The Toronto Blue Jays' top prospect, catcher Gabriel Moreno, will soon make his major league debut.

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Recalled for the three-game series scheduled for Friday to Sunday against the Tigers in Detroit, the 22-year-old Venezuelan achieves a dream that once seemed unlikely for him.

In a long text published on the Blue Jays website, we learn in particular that Moreno had to abandon organized baseball when he was a child, for lack of money, to play ball in the streets of Barquisimeto, his hometown.

"My dad didn't make a lot of money and when he did, it was for food, not for baseball," Moreno said.

Crucial meeting

Fortunately, in his early teens, Moreno crossed paths with Jose Mejia, the head of a baseball academy in Venezuela. In his eyes, the young man's talent was too obvious to remain hidden.

Mejia will have been right. A decade later, Moreno is not only considered the Jays' main gem, but is also credited with being ranked fourth among prospects across major league baseball.

This season, Moreno has also maintained a .324 batting average, producing 23 passing points in 35 games with the Buffalo Bisons, at the AAA level. Last year, he did even better with Branch AA in New Hampshire, batting an extraordinary .373, eight home runs and 45 RBIs in just 32 games.

A nice future

The catcher now sees the opportunity to make his major league debut as catcher Danny Jansen has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a broken left hand. Moreno, an international prospect signed by the Jays for a whopping $25,000 in 2016 when he was just 16, could be the team's future behind the plate.

"Gabriel has been fantastic," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said of Moreno's rise to the big leagues. And he keeps getting better."