Savant, a wonderful website everyone should know about.

While first base may be blocked for a decade and a half, Nuñez can be an interesting trade piece around the league thanks to his high exit velocities. It wouldn’t hurt to find him an opportunity elsewhere as well.