Blue Jays' prospects starting to shine in Spring Training

With the Blue Jays being down 7-3 to the Pirates, Toronto made it close with back-to-back homers in the eighth - a two-run homer from Arjun Nimmala and a solo homer from Alan Roden - but the comeback ended when Davis Schneider ground into a double play to end the ninth.

The silver lining in this spring training loss are the bats of Nimmala and Roden.

On Feb. 28, Nimmala made his 2025 MLB spring training debut for the With the Blue Jays.

Four days later, the 19-year-old earned high praise by being named the With the Blue Jays' top prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Two days later he hit his first Spring Training homerun against the Pirates.

It's another honor for the former first-round pick, who was recently named a top-100 prospect in baseball by FanGraphs and was already named a top-100 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Nimmala is coming off a season that was defined by two different halves. After struggling to start the year at Single-A, Nimmala was sent down to the Florida Complex League for a mid-season reset. He looked like a different player after he came back up, as he had a .895 OPS in the final 52 games of the season.

He was the youngest player in all of A-Ball last season, and will likely continue to be the youngest player at whatever level he plays at as he continues his minor league ascension.

Another prospect who continues to shine in Spring Training is Alan Roden.

The left-handed-hitting outfielder has impressed in camp thus far, though. In six Grapefruit League games, he's gone 4-for-9 (.385) with a homer, a pair of doubles and two driven in while earning four walks and has yet to strike out.

It's also worth noting that he's swung and missed just twice on 19 swings this spring, maintaining his high-contact, low-strikeout approach.

Between his offensive results and defensive versatility at all three outfield positions, Roden has put himself firmly on everyone's radar throughout this organization, including general manager Ross Atkins.

He's not sneaking up on anyone this spring. Thus, it's likely not a matter of if he'll make his major league debut this season but a matter of when it'll happen.

Some wondered heading into camp if there might be at least an outside chance that Roden could crack Toronto's 26-man Opening Day roster with Daulton Varsho still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

But the fact he's already well ahead of schedule and may not require a season-opening IL stint likely squashes any hope of that dream.

Roden would be better off preparing for his second season with the Bisons without interruptions or potential distractions.

Not only because he isn't Rule 5-eligible until after this season, adding extra importance regarding the timing of his call-up, but also due to the significance of replicating his '24 performance.