Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Strong Performances From Starting Pitchers

[Simon Li]

CURRENT W-L Records

• Buffalo Bisons: 14-25
• New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 14-19
• Vancouver Canadians: 17-18
• Dunedin Blue Jays: 21-14
• FCL Blue Jays: 5-3

DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started)

TRANSACTIONS

• 05/14/25 - Toronto Blue Jays sent RHP Erik Swanson on a rehab assignment to Buffalo Bisons.
• 05/14/25 - Toronto Blue Jays sent RHP Ryan Burr on a rehab assignment to Buffalo Bisons.
• 05/14/25 - RHP Bobby Milacki assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Buffalo Bisons.
• 05/14/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays activated C Brock Tibbitts from the 7-day injured list.
• 05/14/25 - Vancouver Canadians sent RHP Chris McElvain on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays.
• 05/14/25 - C Juan Rosas assigned to FCL Blue Jays from Dunedin Blue Jays.
• 05/13/25 - Buffalo Bisons sent SS Leo Jiménez on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays.
• 05/13/25 - Buffalo Bisons activated C Phil Clarke from the 7-day injured list.
• 05/13/25 - RHP Deiker Pineda assigned to DSL Blue Jays Red.
• 05/13/25 - SS Dariel Ramon assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays.
• 05/13/25 - C Juan Rosas assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays.
• 05/13/25 - C Alex Stone assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians.
• 05/13/25- CF Gabriel Martinez assigned to Vancouver Canadians from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
• 05/13/25 - C Nicolas Deschamps assigned to Vancouver Canadians from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
• 05/13/25 - Vancouver Canadians placed OF Brennan Orf on the 7-day injured list.

Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo (7), Worcester (10) - 5/13
Box Score

The Buffalo Bisons kicked off another series against the Worcester Red Sox on Tuesday night. The Bisons got things started in the bottom of the second inning when Orelvis Martinez continued his resurgent May by hitting his fourth home run of the season. The blast came off the bat at 106.5 MPH and went 382 feet. In the third inning, the Red Sox countered right back, as Alex Binelas took Buffalo starter Anders Tolhurst deep. That would be all the scoring either team could manage until the sixth inning.

Tolhurst put together a good five innings, only allowing two hits and the one run while walking one batter and striking out two. In the sixth inning, Buffalo jumped out in front on the back of three separate RBI singles from Will Robertson, Martinez, and Damiano Palmegiani. In the seventh inning, Buffalo would add the thump with Alan Roden and Davis Schneider launching home runs of their own. Buffalo would take a 7-1 lead going into the eighth inning. From there, the Bisons' pitching would unravel, giving up four runs in the eighth inning (on two home runs) and five runs in the ninth inning. Down three in the last frame, Buffalo would get shut down by Nick Burdi, with Martinez striking out to end the game. Another late-game loss for Buffalo.

Orelvis Martinez: 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Martinez is now hitting .300 in May and is finding his swing again after a slow start to the season due to a viral illness. Another couple of good weeks with the bat, and he may find himself close to getting back to the big leagues.

Anders Tolhurst: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Buffalo (4), Worcester (8)
Box Score

In the Wednesday night contest between Buffalo and Worcester, the bats for both teams continued hitting balls hard. Buffalo got things started again in the first inning, when Schneider took Brian Van Belle deep for a two-run home run. Worcester scored quickly to drop Buffalo's lead to just one. In the fifth inning, Worcester took control of the game after Roman Anthony, Vaughn Grissom, and Marcelo Mayer started the inning with singles. From there, Trayce Thompson had the big hit with a two-run double. Four of the runs in the fifth inning were charged to rehabbing Erik Swanson, who did not have a good outing. For the remainder of the game, Buffalo and Worcester traded two runs apiece. Joey Loperfido added a home run for the Bisons in that back-and-forth volley in the sixth inning. In the ninth inning, Buffalo started a rally with singles from Phil Clarke and Rainer Nunez. Isaiah Campbell would shut the door though, striking out Josh Rivera and getting Roden to fly out to end the game. Buffalo loses this one 8-4.

Davis Schneider: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

Trenton Wallace: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Hampshire/Reading - 5/13
PPD

New Hampshire (1), Reading (2) - 5/14
Box Score

After yet another rainout for New Hampshire, they kicked off a new series against Reading on Wednesday. CJ Van Eyk took to the mound, as the offense looked to build upon the games over the last weekend. Yohendrick Pinango started the game off with a bang, hitting a deep fly to right field for a home run and a New Hampshire lead, 1-0, after the first inning. The bats fell silent afterwards though, going the rest of the game without scoring a run.

