The last position player we’ll look at in the series is Steward Berroa.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man Roster Review, where we look at the players on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster. We’ll look at how the player performed in 2024, his season projections for the 2025 season, and any storylines heading into this coming season. In this article, we’ll look at Steward Berroa.
The Dominican Republic native signed with the Blue Jays in the summer of 2016 and put together a few good seasons here, a few subpar seasons there. In 2022, he slashed .211/.315/.318 with seven home runs in 315 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A. However, Berroa improved in 2023, slashing .257/.368/.390 with seven home runs in 450 plate appearances for a 112 wRC+ in Double-A and Triple-A.
Berroa’s 2024 season in the minor leagues was a career-best, slashing .281/.371/.454 with a career-high 10 home runs in 300 plate appearances, with an 11.7 BB% and a 23.7 K%. Moreover, he has the speed as well, stealing 34 bases in 42 attempts, down from the 47 stolen bases in 57 attempts in 2023 and 47 stolen bases in 54 attempts in 2022.
Unfortunately, Berroa couldn’t find the same success in the big leagues, albeit he didn’t have much of an opportunity. Despite appearing in 28 games, the outfielder only received 45 plate appearances where he slashed .189/.333/.216 with no home runs, stealing six bases in eight opportunities.
Defensively though, Berroa was solid as he had 3 Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average in 76 innings in right field.
Fangraphs’ projections aren’t too kind to the 25-year-old speedster. While there’s no ATC projection for Berroa, his Steamer projection has him slashing .214/294/.330 in seven plate appearances. Moreover, OOPSY has him slashing .207/.287/.316 with no home runs, also in seven plate appearances.
Berroa is the exact type of player a contending team wants to carry on their postseason roster. Remember when the Blue Jays called up Cam Eden late in the 2023 season to steal bases? Well, Berroa could play the same role if the Jays end up contending in 2025, albeit with more questionable decision-making on the base paths. Berroa is a good locker room guy and has an 80-grade fun tool, you can’t teach that.

As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.