Jays Centre Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - March/April 2025

[Simon Li]

After the first month of minor league baseball, it’s time to acknowledge who’s been the best in the system, and we’re starting off with a look at the relievers. The Jays have struggled to find consistent bullpen arms from within the organization, but they have found some interesting arms that have had solid success early in the season.

It would be very easy to just sort by ERA to complete these rankings, but with how small the sample is, and the fact that relievers are very volatile and can have a lot of noise with BABIP/poor luck/defense, I’m going to use more than just ERA as part of the consideration for these rankings. 

Honourable Mentions 
RHP Braydon Fisher Triple-A Buffalo - 9 1/3 IP, 2.89 ERA, 29.3 K%, 9.8 BB%, 1.39 WHIP
Fisher just missed the list proper due to letting a few too many hitters on base. The righty was acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for Cavan Biggio and relies on a strong curveball to get outs. 

RHP Bo Bonds High-A Vancouver - 12 2/3 IP, 2.13 ERA, 25.5 K%, 4.3 BB%, 0.71 WHIP
Bonds has been one of the main contributors to the back end of the Vancouver Canadians’ bullpen and has excelled at keeping runners off base. What’s keeping him from being on the list is his not being that dominant at striking guys out compared to those above him, but he’s already gotten three saves on the year. He may only have been the third-best Vancouver reliever in the first month of the season. 

LHP Javen Coleman Low-A Dunedin - 10 2/3 IP, 4.22 ERA, 39.5 K%, 9.3 BB%, 1.03 WHIP
Coleman has been dominant for the Dunedin Blue Jays, save for a blow-up inning that ballooned his ERA to above 4.00 despite great peripherals. Coleman was a senior sign reliever and has shown a solid sinker-slider combination that led to Florida State League Pitcher of the Week honours in mid-April. 

RHP Chay Yeager High-A Vancouver - 11 IP, 3.27 ERA, 40.5 K%, 9.5 BB%, 0.82 WHIP
Yeager struck out over 40% of the batters that he faced, whilst walking them less than 10% of the time. The 2023 12th-round draft pick has utilized his high-octane fastball and his gyro slider extremely effectively and has helped headline a stellar Vancouver bullpen. His most recent outing ballooned his ERA and almost doubled his walk rate, as he walked three after a scoreless inning. Still, his performance is nothing to be scoffed at, but it just took him off of the list for me.

RHP Pat Gallagher High-A Vancouver - 13 IP, 1.38 ERA, 27.8 K%, 11.1 BB%, 1.08 WHIP
Gallagher’s been exceptional for Vancouver as a 'pen piece while having success as a starter in previous seasons. He makes the most out of some low velocity and uses his splitter well. He's done great as a bulk reliever for the Canadians, and although he's walking batters a bit more than usual, he hasn't given up a single homer and has had the best results in a stacked Canadians bullpen.

RHP Gilberto Batista - Low-A Dunedin - 22 IP, 2.05 ERA, 21.2 K%, 3.5 BB%, 0.86 WHIP
Gilberto Batista was recently acquired last season as a relatively unknown piece of the Danny Jansen trade, but he has been electric since joining the Jays organization. After pitching to a 2.70 ERA with a 23.5 K% and a 2.9 BB% as a starter last season, he’s improved on that as a multi-inning reliever, typically pitching behind RHP Daniel Guerra. He did start his two most recent games, so this may be the first and last time he’s a part of one of these lists, but his ability to avoid walks has been very valuable in helping him rack up innings and keep runners off base.

5. RHP Colby Martin Low-A Dunedin - 7 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 30.8 K%, 11.5 BB%, 0.55 WHIP
The 24-year-old righty has been a staple of the Dunedin bullpen, not allowing a single run and barely letting anyone on, with an opponent's BA of only .043. What prevents him from being up higher on this list is just a lack of innings and maybe less dominant strikeout numbers compared to the above. Still, it’s hard to come by a high-octane fastball in the Jays system, and Martin’s sits 96-97 mph, although with pretty average shape. He's used that heater, plus a cut-slider, very effectively, not allowing any good contact at all. 

4. RHP Geison Urbaez - Double-A New Hampshire - 9 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 25.6 K%, 10.3 BB%, 1.18 WHIP
Urbaez was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2020 and has been a solid but unspectacular arm in the Jays organization over the past few years. He is now Rule 5 Eligible. Urbaez earned his way all the way up to Double-A in 2022 but suffered an injury in 2023, which took him out for the year and forced him to repeat Single-A and High-A in 2024. So far this season, he's pitched only out of relief, and it has been a great move. He has a career-high K-rate, and his walk-rate is in line with his career norms. In his first appearance, he allowed five hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings, but since that appearance, he's only allowed two hits and two walks, whilst striking out eight.

3. RHP Hunter Gregory - Double-A New Hampshire - 10 IP, 0.90 ERA, 35.0 K%, 10.0 BB%, 1.00 WHIP
The 26-year-old reliever has been absolutely dominant for the Fisher Cats, only allowing one run in 10 innings of work. Gregory hasn't had the most success in the minors since being drafted by the Jays in the eighth round of the 2021 draft, posting ERAs over 4.00 in every season. He's always had strong stuff, but this might be the year that he puts it all together.

2.  LHP Jimmy Burnette - Double-A, Triple-A - 10 2/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 36.6 K%, 14.6 BB%, 0.94 WHIP
Burnette has been effectively wild throughout his duration in the Jays organization, racking up gaudy strikeout totals whilst also walking his fair share. This season, he’s been riding the bus between New Hampshire and Buffalo, but he still has been effective, not allowing a run. Of course, he has also struck out more than a third of the batters he's faced while walking almost 15% of them. Although the Jays have quite a few lefty pitchers ahead of him on the depth chart, he could sneak his way to the big leagues if things continue to go well for him and if the pitching falters in the majors. 

1. RHP Gage Stanifer - Low-A Dunedin - 16 IP, 0.56 ERA, 33.3 K%, 9.5 BB%, 0.81 WHIP
Stanifer has easily been the best reliever in the system, and arguably could have been given a shout as the most dominant pitcher in the minors for the Jays. Entering in relief after each Trey Yesavage start, Stanifer has gone exactly 4.0 innings each appearance, getting the win each time, while striking out a third of the batters he has faced and only giving up one run due to a “dropped” pop-up. Stanifer utilizes a high-90s sinker, a mid-80s “death-ball” slider, and a high-80s changeup most against lefties to dominate hitters. 

Once Yesavage and Stephen earn a promotion to Vancouver, Stanifer should earn the right to start. It's been an incredible turnaround from a prospect who averaged a 6.33 ERA in his previous two professional seasons, as he's finally matched his physical gifts and tools with production. 

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