Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55 | Overall: 55

American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla., has churned out a good number of professional players, from All-Star Eric Hosmer to Red Sox prospect Triston Casas. Pitchers have been tougher to come by, with Shaun Anderson the one big league arm to come from the school, via the University of Florida. Barriera -- a smaller lefty with electric stuff who threw very well on the summer showcase circuit, including a perfect inning at MLB’s High School All-American Game in Denver -- has a very good chance of being the next. It was more of the same for him this spring, though he made his last start on April 19 as he shut things down out of caution, not injury.

While there are high school pitchers in this class who are more projectable, there aren’t that many who have better stuff than Barriera. His fastball sits in the low-90s and touched as high as 96 mph over the course of the summer. He has a low-80s slider that misses a lot of bats, and his changeup, which he sells with excellent arm speed, has the chance to be plus in the future.

Barriera, who reminds some longtime scouts of former Yankee great Ron Guidry, throws a ton of strikes and goes right after hitters. The only concern around the Vanderbilt recruit is about his size and whether he will hold up as a starter, but his stuff and feel for the strike zone have had scouts running to south Florida all spring and puts him firmly in first-round conversations talent-wise.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Barriera had generated plenty of buzz on the showcase circuit leading up to the 2022 Draft and represented an exciting middle ground between the upside typically found in high-school arms and the polish typically found in NCAA pitchers. The Blue Jays targeted Barriera with the No. 23 overall pick in the ‘22 Draft, signing him to an above-slot bonus of $3,597,500. The organization has hoped to get Barriera to the same jumping-off point that Ricky Tiedemann experienced a year prior, but injuries slowed that process. That continued into 2024 when the southpaw made one Single-A start before suffering a left elbow injury that required a hybrid Tommy John and internal brace procedure. He will miss the rest of the season as a result.

Barriera’s pro debut in 2023 was slowed by a separate pair of arm injuries, and his velocity lived more in the 92-93 mph range, a step back from the 95-96 fastball that excited scouts leading up to the Draft. Barriera had a reputation for a solid low-80s slider and upper-80s changeup, but as he continued to work around physical issues, the young left-hander never quite settled into a groove or found the momentum he needed. His 20 1/3 innings (3.98 ERA) didn’t offer much of a snapshot.

Barriera got his body right this offseason and looked better physically than he did a year ago, but the elbow issue came all the same. Given that he only turned 20 in March, there is plenty of time for the development staff and Barriera to build something exciting together when he gets back on the mound in 2025. He should still have the polish to attack hitters and put up excellent numbers in the lower levels when healthy, but staying that way and maintaining his stuff are the keys for Barriera, now more than ever.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55 | Overall: 50

American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla., has been known more for its hitters (Eric Hosmer, Triston Casas) than its pitchers over the years, but Barriera could change that. The southpaw was a showcase circuit standout heading into 2022, highlighted by a perfect inning at the High School All-American Game in Denver. MLB Pipeline’s No. 15 Draft prospect in 2022, Barriera went to the Blue Jays at No. 23 in July (eventually signing for an above-slot $3,597,500 bonus).

While not a massive or projectable presence on the mound at 6-foot-2, Barriera does show promising stuff in his quest to be a Major League starter. His fastball sat in the low-90s as a high schooler, and after not pitching officially in the Minors post-Draft, he was touching 97-98 during fall bullpen sessions. The heater has late movement too, which can help it play up. He mixes in a low-80s slider with promising sweep that acts as his primary off-speed pitch, and his mid-80s changeup looks like the fastball out of the hand, giving it above-average potential too.

Jays coaches have come to appreciate how Barriera isn’t afraid to attack hitters in the strike zone, and that mentality, mixed with the quality of his stuff, makes him a future rotation candidate. His size calls into question whether he’ll be durable enough to handle that load, and those questions have gotten louder as he's missed time in 2023 with elbow, shoulder and biceps issues. Gearing up for a true full season will be a priority moving forward.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55 | Overall: 50

American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla., has churned out a good number of professional players, from All-Star Eric Hosmer to Red Sox prospect Triston Casas. Pitchers have been tougher to come by, with Shaun Anderson the one big league arm to come from the school, via the University of Florida. Barriera -- a smaller lefty with electric stuff who threw very well on the summer showcase circuit, including a perfect inning at MLB’s High School All-American Game in Denver -- has a very good chance of being the next. The Jays will be the ones to try to make that happen after taking the southpaw 23rd overall and signing him to an above slot $3,597,500 bonus.

While there were high school pitchers in his class who were more projectable, there weren’t that many who had better stuff than Barriera. His fastball sits in the low-90s and touched as high as 96 mph over the course of the summer. He has a low-80s slider that misses a lot of bats, and his changeup, which he sells with excellent arm speed, has the chance to be plus in the future.

Barriera, who reminds some longtime scouts of former Yankees great Ron Guidry, throws a ton of strikes and goes right after hitters. The only concern around the Vanderbilt recruit is about his size and whether he will hold up as a starter, but his stuff and feel for the strike zone have had scouts running to south Florida all spring and that helped him land in the first round.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	11/03/2024	Dunedin Blue Jays activated LHP Brandon Barriera from the full-season injured list.
	04/30/2024	Dunedin Blue Jays placed LHP Brandon Barriera on the full-season injured list.
	04/30/2024	Dunedin Blue Jays placed LHP Brandon Barriera on the full-season injured list.
	04/09/2024	Dunedin Blue Jays placed LHP Brandon Barriera on the 7-day injured list retroactive to April 7, 2024.
	03/07/2024	Toronto Blue Jays Prospects activated LHP Brandon Barriera.
	09/25/2023	Dunedin Blue Jays activated LHP Brandon Barriera from the 7-day injured list.
	08/03/2023	Dunedin Blue Jays placed LHP Brandon Barriera on the 7-day injured list.
	07/21/2023	Dunedin Blue Jays activated LHP Brandon Barriera from the 7-day injured list.
	07/14/2023	Dunedin Blue Jays sent LHP Brandon Barriera on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays.
	06/06/2023	Dunedin Blue Jays placed LHP Brandon Barriera on the 7-day injured list.
	05/03/2023	LHP Brandon Barriera assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays.
	03/06/2023	LHP Brandon Barriera assigned to FCL Blue Jays from Blue Jays Organization.
	08/16/2022	LHP Brandon Barriera assigned to Blue Jays Organization.
	07/26/2022	Toronto Blue Jays signed LHP Brandon Barriera.
	06/10/2022	LHP Brandon Barriera assigned to College Workout.
	08/18/2021	LHP Brandon Barriera and assigned to PG East.
	07/13/2021	PG National 10 - Royal activated LHP Brandon Barriera.
	07/08/2021	National activated LHP Brandon Barriera.
	07/08/2021	National activated LHP Brandon Barriera.