Friday, August 14

TORONTO -- At this point, the Blue Jays are willing to try anything. 

Who predicted lineups with Brett Bateman and Charles McAdoo batting in the top two spots? All that matters is that it works, and as the Blue Jays try to climb the American League Wild Card race, they’ve shown a willingness to hand over more playing time to young players if they’re producing. 

Looking ahead to the final six weeks of the regular season, whether it’s a postseason run or Toronto fades from the race, these are the players you could be seeing more of:

OF Brett Bateman

Realistic 2027 role: The new Myles Straw

Manager John Schneider clearly likes what he sees in Bateman. His speed-and-contact profile fits in center -- and atop a lineup -- but Bateman isn’t a No. 1 prospect surrounded by hype. There’s a certain amount of “feel” to the decision to roll the club’s No. 20 prospect per MLB Pipeline out there, which is why this is easier to believe in.

“You never know when you’re going to find a dude,” Schneider said. “Again, it’s a handful of games, but he has the potential with both his skills and the way he thinks, the way he can adjust, to be pretty damn good.”

The archetype of a Straw or Nathan Lukes works well here, a role the Blue Jays clearly value. If Bateman can fill that role and turn it up a notch with his speed and defense, there will be some very happy people in this organization.

3B Charles McAdoo

Realistic 2027 role: Davis Schneider’s 2024-’25 role

McAdoo’s power potential makes him relevant, but the No. 12 prospect’s athleticism and a growing defensive profile make this truly interesting. He’s batting near the top of the lineup on a team trying to make a postseason run, which tells you all you need to know about the staff’s trust in him.

The Schneider role is useful to frame McAdoo, whose defensive profile is third base, second base and left field in a pinch. If McAdoo can become serviceable in left, which Schneider did admirably, then this only gets more interesting. Consider this one of the roles that isn’t exactly a “regular,” but leaves plenty of room to hit your way into the lineup. 

LHP Ricky Tiedemann

Realistic 2027 role: Major League bullpen

Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves after just three Triple-A rehab appearances, but at the very least, we’re finally back to the point of Tiedemann pitching “regularly,” even if that schedule is still being carefully managed after his long rehab from Tommy John. 

Tiedemann (Toronto's No. 10 prospect), who turns only 24 on Tuesday, still feels even younger in prospect years, given how much time he’s missed. The talent is all there, though, and if the Blue Jays can wrangle it -- and keep Tiedemann healthy -- this is a lefty reliever who throws 98 mph with legitimate big league out pitches. Those don’t grow on trees. 

For now, bet on a 95% likelihood that Tiedemann just finishes out this season in Triple-A and enters camp as a must-watch story in the spring. If Toronto falls out of the race, though, he’s already on the 40-man roster and could get a late look.

1B Sean Keys

Realistic 2027 role: Competing for bench bat role

Keys’ first taste of the big leagues was a learning experience, but he still has 24 home runs across 96 games this season. That will play. 

Keys (Toronto's No. 5 prospect) would need an injury in front of him or the Blue Jays to fall out of contention to see more playing time, but he’ll have more opportunities to force his way into this club’s plans. If he can play a solid third base, that gets much easier, and could open up a role as a righty-mashing role player.

UTIL Jay Harry
Realistic 2027 role: Competing for 26th man

One of the breakout stars of the Minor League system, Harry (Toronto's No. 21 prospect) is batting .316 with 13 home runs and a .919 OPS, while playing all over the diamond. This is the exact type of profile that would work well at the end of the big league bench, finding ways into the lineup regularly at multiple positions. 

Harry made a swing change coming off a poor 2025 season, primarily in his posture at the plate. The Blue Jays challenged him to crank up his bat speed, which he nailed, and that’s been paired with a serious uptick in aggression at the plate. He’s gone from nearly being forgotten as organizational depth to being a legitimate candidate for playing time in ‘27.

Claimed off waivers from the D-backs on Wednesday, Sewald is expected to be activated for the Blue Jays’ series against the Yankees beginning on Friday.

Sewald struggled this season as Arizona’s closer despite saving 24 games, with home runs being a real issue. Toronto thinks it can get the 36-year-old back to his old form.

“When you’re closing, you’re kind of just pitching against whoever,” Schneider said. “I think we can probably find some better spots for him. There’s some weirdness to a lot of relievers' [performances]. We talked about it with [Jeff] Hoffman the whole time he was here this year. When a guy has pitched the late innings, you feel good about that. It’s just been a weird year for him keeping the ball in the park, so we’re going to try to tighten up some matchups for him.”

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