Blue Jays Nation’s 2026 Pre-Season Prospect Countdown

Blue Jays Nation’s 2026 Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 28: Riley Tirotta

Riley Tirotta is a Toronto Blue Jays prospect to keep an eye on entering Spring Training.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s bi-annual prospect ranking, where we’ll look at the top 35 prospects in the system in the month of February. As always, I’ll look at the player’s stats, what other publications have to say, as well as my own observations of the players. If you missed the 29th-ranked prospect, you can read about Jace Bohrofen here.

Getting to know Riley Tirotta…

Position: Utility

Bats: Right

Born: August 21st, 1998

Acquired: 12th-round, 2021 draft

Drafted in the 12th round of the 2021 draft out of Dayton, Tirotta was an under-the-radar type of prospect for the first few seasons in the organization. Immediately after being drafted, he hit a home run in 119 plate appearances in Single-A to end the 2021 season.

The 2022 season was mainly spent in High-A, where he slashed .219/.314/.368 with six home runs in 283 plate appearances, hitting an additional home run on a rehab assignment. Although he played well in his first 27 games in High-A to begin the 2023 season, Tirotta struggled once he reached Double-A, finishing with a 96 wRC+ in 269 plate appearances, the same wRC+ he had in 2022.

Something changed in 2024, as Tirotta finally broke out. Beginning the season injured, the utility player started the season in Single-A, where he hit a home run in 29 plate appearances. He followed that up with two home runs in 73 plate appearances with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, before joining the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, where Tirotta hit an additional 12 home runs in 342 plate appearances.

Overall, Tirotta slashed .247/.385/.433 with 15 home runs in 444 plate appearances for a 126 wRC+, including a 112 wRC+ in Triple-A. That said, there were some concerns about swing and miss in his game, as he had a 27.3 K% for the season, and a 28.1 K% in Triple-A. Tirotta balanced that out well with a good eye at the plate, walking in 16.2% of plate appearances in 2024.

Last season, Tirotta began his season with the Bisons and spent the entire year there. Overall, he slashed .268/.359/.417 with 12 home runs in 463 plate appearances for a 112 wRC+, an incredibly similar season to his 2024. His walk rate dropped to 11.4%, while his K% jumped up to 29.6%.

While there are a ton of whiffs in his game (hence the high strikeout rate), Tirotta doesn’t chase all that often, posting a 21.68% chase% in 2025. That contributes to a strong walk rate. With the ability to play first base, third base, left field, and right field, there’s a lot to like about his game as he provides utility and some pop. In fact, you can see how a comparison to a player like Davis Schneider makes some sense.

Tirotta’s big area of concern are those whiffs, and it’s probably what has held him back from getting a look in the big leagues the last two seasons. If he can clean that up, he has the potential of a power-hitting bench bat that hits left-handed pitching.

Expect Tirotta to begin his 2026 season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

Getting to know Riley Tirotta…

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