Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Pitching Dominates in the Lower Levels

[Daniel Labude]

CURRENT W-L Records

• Buffalo Bisons: 18-31
• New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 17-27
• Vancouver Canadians: 19-26
• Dunedin Blue Jays: 24-21
• FCL Blue Jays: 11-6

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

Transactions

• 05/26/25 - Vancouver Canadians sent RHP Chris McElvain on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays.
• 05/25/25 - Buffalo Bisons sent SS Josh Kasevich on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays.
• 05/25/25 - Toronto Blue Jays sent RHP Ryan Burr on a rehab assignment to Buffalo Bisons.
• 05/25/25 - Buffalo Bisons activated RHP Anders Tolhurst from the temporarily inactive list.
• 05/25/25 - Toronto Blue Jays selected the contract of C Ali Sánchez from Buffalo Bisons.
• 05/25/25 - C Robert Brooks assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
• 05/24/25 - Buffalo Bisons placed RHP Eric Pardinho on the 7-day injured list retroactive to May 23, 
• 2025.05/24/25 - Toronto Blue Jays recalled RHP Paxton Schultz from Buffalo Bisons.
• 05/24/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays activated RHP Eliander Alcalde from the 7-day injured list.
• 05/24/25 - RHP Jack Eshleman assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays.

Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo (1), Lehigh(4) - 5/24 - Game 1
Box Score 

Buffalo started the Saturday doubleheader the right way in the top of the first inning against another tough Lehigh Valley starting pitcher. Davis Schneider singled, Alan Roden walked, and Joey Loperfido also took a walk to load the bases. Orelvis Martinez then brought home the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly. Unfortunately, the lack of hits with runners on base was a sign of things to come. Mick Abel, who was the Lehigh Valley starting pitcher in the first game, took charge after the first inning and shut down the Buffalo hitters the rest of the way. He pitched six innings, striking out eight, and only allowed two hits after the first inning. The Buffalo starter did not have the same success, as Adam Kloffenstein surrendered four earned runs over the first two innings. After the second inning, though, even the Lehigh offense couldn't manage any runs. Buffalo would lose this one by a score of 4-1. 

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

Ryan Jennings: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Buffalo (2), Lehigh(4) - 5/24 - Game 2
Box Score

In game two of the Saturday doubleheader, Buffalo and Lehigh Valley played a similar game to the first contest. Lehigh Valley took a commanding lead in the second inning, scoring four runs on an error, two singles, and a home run. The Buffalo offense was completely shut down in the seven-inning game. They only managed two hits, and the big one was a two-run double by Josh Rivera in the top of the sixth inning to cut the Lehigh Valley lead to just two. In the seventh, Buffalo mounted a late rally trying to tie the game. Two batters were hit by pitches and Phil Clarke had a single. With the bases loaded, Rivera could not come through this time, as he popped out to end the game. 

Josh Rivera: 1-3, 0 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 2B

Tommy Nance: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Buffalo (2), Lehigh (7) - 5/25
Box Score

In the Sunday series finale with Lehigh Valley, the Buffalo Bisons could not get over their offensive and pitching slumps. In the first inning, Buddy Kennedy gave Lehigh Valley the lead on an RBI single to center field. Will Robertson answered right back with a home run to right field. It was all downhill from there for Buffalo, as Lehigh Valley would score four more in the bottom of the second inning. Defense was an issue for Buffalo in this game, as catcher Clarke committed three errors. A fielding error in the second allowed a run to score, and a throwing error in the third on a steal attempt did the same. Later in the fourth inning, a wild pitch by Buffalo allowed another run. In the seventh inning, Buffalo managed to load the bases, but again could not find that big hit. They only managed one run on a Roden groundout. Buffalo would lose this one 7-2. 

Will Robertson: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

Justin Bruihl: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Hampshire (1), Somerset (7) F/7 -  5/24 - Game 1
Box Score

New Hampshire and Somerset kicked off the weekend set of games with a doubleheader on Saturday. In game one, the Fisher Cats had Devereaux Harrison on the mound, but it would not be a fine day for him. In the top of the first inning, Somerset pounced on Harrison and chased him from the game with two-run singles from Tyler Hardman and Antonio Gomez. Bobby Milacki, who came in for Harrison, did not fare any better. In the top of the second inning, he gave up RBI singles to Hardman, Alexander Vargas, and Grant Richardson. By the time the second inning was over, New Hampshire was in a 7-0 hole. The Fisher Cats got rallies started in the fourth and fifth innings, but groundouts ended both efforts. In the bottom of the seventh, Cade Doughty scored a run for New Hampshire on a wild pitch, but nothing else would come across home plate. They would fall 7-1 in game one of the doubleheader. 

