Sports fans are generally fuelled by one of two things: winning or the hope of winning. This year, the Blue Jays will be serving up an all-you-can-eat buffet of future promise.



A week into the Blue Jays season, fans got an early taste. First baseman Rowdy Tellez has two home runs, starting pitcher Trent Thornton threw a five-inning scoreless gem in his debut and no baserunner has managed to steal on Danny Jansen’s watch (OK, so there’s only been one attempt).



As the Blue Jays take on a rebuild, reinforced this past week with the trading of major-league stalwarts Kendrys Morales and Kevin Pillar, what will determine a successful season will be how much their youngest players improve. That includes their players in the minor leagues, whose season kicks off on Thursday.



With that in mind, The Athletic spoke to Gil Kim, Blue Jays director of player development, in order to highlight some players to watch throughout the organization’s...