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Blue Jays Nation’s 2026 Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 9: RJ Schreck

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Blue Jays Nation’s 2026 Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 9: RJ Schreck

Blue Jays Nation’s 2026 Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 9: RJ Schreck

The first position player prospect that the Toronto Blue Jays may turn to if they need reinforcements is RJ Schreck.

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 10th-ranked prospect, you can read about Yohendrick Piñango here.

Getting to know RJ Schreck…

Position: Outfield

Bats: Left

Born: July 12th, 2000

Acquired: Trade with Seattle Mariners

Schreck went undrafted out of high school, then spent two seasons at Duke University. The outfielder transferred to Vanderbilt for the 2023 season, where he proceeded to slash .306/.454/.588 with 14 home runs, four fewer than his total in his freshman season. Shortly after the end of the season, the Mariners came calling, selecting the Los Angeles native in the ninth round and signing him to a bonus of $75,000.

After the draft, Schreck slashed .258/.336/.392 in 110 plate appearances, and found success with their High-A team to begin the 2024 season. With the Everett AquaSox, Schreck slashed .261/.401/.464 with 12 home runs in 344 plate appearances. The Blue Jays saw Schreck quite a bit, as their High-A team, the Vancouver Canadians, also play in the six-team Northwest League. 

And they must’ve liked him, as they sent Justin Turner to the Mariners in exchange for Schreck. While his tenure with the Mariners’ Double-A team didn’t go great, Schreck was one of only a few prospects the Jays acquired at the 2024 deadline that found immediate success. With the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, he slashed .266/.396/.521 with five home runs in 114 plate appearances, giving him 17 home runs and a 138 wRC+ for the season.

Schreck continued to hit well in 2025, beginning his season with the Fisher Cats and slashing .266/.396/.518 with nine home runs in 169. He and Piñango had a similar beginning to the 2025 season, but Schreck continued to hit once reaching Triple-A, slashing .242/.392/.435 with nine home runs in 234 plate appearances, with his 18 plate appearances in 2025 being the second-most in the system.

Heading into the 2026 season, the outfielder ranked as Fangraphs’ 19th-best prospect in the Blue Jays system, as they give him a 50 grade for raw power and a 40 grade in both his hit tool and game power tool. They note he has good contact rates, but his power is generated with a long swing and subpar bat speed, which is a concern.
MLB Pipeline gave him a 40 grade in the power department in their mid-season update last season, and it makes sense when looking at his underlying numbers. According to Prospects Savant, Schreck had a maximum exit velocity of 109.4 mph last season, with his 90th% exit velocity being just 103.3 mph. His average exit velocity was just 85.7 mph, which was in the 29th percentile.

He differs from Piñango in that regard, but has continually found success the last two seasons, hitting 17 and 18 home runs respectively. Even though the raw power may not be there, Schreck has a great game plan at the plate, doesn’t chase with balls out of the zone, and was in the 74th percentile for whiff percentage in 2025.

A fine defender in the outfield, Schreck may be one of the first prospects the Blue Jays turn to if they need an injury replacement. Alternatively, Schreck could continue to hit the way he has the last two seasons and force the Blue Jays’ hands, much like Davis Schneider did in 2023.

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