Van Eyk was left a tall task to complete, and he took it on and then some. He would face the minimum through five innings, thanks to the double-play ball. In the sixth inning, it was more of the same, outside of an errant hit batter. Then came the seventh inning, where once again errors in the field would cost New Hampshire. An error by shortstop Eddinson Paulino, a walk, and then a single given up to Keaton Anthony would end Van Eyk's day with the bases loaded. Ryan Jennings came in for Van Eyk and tried to hold things down, unfortunately, it went off the rails, and quickly. Jennings gave up a sacrifice fly, walked the next batter to load up the bases again, and then hit Cade Fergus to allow another run to score. Down 2-1, New Hampshire never got anything else going and fell to Reading.

Yohendrick Pinango: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR

CJ Van Eyk: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Van Eyk had one of his better games of the season on Wednesday. He racked up eight swings and misses on the way to his quality start.

Vancouver Canadians
Vancouver (9), Everett (4) - 5/13
Box Score

In their second series against the Mariners’ High-A team, the Canadians got off to a hot start thanks to a solid showing by Kevin Miranda and some strong offensive performances. Vancouver started off down after a throwing error from Nicolas Deschamps, but Jackson Hornung homered for the second time this season to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead. In the third, Cutter Coffey knocked in an RBI single, and Carter Cunningham continued to show good discipline with a bases-loaded walk. Miranda let in another run in the fifth off of a sac fly, but in the seventh inning, the Canadians took the lead to greater heights with more heroics from Coffey and Hornung, with Je’Von Ward and Eddie Michelleti Jr. joining in on the fun. Arjun Nimmala capped off the five-run inning with an RBI double to make it 9-2 for the Canadians. The relievers did their jobs, with Aaron Munson tossing two scoreless innings, and although Nate Garkow gave up a two-run homer to Tai Peete in the eighth, JJ Sanchez shut the door with an inning and a third of work and two strikeouts.

Cutter Coffey: 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Coffey got on base four times this game, and he’s raised his season OPS to .755. He is just turning 21 this season and has improved his on-base percentage and batting average despite a more aggressive approach with more whiffs and less overall contact, partly because he has been caught looking way less. The two younger prospects from the Danny Jansen trade have really taken to the Jays system, and Coffey's strong defense and strong power will hopefully let him advance steadily with the Jays.

Kevin Miranda: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Miranda has struggled heavily since being placed in the Vancouver rotation, but he had his first strong start of the season, earning a win with five innings of two-run ball.

Vancouver (5), Everett (0) - 5/14
Box Score

Fernando Perez led the way for the Canadians to their second straight win with his best start of the season. Both offenses couldn’t get it going early, with the first and only early run scored being on a Hornung RBI single in the bottom of the second. However, the Canadians got it together in the sixth. Tyler Cleveland lost his command and walked three, including two bases-loaded walks to Ward and Nick Goodwin, and Nimmala hit a two-RBI single to make it 5-0, a lead the Canadians held onto and won with. Vancouver’s bullpen continues to stay strong, with Pat Gallagher lowering his ERA to 0.95, Yondrei Rojas not allowing a single run since coming off the IL, and Bo Bonds continuing to be a key piece of the back of the 'pen. It was a day of complete domination by the Canadians' pitching.

Gabriel Martinez: 1-1, 1 R, 2 BB
Martinez struggled in Double-A New Hampshire, with only a .182 batting average and only one extra-base hit before his demotion to High-A Vancouver. However, he played well in his first game back, getting on base three times and recording an outfield assist at second. Hopefully, he can turn around his numbers. Despite having been around forever in the Jays organization, he’s still only 22 years old and will be 23 in July.

Fernando Perez: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 7 K
Perez has found his footing in Vancouver after a mediocre start. He’s now had his second straight great start, lowering his ERA to 3.76 on the year with a season high seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Dunedin Blue Jays
Dunedin (11), Bradenton (3) - 5/13
Box Score

It was Trey Yesavage and Gage Stanifer day. This duo has been excellent to start the season, flummoxing hitters and barely allowing runners to get on base while racking up the strikeout count. Yesavage started off slightly slowly, allowing a homer to top prospect Konnor Griffin in the first, but in the same inning, Edward Duran drove in Manuel Beltre to score the first run for the Jays. Yesavage allowed his second homer in the second inning off a cheapy to left field, but again the Jays answered with an RBI double from Jean Joseph, and Sam Shaw continued to rake with a two-run RBI double of his own. Yesavage bounced back from the early homers, striking out the side in the third, while the Jays added to their lead thanks to a wild pitch from Jonawel Valdez. Yesavage pitched two more strong innings, adding four strikeouts to his total, bringing him up to twelve on the night, continuing his dominance against Low-A hitters.

