Hayden Juenger

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Toronto Blue Jays #28 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 40/High
  
  Track Record: The Blue Jays drafted Juenger in the sixth round in 2021 out of Missouri State. He pitched mostly relief in college, but Toronto pushed him to Double-A New Hampshire to open 2022 and he worked primarily as a starter. After a late-season promotion to Triple-A Buffalo, Juenger returned to Triple-A to begin 2023. He spent the entire season with the Bisons working as a reliever.
  
  Scouting Report: An undersized righthander whose arsenal plays up due to his unique release traits, Juenger mixes three pitches in a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. His fastball sits 93-94 mph and touches 95-96, with an outlier approach angle. Juenger’s most-thrown secondary is a changeup that he throws to both lefthanded and righthanded hitters, but it is nearly one-to-one with his fastball versus lefties. Juenger’s changeup sits 83-85 mph with heavy fade. His slider is his primary secondary against righties and has undergone shape changes in the last year. It’s now an upper-80s cutter-like slider. Juenger’s command is below-average. He often leaves his fastball and slider in parts of the strike zone that result in trouble.
  
  The Future: Juenger is a potential low-leverage reliever capable of going multiple innings, with a chance to debut in 2024.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 55 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 40
• 
  Ranked Toronto Blue Jays #8 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Juenger spent three seasons pitching out of Missouri State's bullpen and was one of the top college relievers available when the Blue Jays selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. He worked as a traditional reliever in his pro debut for High-A Vancouver after signing, but the Blue Jays aggressively pushed him to Double-A to begin his first full season in 2022. Juenger worked three to four innings as an opener for New Hampshire. He flourished with the new arrangement and received a midseason promotion to Triple-A Buffalo, where he worked as a more traditional multi-inning reliever in the second half of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: A slight but athletic righthander, Juenger mixes three pitches that all play up with unique characteristics. His drop-and-drive delivery and three-quarters arm slot create an unusually low release height, giving his pitches an unfamiliar trajectory for hitters, which creates uncomfortable at-bats. Juenger's plus fastball ranges from 93-97 mph early in outings before dropping to 91-94 in subsequent innings, when he often loses the zone. His 83-84 mph slider with late horizontal break and mid-80s changeup with heavy armside run are both average pitches which give him effective weapons against hitters on both sides of the plate. Juenger leans on his fastball heavily and throws it nearly 60% of the time. His usage for each secondary pitch could be higher, but he often pockets them for long stretches while focusing on attacking with his fastball. Juenger throws all three of his pitches for strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: Juenger projects best as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen, but he is capable of filling a variety of roles. He is in position to make his major league debut in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 50. Changeup: 50. Control: 50

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #229 prospect in 2021 draft
  The 6-foot, 180-pound righthander was the closer for Missouri State this season, getting into 16 games, throwing 21 innings, walking six and striking out 31 batters. His fastball was 94-98 mph, to go along with an average slider and an average changeup. He gave up five of his nine earned runs in the first two weeks of the season, with a small sample of outings inflating his numbers, but he was lights out down the stretch.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Juenger spent three seasons pitching out of Missouri State's bullpen and was one of the top college relievers available when the Blue Jays selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. He worked as a traditional reliever in his pro debut for High-A Vancouver after signing, but the Blue Jays aggressively pushed him to Double-A to begin his first full season in 2022. Juenger worked three to four innings as an opener for New Hampshire. He flourished with the new arrangement and received a midseason promotion to Triple-A Buffalo, where he worked as a more traditional multi-inning reliever in the second half of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: A slight but athletic righthander, Juenger mixes three pitches that all play up with unique characteristics. His drop-and-drive delivery and three-quarters arm slot create an unusually low release height, giving his pitches an unfamiliar trajectory for hitters, which creates uncomfortable at-bats. Juenger's plus fastball ranges from 93-97 mph early in outings before dropping to 91-94 in subsequent innings, when he often loses the zone. His 83-84 mph slider with late horizontal break and mid-80s changeup with heavy armside run are both average pitches which give him effective weapons against hitters on both sides of the plate. Juenger leans on his fastball heavily and throws it nearly 60% of the time. His usage for each secondary pitch could be higher, but he often pockets them for long stretches while focusing on attacking with his fastball. Juenger throws all three of his pitches for strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: Juenger projects best as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen, but he is capable of filling a variety of roles. He is in position to make his major league debut in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 50. Changeup: 50. Control: 50
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
  
  Track Record: Juenger spent three seasons pitching out of Missouri State's bullpen and was one of the top college relievers available when the Blue Jays selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. He worked as a traditional reliever in his pro debut for High-A Vancouver after signing, but the Blue Jays aggressively pushed him to Double-A to begin his first full season in 2022. Juenger worked three to four innings as an opener for New Hampshire. He flourished with the new arrangement and received a midseason promotion to Triple-A Buffalo, where he worked as a more traditional multi-inning reliever in the second half of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: A slight but athletic righthander, Juenger mixes three pitches that all play up with unique characteristics. His drop-and-drive delivery and three-quarters arm slot create an unusually low release height, giving his pitches an unfamiliar trajectory for hitters, which creates uncomfortable at-bats. Juenger's plus fastball ranges from 93-97 mph early in outings before dropping to 91-94 in subsequent innings, when he often loses the zone. His 83-84 mph slider with late horizontal break and mid-80s changeup with heavy armside run are both average pitches which give him effective weapons against hitters on both sides of the plate. Juenger leans on his fastball heavily and throws it nearly 60% of the time. His usage for each secondary pitch could be higher, but he often pockets them for long stretches while focusing on attacking with his fastball. Juenger throws all three of his pitches for strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: Juenger projects best as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen, but he is capable of filling a variety of roles. He is in position to make his major league debut in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 50. Changeup: 50. Control: 50
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  May Update: Pitching exclusively out of the bullpen his draft spring for Missouri State, Juenger showed stuff but few expected when the Blue Jays selected him in the sixth round he&#39d be starting in Double-A less than a year later. Opposing scouts view Juenger as one of the top players in the system at present and like his velocity and feel for a pair of secondaries. Juenger is sitting 94-96 mph, touching 97 mph on his fastball from a flat vertical approach angle, allowing him to miss bats on his four-seamer. He mixes two mid-80s secondaries in a changeup with heavy arm-side run that grades as his best bat-missing pitch and a slider in the mid 80s with sweep and slight ride. It&#39s a high-octane pitch mix that has scouts taking notice, as he&#39s produced solid results despite an aggressive assignment. The Toronto organization showed confidence in Juenger&#39s abilities by assigning him to Double-A out of camp. He&#39s been limited to 2-3 innings per outing now as he transitions from a primary reliever to a starter. Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 55. Control: 50.