TORONTO BLUE JAYS TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1. GABRIEL MORENO, C
AGE: 22. B-T: R-R. HT: 5-11. WT: 175. SIGNED: Venezuela, 2016. SIGNED BY: Francisco Plasencia.
TRACK RECORD: Moreno had good hand-eye coordination as an amateur, but he was a lower-profile signing out of Venezuela as a 16-year-old in 2016 for $25,000. He made his debut in 2017 in the Dominican Summer League, where he struck out just five times in 135 plate appearances but also had just five extra-base hits. Moreno’s stock rose the following year in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, and swing changes helped him start to tap into more power in 2019 with Low-A Lansing to become one of the game’s better catching prospects in the lower levels. In 2021, everything was clicking for Moreno. He drew glowing reviews while crushing Double-A pitching until he missed all of July and August due to a broken right thumb that required surgery before returning in September and playing in the Arizona Fall League.
Moreno has an elite combination of quickness, bat speed, hitting actions and excellent contact skills. Difficult to whiff throughout his career, Moreno had just a 15% strikeout rate in 2021. His quick, efficient swing and bat-to-ball ability helps him turn around premium velocity on the inner third and counter pitchers who attack at the top of the zone with a knack for barreling those pitches. Moreno’s swing evolved during his 2019 season in Low-A to incorporate more dynamic, athletic movements, which helped him start to tap into more power at the time. Over the last two years, Moreno has maintained that swing while
