Blue Jays Minor League Recap: A Mixed Bag With Some Good Hitting And Pitching

[Daniel Labude]

As we approach the one-month mark in the 2025 minor-league season, the Blue Jays system is a mixed bag.

CURRENT W-L Records

-Buffalo Bisons: 8-15
-New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 7-10
-Vancouver Canadians: 8-11
-Dunedin Blue Jays: 10-9
-FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started)
-DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) 

TRANSACTIONS

04/25/25 - Buffalo Bisons placed SS Michael Turconi on the 7-day injured list.
04/25/25 - SS Josh Rivera assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
04/25/25 - 2B Jay Harry assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians.
04/25/25 - Vancouver Canadians activated OF Carter Cunningham.
04/24/25 - SS Dariel Ramon assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue.

Buffalo Bisons

Buffalo (8), Rochester (1) - 4/24

Box Score

On Thursday, the Buffalo Bisons put together one of their most complete games of the season with an 8-1 drubbing of the Rochester Red Wings. On the mound, Eric Lauer started and spun five great innings. He gave up only five hits and didn't allow an earned run. To put a bow on his outing, he didn't give up a walk and struck out five hitters. In the bottom of the third inning, Michael Turconi got the Bisons started with a sacrifice fly. Michael Stefanic would drive in a second run with a line drive to center field. In the fourth inning, Buffalo would tack on four runs on the back of a mammoth 2-run home run from Orelvis Martinez. It was a rocket to center field that left the bat at 110.3 MPH, at a 32° launch angle, and traveled 413 FT. Michael Stefanic added another RBI single, and Daulton Varsho a sacrifice fly. In the seventh inning, Ali Sánchez and Steward Berroa also finished the scoring with RBI singles. It was a complete all-around game with everyone adding some contribution to the victory. 

Orelvis Martinez: 1-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR
Martinez is finally getting some of his timing back at the plate. In his last five games, he has gone 5-12 with three runs, three runs batted in, two walks, four strikeouts, a double, and a home run. Hopefully, he is finally starting to get hotter as the temperature rises. 

Eric Lauer: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K 

Buffalo (1), Rochester (8) - 4/25

Box Score

In this Friday night game, it was an almost complete reversal of Thursday's game. The Bisons’ bats were ice cold, only managing three hits all night. Easton Lucas started for the Bisons on the mound and pitched well. He went 5 1/3 innings, while only giving up three hits and two runs. He was a bit wild on the night, walking four batters. He did miss some bats to the tune of four strikeouts. In the fourth inning, Davis Schneider tied the game at one, with a double down the line. That would be it though, as Rochester scored seven runs in the last four innings to run away with the game.

Davis Schneider: 1-3, 0 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 2B

Easton Lucas: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

New Hampshire (0), Binghamton (5) - 4/24 - Game 1

Box Score

On Thursday, New Hampshire played a double header against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and sent CJ Van Eyk to the mound in game one. The first team to get on the scoreboard was the Rumble Ponies in the bottom of the third inning, when Van Eyk gave up back-to-back home runs to Nick Morabito and Ryan Clifford. New Hampshire threatened in the next half inning on a single from Yohendrick Pinango and a double from Charles McAdoo. Unfortunately, both runners would be stranded when Eddinson Paulino struck out to end the inning. A couple more errors in the bottom of the fifth would let Binghamton take some extra bases and led to a run. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Binghamton would add a couple more insurance runs via a two-run home run by Kevin Parada. Ryan McCarty would strike out to end the game in the seventh, as Binghamton would lose game one 5-0. 

Yohendrick Pinango: 2-3, 1 2B
Pinango keeps hitting like he wants a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo. He raises his average up to .367 for the season and is really locked in at the plate. 

CJ Van Eyk: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Van Eyk struggled giving up hits this game, but managed to eat innings in the first game of the double header. He did strike out nine, despite only garnering eight swing and misses. 

