Keith Law just released his top-50 prospects:
5. Gabriel Moreno, C, Toronto Blue Jays
Moreno broke his thumb in mid-June, which might be the only thing stopping his ascent to the majors right now, as he hit .373/.441/.651 in 32 games in Double A as a 21-year-old before the injury, while showing plus defensive skills across the board for the Fisher Cats. Moreno has quick hands and excellent bat control, with a short swing that should produce average power but a ton of hard contact, while he’s made substantial progress as a receiver. His hand strength may not be all the way back until next year due to the injury but it’s not a factor for the long term. He’s a future star.
12. Austin Martin, SS, Blue Jays
Martin’s swing has become a bit more inside-out this year than it was in college, possibly because of a hand injury he sustained on a slide in mid-May, but he’s still getting on base at a high clip — .409 so far on the season in Double A, .428 since the start of June — just without power. He’s been splitting time between shortstop and center field, with the latter the more likely position of the two, especially as his throwing hasn’t been great when he has to move to his right at short. He hasn’t had an extra-base hit in a month, which is almost certainly a result of that inside-out approach, but he’s doing all the other things he’s supposed to be doing, and has a strong leadoff profile once he gets back to his usual swing.
19. Nate Pearson, RHP, Blue Jays
Pearson still has No. 1 starter stuff, but his trouble staying healthy is enough of a concern to slide him down from where he was before the season. This year it’s been a sports hernia and groin injuries, which have set him back to the point that the Jays are talking about moving him to the bullpen for the rest of this season, which could also help the Jays in their playoff push. He can show multiple plus pitches and hit 100 mph when healthy — even sometimes when he’s not fully healthy — and they seem committed to letting him start again next spring, which is the right call given his upside.
40. Orelvis Martinez, SS, Blue Jays
Martinez has been on an incredible tear of late, with seven homers in his last seven games to seize the lead in the Low-A East League by three over
Anthony Volpe, who’s already been promoted; no one else in the league has more than 10 homers. Martinez has tremendous bat speed and the ball comes off his bat extremely well, while he’s played mostly shortstop this year and has the plus arm and soft hands for it. He’s 6’1″ and is going to end up over 200 pounds, so he might move over to third, but this hit/power tool combination is going to play anywhere, and it’s going to come down mostly to how good his plate discipline — which still lags his other tools — becomes.