Cade Doughty: 1-2, 1 R, 1 2B
Doughty has been heating up with the bat lately. Over the last seven days, he has slashed .353/.389/.471 and added two doubles. 

Justin Kelly: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

New Hampshire (3), Somerset (6) F/7 -  5/24 - Game 2
Box Score

Game two of the doubleheader was an exciting one, as Juaron Watts-Brown made his Double A debut. He was only slightly better than Harrison from the first game of the day. He walked the first batter he faced and then gave up a two-run home run to Rafael Flores. From there, the next 10 batters failed to get a hit, with only one of them getting on base via a walk. During that stretch, Watts-Brown would strike out four and looked really good. Then in the fourth, he would give up a lead-off single and another two-run home run two batters later. An RBI single in the fifth inning would add to the lead and put New Hampshire in a 5-0 bind. Somerset would tack on a sixth run in the sixth inning, and New Hampshire would go into the bottom of the seventh down big. They would not be shut out, though, as Jace Bohrofen singled in a run and Peyton Williams took a ball deep to right field for a two-run homer. Still, New Hampshire was swept in the doubleheader, losing game two 6-3. 

Peyton Williams: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
Williams extended his hitting streak to four games with his home run in this one. He has struggled mightily this season, but a nice hitting streak could turn his season around.

Juaron Watts-Brown: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

New Hampshire (7), Somerset (5) -  5/25
Box Score

It was another down day for the pitchers on Sunday, as New Hampshire just could not keep the Somerset bats in check during the series. Fortunately for them, their own bats had some timely hits and were able to match Somerset long enough to take control of the game. In the bottom of the fourth inning, three straight singles by Bohrofen, Williams, and Doughty scored a run for New Hampshire. They would get a second run on a sacrifice fly by Alex De Jesus. Somerset immediately responded with a three-run home run by Dylan Jasso in the fifth. In the top of the seventh inning, a throwing error by catcher Jacob Sharp would allow another run to score for Somerset. In the bottom half of the inning, Williams would answer that with a home run of his own, scoring two and tying the game up at four. They wouldn't stop there, adding three more runs on a Sharp double. Somerset would get a run back in the ninth inning, but they would not get any closer, as New Hampshire won the finale of the series 7-5. 

Peyton Williams: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
Williams’ hitting streak is now at five games, and he has hit home runs in back-to-back games. 

Conor Larkin: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Vancouver Canadians
Vancouver (9), Eugene (0) - 5/24
Box Score

Vancouver was dominant in this one, as they performed strongly in every aspect on the baseball diamond. Catcher Aaron Parker had a good night, going 2-for-5 and scoring the first run of the game with an RBI single to score Gabriel Martinez in the first inning with two outs. Nick Goodwin joined in on the fun with an RBI single of his own in the second, and the Canadians scored three more with Martinez hitting one of his own. Then, some good baserunning from Goodwin and Martinez after a passed ball resulted in two more runs scoring, which became an early 5-0 lead. Gallagher pitched well in four no-hit innings, and the bullpen was almost as good, as Edinson Batista, Julio Ortiz, and Chay Yeager combined for only two hits allowed in their five innings of work. The game was quiet until the seventh inning, when Jackson Hornung started off the scoring again with another RBI-single, and Goodwin capped off the night with a three-run shot that same inning. 

Nick Goodwin: 2-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 HR
The infielder was a run producer, knocking in a team-high four runs and hitting his second homer of the season.

Pat Gallagher: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Gallagher returned to the rotation after starting the year in the bullpen, as many teammates of his recently moved up to New Hampshire. Gallagher did not disappoint, carrying his success as a reliever this season into this start, lowering his ERA to 0.68. 