New Hampshire (1), Binghamton (4) - 4/24 - Game 2

Box Score

In the second game of the double header on Thursday, New Hampshire flipped to the home team and Binghamton was the away team. However, it was much of the same play on the field as the first game. New Hampshire stayed locked up at zero, until in the top of the third inning, when Matt O'Neill hit a three-run homer to cap off a four-run inning for Binghamton. New Hampshire would try and claw their way back in the bottom of the fifth inning, with a solo shot by Ryan McCarty, for his first home run of the season. The game would just flow, mostly three-up and three-down, until the bottom of the seventh inning. In New Hampshire's last chance to mount a comeback, all three hitters struck out swinging to end the game. Binghamton would take the second game of the double header 4-1. 

Ryan McCarty: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HR
McCarty has been struggling most of the season, but his home run in the fifth inning brought his average up to the Mendoza Line (.200) for the season. 

Ryan Boyer: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Boyer came into the game in the fifth inning with New Hampshire already down four runs. He did a great job of keeping New Hampshire within reach for the bats to come alive, but alas they would not muster a comeback. 

New Hampshire (1), Binghamton (4) - 4/25

Box Score

On a rainy Friday night, New Hampshire had a rough task, facing yet another difficult starting pitcher from Binghamton's rotation. This time they were up against Nolan McLean, a tough right-handed pitcher with an ERA below two for the season. The Fisher Cats started off slow, striking out three times in the top of the first inning, with a Peyton Williams walk breaking up the punch outs. The newly promoted Jay Harry started a mini rally in the top of the second inning, with a single in his first Double-A at-bat. It was followed by an Eddinson Paulino single, but a double play and ground out would snuff out the threat. In the top of the sixth inning, singles by Jace Bohrofen and Charles McAdoo would be followed up by an RBI single from Harry to take the lead 1-0. McLean would be chased from the game after the Harry single, but the damage would keep getting worse for Binghamton. Two walks, a hit by pitch, and an error would see New Hampshire score four more runs before they were through. After a couple more half innings, the game ended early after a rain delay, with New Hampshire winning 5-0. 

Jay Harry: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI

Rafael Sanchez: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Sanchez ended up throwing a complete game with the game being called early due to rain. He used a nice looking changeup or splitter as his out pitch to garner swing and misses to end the at-bats.  

Vancouver Canadians

Vancouver (3), Everett (4) - 04/24

Box Score

Juaron Watts-Brown wasn’t as sharp as he was to start the season, but still pitched an effective start, going 4 and a third innings and striking out 6, while only allowing 2 runs. He did show shakier command than he did for most of the season, walking 3 batters and giving up 4 base hits. He was up to 80 pitches in the top of the 5th and was taken out for Pat Gallagher who was excellent. However, the normally very strong Canadians bullpen faltered slightly, with Kai Peterson giving up his first homer of the season in the top of the 8th. The Canadians answered back with a couple of homers from Jackson Hornung and Adrian Pinto in the 9th, bot in the bottom of the inning, Chay Yeager, who’s been excellent to start the season, gave up a leadoff homer to outfielder Michael Arroyo, who walked it off for the AquaSox. 

Pat Gallagher - 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Gallagher was solid in the minors as a starter, but the 25 year old has been exclusively used as a reliever so far this season. He had his best appearance on the season, striking out 5 in only 2 and a thirds of work without allowing a single run. 

Jackson Hornung - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Hornung hit his first homer on the season in the 9th, going oppo above the scoreboard. Hornung was drafted as a catcher, but he hasn’t caught yet this season and has split time at first base and now left field. 