Dunedin continued to tack on runs throughout the night, as shaky defense and a lot of runners on base continued the onslaught. Stanifer replaced Yesavage in the sixth and continued the pitching excellence with three straight scoreless innings, while the Jays kept on adding more and more, with an extra base hit from Jacob Lojewski, a couple of stolen bases from Beltre, including a steal of home, and Yhoangel Aponte hitting his third homer of the season to make it an 11-2 game. In the ninth, Stanifer let in a run due to some defensive indifference from his teammates after a walk, but earned the save for a dominant sixth win in a row.

Trey Yesavage: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 12 K

Gage Stanifer: 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Sam Shaw: 3-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB, 1 2B
Shaw hit his hardest ball of the season, a 106.8-mph double, and he’s been absolutely excellent for the D-Jays, as the Victoria, BC native is now in the 100th percentile in LA Sweet-Spot%, BB%, and Pull%. His approach is just to pull balls with optimal launch angles while rarely chasing, and it’s been extremely effective for him.

Dunedin (3), Bradenton (6) - 05/14
Box Score

After a dominant week, the Jays finally lost a game after seven wins in a row. Duran helped the Jays get on board early with a triple that resulted in a run, but Chris McElvain gave up three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Duran got his second extra-base hit on the night to bring it within one, and a wild pitch tied it up in the fifth. However, Colby Holcombe came on in relief in the 5fifthth and also gave up three runs, one being unearned, and the Jays couldn’t catch up, getting shut out for the remaining four innings.

Edward Duran: 3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B
Duran was one of the offensive bright spots in this loss against Bradenton, as he had a three-hit night and has been one of the most consistent hitters for the D-Jays. The young catcher pairs strong contact with excellent fielding, and he might be the best catching prospect within the system.

Chris McElvain: 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
McElvain was the return from the Santiago Espinal trade, and he had a decent season last year before going on the IL with an elbow injury that resulted in Tommy John surgery. This was his second rehab start after a quick start in the Florida Complex League, and although he gave up three runs in his four innings of work, his stuff looked decent, as he struck out six and had a 50% whiff rate on the night.

FCL Blue Jays
F-Blu (5), F-Phi (2) - 5/13 Game 1
Box Score

Francisco Loreto got things started in the top of the first inning od this one, driving in a run off of rehabbing Blue Jays starter Adam Macko. The Blue Jays came back quickly with two runs in the second inning on an RBI single from Enmanuel Bonilla and a sacrifice fly from Leo Jiménez. In the fourth inning, Yorman Licourt cleared the bases with a three-run double for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays' pitching would hold the Phillies' team in check the rest of the way in the first seven-inning game of the doubleheader. The Blue Jays would win this one 5-2.

Yorman Licourt: 1-4, 0 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 2B

Adam Macko: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

F-Blu (6), F-Phi (2) - 5/13 Game 2
Box Score

Game two of the doubleheader looked a lot like the first game. The Phillies' team took an early two-run lead off of Blue Jays starter Sann Omosako. The Blue Jays' bats would get rolling in the fourth inning though, and score one, two, one, and two runs in the remaining four innings, respectively. David Beckles started the barrage with an RBI double in the fourth inning. Dariel Ramon and Luis Meza added RBI singles, while Beckles and Aldo Gaxiola drove in runs during a seventh-inning rally to cap things off. The Blue Jays pulled this one off to win 6-2.

David Beckles: 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 2B

Troy Guthrie: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

DSL Blue Jays
No games

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period

• Pitcher of the Period: RHP Gage Stanifer (Dunedin) - 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
• Hitter of the Period: 3B Davis Schneider (Buffalo) - 3-8, 3 R, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 HR

Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days)

1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 2-7, 1 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 2B
2. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP
3. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 12 K
4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 2-8, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
5. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - DNP
6. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP
7. Alan Roden (Buffalo) - 2-10, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 HR
8. Landen Maroudis (FCL Jays) - DNP
9. Jonatan Clase (Toronto) - 0-3, 2 K
10. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP
11. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP
12. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP
13. Gage Stanifer (Dunedin) - 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
14. Adam Macko (FCL Jays) - 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
15. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 0-4, 1 K
16. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
17. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP
18. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - 1-8, 1 RBI, 5 K
19. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) -
20. Jace Bohrofen (New Hampshire) - 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

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