MESA, Ariz. -- On the night that Toronto made Brandon Barriera the 23rd pick of the 2022 Draft, he was on top of the world. Attending the event in person, he rushed to hug his dad and boasted the youthful exuberance of a pitcher who had his sights set on a fast track through the Minor Leagues coming out of the Florida high school ranks.
Four years later, he’s much calmer. Barriera has undergone a litany of ailments since the first time he donned a Blue Jays hat:
2023: Elbow, shoulder and biceps issues
2024: Combination of Tommy John surgery and an internal brace produce
2025: Fractured forearm
But he’s back to wearing the club’s gear in the Arizona Fall League, representing the organization as a member of the Mesa Solar Sox. The time on the sidelines prevented him from doing the thing he grew up loving to do: competing.
“Definitely just a lot of reflecting and really trying to figure out who I am as a player and as a person,” Barriera said. “Most importantly knowing that baseball comes and goes, knowing that my identity can't be in this game because it's a failing game, we all know that.
“But honestly, just falling in love with it all over again, it's been awesome.”
Barriera is quick to credit his strong support system for being integral to keeping him on a continual path back toward the mound. He’s compiled just 66 innings across four pro seasons, but the hesitation and bug of doubt that creeps in when he hurdles his 6-foot-2 frame down the hill toward the batter has finally subsided. He’s still laser-focused on being a big leaguer.
But before he can venture to the Rogers Centre, he first had to make it out of the complex in Dunedin, Fla. It took much longer than anyone could have expected back in July 2022, but on Aug. 23, Barriera earned his first promotion to High-A Vancouver, where he wrapped up his 2026 regular season.
The southpaw worked 38 2/3 innings in total across three levels, again incurring a stint on the injured list due to a non-arm-related issue. He walked batters at too high of a frequency (6.7 BB/9), but struck out better than a batter per inning and ran a 66.7 percent ground-ball rate, the second-highest among all Blue Jays Minor Leaguers (min. 30 IP).
“He's got some unique stuff to him,” Mesa pitching coach Bo Martino, a coordinator of pitching performance in the Angels organization, said of Barriera. “I think a lot of the time [the key] with those guys is not getting away from that uniqueness, building into that. Knowing who you are, building the confidence in yourself, having the mental aspect of just going after guys. I think what's good [in the Fall League] is we want to win games, but we get to develop these guys and set them up for success for the future.”
During his time in the AFL, Barriera has made five appearances, all out of relief. (He departed his most recent outing early on Monday night.) He has scrapped the changeup from his arsenal entirely and his pair of fastballs -- a four-seamer that operates like a cutter and a sinker that gets two-seam action -- have parked around 91-93 mph, maxing out at 94.6. But the star of the show is still the slider, a mid-80s offering that gets a ton of sweep and misses bats; of his six strikeouts for the Solar Sox, four have come on the breaker.
“Honestly, it's evolved a lot. It's definitely a confidence pitch and also just kind of gets a feel back for the heaters,” Barriera said. “I’m trying to rip it like a fastball, tunnel it like a fastball and trust the movement.”
Ultimately, Barriera will spend the entire 2027 season at just 23 years old, giving him ample runway to still impact the big league club one day. The Blue Jays transitioned Ricky Tiedemann (their No. 10 prospect) to a relief role after years of similar setbacks, which ultimately led to an expedited route to The Show.
“When I'm at my best, it's firing on all cylinders and it's competing, giving my team the best chance to win,” he said. “I think that's who I am as a pitcher, whether that's as a starter or as a reliever -- whatever they want to do, I'm going to get it done.”