Vancouver (3), Everett  (12) - 04/25

Box Score

Kevn Miranda got another start for the Canadians, but this time it did not go very well. He gave up 6 hits, 2 being homers and 1 a double and walked a batter, which resulted in 7 earned runs in only 2.2 IP. Edinson Batista, who was just recently moved up from Dunedin after some poor results also let in another 2 runs in 1.1 IP, struggling with command and walking 3 batters. Irv Carter came in to relieve Batista, but he too struggled, only getting 1 out, allowing 3 hits and a homer to give up 3 runs. Ortiz and Munson both had scoreless appearances, but it was too little and too late for the Canadians to come back from. The offense sputtered a bit, only scoring 1 run off of the starter Ryan Hawks from an RBI groundout by Arjun Nimmala, and then Nimmala hit a homer in the top of the 9th to score Jacob Wetzel as well for the only runs of the game. 
Arjun Nimmala - 2-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR, 0 K
Arjun’s hot start didn’t really carry over, as his offensive production tapered off slightly, but this was a nice return to form from him, where he drove in all 3 runs for the Canadians and hit his third homer of the season. Nimmala is now slashing .284/.342/.478 on the season for a solid .820 OPS. 
Julio Ortiz - 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Dunedin Blue Jays 

Dunedin (2), Tampa (7) - 04/24

Box Score

The Dunedin Blue Jays were unable to get anything off of Tarpons starter Griffin Herring, who went 7 scoreless giving up only 2 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 6. Cates had a shaky start, despite going for 5.1 IP, and that put the Jays in a hole 4 - nil in the first 7 innings. Only after Herring was taken out did the Jays get on the board, with 2 runs scored off reliever Jack Sokol, with 2 RBI groundouts from Manuel Beltre and Yeuni Munoz to bring the Jays within 2. Johan Simon came in to the bottom of the 8th and immediately gave up 3 runs, stopping the Jays momentum and putting the game out of reach. 

Austin Cates - 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
This wasn’t the best start for Cates, as his fastball had less life than usual and he gave up 4 runs. Still Cates went 5 and a third innings, with 3 out of 4 runs scoring off of shaky defense or wild pitches. 

J.R. Freethy - 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 K
Freethy led off for the Jays, and got on base multiple times for them but the hitters behind him were unable to drive him in. The 22 year old utility player is now up to a 116 wRC+ and a 17.3% walk rate. 

Dunedin (4), Tampa (2) - 04/25

Box Score

This game revolved around 2 awesome pitching performances from 2 different pitching prospects in the Jays system. Trey Yesavage, the refined college pitcher, showed exactly why he was a first round pick and an elite major college pitcher going perfect in his first 4 innings and striking out 10. Gage Stanifer on the other hand was not a highly touted prospect out of high school, and was a raw pitching prospect drafted out of the 19th round in the 2022 draft. However, Gage Stanifer came in relief and pitched 4 scoreless innings, which led to him getting the W on the game. As pointed out by Sam Dykstra from MLB Pipeline, he’s been doing that very consistently over the course of the season. The offense was very balanced as they got on base 17 times in total with 10 hits and 7 walks. Cade Doughty got his first couple of RBIs on his rehab assignment and Duran, Joseph and Powell all had 2 hits on the night. That was enough to score 4 runs off of the Tarpons, and help overtake the Tarpons after Yesavage stumbled a bit in the 5th inning. 

Trey Yesavage - 4.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
Yesavage had his most dominant outing of the year, with 4 and a third perfect innings with 10 strikeouts before the wheels fell off a bit with a hit and a couple of walks led to 2 runners scoring. Still Yesavage is showing that there’s nothing else to prove in Dunedin, as he’ll look to get promoted along with his draft-class mate Stephen once the weather improves consistently. This is Yesavage’s second straight outing with 10 strikeouts, and he’s showing that he has some big league stuff. 

Peyton Powell - 2-2, 2 R, 2 BB
Powell got on base all 4 times he made a plate appearance, and the 24 year old undrafted free agent has had a solid start to his pro career, with a batting average of .333, and an OBP of .484. He hasn’t had an extra base hit, but he’s been stellar at getting on base. 

FCL Blue Jays

No games

DSL Blue Jays

No games

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Day

Pitcher of the Period: RHP, Trey Yesavage  (Dunedin) - 4.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K

Hitter of the Period: SS Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 3-9, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days)

1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 3-9, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 4.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP
4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 1-7, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1, 3 K, 1 HR
5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP
6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - DNP
7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP
8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP
9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - DNP
10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 2-9. 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K. 1 2B
11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP
12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP
13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - DNP
14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - DNP
15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP
16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP
17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP
18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - 2-5, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 2B
20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP

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