This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Beyond the grand debut of No. 1 prospect Gabriel Moreno, the Blue Jays haven’t needed to lean much on their farm system in 2022.

That’s the way it should be, for now. The Blue Jays are entering the peak of their competitive window, so any roster deficiencies can be addressed ahead of the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline. It’s allowed some breathing room for the next wave of prospects, particularly the young pitchers, and several have capitalized on it. 

These are five of the Blue Jays’ Top 30 prospects who have impressed most through the first half of the Minor League season.

No. 4 LHP Ricky Tiedemann
It’s a legal requirement at this point to include Tiedemann on any list. He’s not just the hottest prospect in the organization, he’s one of the hottest in all of baseball. 

After earning a promotion with a 1.80 ERA and 49 strikeouts over just 30 innings in Single-A Dunedin, Tiedemann has somehow gotten even better with High-A Vancouver. There, the left-hander has put up a 0.38 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 23 2/3 innings. He’s limiting his walks in Vancouver, too.

If there were 1,000 possible outcomes for Tiedemann in 2022, this is No. 1. 

Still just 19, the ’21 third-rounder will be tested by the length of his first full professional season as the next couple of months wear on, but his added muscle should help to weather that. Already a Top 100 prospect in MLB, Tiedemann has a shot at being the No. 1 prospect in the organization at this time next year.

Sustaining this success is the next step, and baseball fans all know that prospects are made to break your heart, but what Tiedemann is doing right now is rare. If he stays healthy, his potential ceiling is simply massive.

No. 7 RHP Sem Robberse
The right-hander from Zeist, Netherlands, has been very steady in High-A Vancouver, posting a 2.95 ERA over 58 innings. 

Robberse’s strikeout rate (7.3 K/9) is on the lower side, but he’s done an excellent job at forcing weak contact and keeping the ball on the ground. This has allowed him to work efficiently, leaning on a deep mix of pitches that he manages very well for a 20-year-old. 

These coming months will be particularly interesting for Robberse, who had a bump in velocity late in ’21 and was throwing in the 93-95 mph range. He dropped some weight heading into ’22, though, and was working to build that back up. It will take some time and Robberse is not built like a Tiedemann or Alek Manoah by any means, but he’ll continue to benefit from the Blue Jays’ strength programs. 

Robberse was stuck in Florida for much of the COVID-19 pandemic, living at a hotel with a group of Minor League players that included many of the organization’s young Venezuelans. What he’s doing now is made even more impressive by what he’s had to work around in recent years.

No. 18 RHP Adrian Hernandez
Still just 22, Hernandez has pitched brilliantly for Triple-A Buffalo after earning an early promotion from Double-A.

With Buffalo, Hernandez owns a 1.80 ERA with 28 strikeouts over 20 innings, using a changeup (you’ll also see it called a screwball) that is one of the best pitches in the organization to baffle far more experienced hitters. Standing just 5-foot-8, there’s nothing about Hernandez that screams “shutdown reliever,” but he’s earning every bit of the hype he’s generating.

If he keeps this up, Hernandez will force the Blue Jays’ hand for an MLB debut this summer.

No. 28 RHP Dahian Santos
Santos is a human strikeout machine. 

With 71 in just 40 2/3 innings for Single-A Dunedin, Santos has been a star on a pitching staff that’s been home to some incredible developmental jumps in ’22. 

Walks have been an issue at times for Santos, but we’re talking about a 19-year-old who is already showing a rare ability to miss bats. That has the organization very excited. 

Santos had his fastball reaching closer to the mid-90s as ’22 opened, touching 94 mph, while his “slurve” breaking ball and changeup back it up. The development of that changeup will be particularly important for Santos as he faces more advanced hitters in higher levels, but for now, he’s putting together a fantastic season for his age. 

The Blue Jays have had some high-end pitching prospects of late, but many were high picks. Young arms like Hernandez and Santos show that, deep down in the system, someone’s pushing the right buttons.

No. 29 INF Tanner Morris
After opening the year starring in the Double-A New Hampshire lineup alongside No. 30 prospect Spencer Horwitz, who deserves mention for his .405 on-base percentage and .892 OPS through 61 games, Morris made the jump to Triple-A, where he’s still looking to find his footing. 

The overall picture is encouraging, though as Morris his .312 with a .430 on-base percentage in 43 Double-A games. He’s hitting just .156 over 14 Triple-A games, but has walked 13 times compared to 11 strikeouts, so the plate approach hasn’t gone anywhere. 

Morris is a prospect who could be quietly putting themselves on the radar for 2023, particularly given his ability to play second base, shortstop and third. Morris is one of the more cerebral prospects in the system with an approach to hitting that the Blue Jays’ player development staff loves, and being a lefty bat only makes him more attractive.