Brandon Valenzuela is a 25-year-old switch-hitting catcher born in Hermosillo, Mexico (he has a good role model as a Mexican-born catcher in Kirk). The Blue Jays acquired him from the Padres in exchange for Will Wagner. MLB.com has Valenzuela ranked No. 24 on the Blue Jays’ top 30 prospects list. He was added to the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster last November.
The Padres signed him as a 16-year-old in 2017 for a $100,000 signing bonus. You have three options left.
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Last year, splitting time between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A Buffalo, he hit .224/.309/.383 with 15 home runs. As a switch-hitter, he’s been pretty even on both sides (last year a .725 OPS against LHP and .680 against LHP). He struck out a lot (24.0% of the time) but then walked quite a bit (10.9%). It has a little pop to it.
But the offense is not what he has put on prospect lists. His defense is what has him on the verge of a major league spot. Last year, he sent off 34% of the runners. He is said to be good at blocking balls on the ground and considers it a good game.
Baseball America says:
Valenzuela, the switch-hitter, is a glove-first catcher who doesn’t have much offensive upside. Valenzuela’s right-handed swing is better than his left-handed one, leading to average results against left-handed pitchers. Shows below-average contact skills with an advanced approach that should lead to at least average walking pace. There will be a good amount of strikeouts as Valenzuela is a very below average contact hitter against right-handed pitching. He hit 15 home runs in 2025 and shows marginally average playing power. To his credit, Valenzuela has average exit velocity data at high launch angles. Behind the plate he is an excellent defender with an above-average arm that keeps runners in check.
He’s having a good spring, with 4 hits and 3 walks, in 12 at-bats, and, in my opinion, he’s looked good behind the plate.
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If Tyler Heineman hits like he did last year (and is also a good defensive catcher) and stays healthy, we won’t see much from Valenzuela, but if Heineman hits again like he did in the past, well, the team will probably still stick with the catcher they know. So receivers tend to hit the disabled list at some point during the season, and Brandon would be next in line. Ali Sánchez appeared in 20 MLB games last year.
Valenzuela is nine years younger than Heineman. All things being equal, I’d rather have Valenzuela on the big league team than Heineman, but Tyler would probably retire or look for a job with another team if the Blue Jays wanted to cut him. Valenzuela pretty much has to do what the Blue Jays tell him.
Heineman didn’t get his first MLB at-bat until he was 28 years old. And before he was 30, Heineman only played 20 games. If Brandon doesn’t get time in the big leagues this year, he has plenty of time to “make it.”
Steamer estimates he will play in 8 games this season, hitting .201/.272/.315 with 1 home run.