Next Guys Up: Julian Merryweather

Julian Merryweather is a 28 year old right handed pitcher in the Blue Jays organization. He has yet to make his major league debut, and is most well known as the return for Josh Donaldson to the Indians trade in 2018. He is expected to debut for the team in 2020 or 2021, and could be fighting for a bullpen spot out of spring training, as he is on the 40 man roster, and the Jays lack bullpen depth.

The Donaldson trade hit a nerve with many Jays fans, as not only were they losing their beloved MVP, but it also meant a new chapter was in the books, as a rebuild was coming after years of fielding a competitive team. It certainly didn’t make fans feel any better to see the return in the trade was an unrated prospect coming off a huge injury (recovering from Tommy John), while in his age 26 season. After missing the entire 2018 season, he spent the 2019 season between rookie league and high A Dunedin, only totaling 6.0 innings over 2 starts due to a late season return from his injury. Despite this, he is expected to break camp in 2020 as a member of the AAA Bisons, or possibly even the big league club if he makes a strong impression in spring training.

Coming off an injury like this is never easy, and having only thrown 6.0 innings since 2017 leaves a lot of question marks for not only fans, but also scouts, and front office execs. There really aren’t any numbers to back up Merryweather’s bid for the majors, and his entire career from here on out will really only be built on his current performance, unlike most other prospects within the organization. He is an unproven prospect that just needs his chance to play, and his success this season will have a huge impact on the rest of his career, as he could potentially make it, or break it in 2020. The flamethrowing righty certainly has his work cut out for him this season, and with the bullpen at a weak spot, this might be the best opportunity he will get.