Vancouver (9), Eugene (2) - 5/25
Box Score

After a dominant pitching performance from the pitchers the day before, Vancouver once again performed very well, with Trey Yesavage taking the mound. Parker once again started off the scoring for the Canadians with an RBI single in the first, and a wild pitch scored Arjun Nimmala, giving them an early 2-0 lead. Yesavage struck out nine batters, only allowing one hit and walking three batters in four innings of work. Gage Stanifer came on in relief for Yesavage as per usual, and he bounced back from a poor first showing for Vancouver, striking out seven batters in 3.1 innings of work and allowing just one run on an RBI double to Jonah Cox in the bottom of the eighth.

Jonathan Todd, who had a few strong relief outings prior to this one, gave up a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth that sent this game to extra innings. However, things took a massive turn in extras with Parker hitting a three-RBI double after the right fielder collided with the fence, which may have rattled Nicolas Herold, as Eddie Micheletti Jr. homered immediately after to score Parker. Goodwin added another two-run shot of his own, making it 9-2 for the final score, as Kai Peterson finished off the game in the bottom of the 10th.

Aaron Parker: 3-5, 1 R, 4 RBI, 2B, SB

Trey Yesavage: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
Yesavage again had a strong start for the Canadians, going another four innings with gaudy strikeout totals. His command has been a little shaky in Vancouver, as Edward Duran is a better framer than Parker, and Yesavage may still be adjusting, but his stuff is for sure there. He might not need to nibble as much to be as effective as he’s been. 

Dunedin Blue Jays 
Dunedin (3), Tampa (4) - 5/24
Box Score

The Jays hoped to gain momentum after winning their first game of the series against the Tarpons the day before, but struggled early. Gilberto Batista went five innings but gave up four runs, including two homers. Jean Joseph knocked in the first run for the Jays in the second, but the Jays were down 4-1 through four innings. Manuel Beltre made it a bit closer with an RBI base knock in the fifth, but the Jays couldn’t capitalize on that. In the ninth, catcher Jacob Lojewski had an opportunity to give the Jays the lead but could only settle for an RBI groundout, and the Jays could not get that last run to tie it up, losing to the Tarpons 4-3. 

Jean Joseph: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B
Joseph had the only extra-base hit of the night for the Jays. He’s been a very solid contributor to the Jays' offense, with a .778 OPS on the season. 

Eliander Alcalde: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Alcalde returned to Dunedin after a few rehab starts in the Florida Complex League and had his best outing to date, with four scoreless innings in relief with five strikeouts. He kept the Jays in the game to give them a shot to win, to no avail. 

Dunedin (5), Tampa (9) - 5/24
Box Score

The Jays struggled in this matchup against the Tarpons, and they tried to at least win the last one of the series to make it a respectable one. They got off to an early lead with Tucker Toman knocking two RBI doubles after Lizandro Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch, making it 4-1 early for the Jays. Cates was taken out after five good innings, and Bennett Flynn struggled, allowing four runs, two hits and two walks without getting out of the inning, which brought in Eminen Flores. Flores had his first blown save of the year, giving up a grand slam to Austin Green. He did strike out three batters, but then Javen Coleman came in and struggled as well with his command, giving up two walks and three hits, which led to three runs scored on him. Colby Martin came in to pitch the ninth and continued not to give up any runs on the season, extending his 15.1-inning scoreless streak, but the Jays could not score after the Toman doubles, leading to a 9-5 loss and the Jays losing 5 out of 6 to the Tarpons. 

Tucker Toman: 2-5, 3 RBI, 2 K, 2 2B
Toman has struggled so far this season. After getting off to a decent start, he’s been going on and off the temporary inactive list, and his OPS has been dropping. In this game, he put something together, with two RBI doubles on the night. Toman is still young at 20 years old, so hopefully he can build off of this game.

Austin Cates: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Cates had his third straight outing of only allowing one run with four strikeouts. The 6-foot-1 righty has been a little inconsistent after allowing no runs in his professional debut, so it’s nice to see him have a nice stretch he could build on. He relied on his low-90s fastball with near 21 inches of induced vertical break and finished batters off with his splitter-slider combination, which resulted in nine whiffs on the night.

FCL Blue Jays
F-BLU (11), F-TIG (8) - 5/24
Box Score

In the early Saturday Complex League game, the Toronto Blue Jays' squad took on the Detroit Tigers' team in a game that didn't lack excitement. The Tigers' team got the scoring started in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI groundout. The Blue Jays wouldn't be down for long though, as Enmanuel Bonilla finally got a hold of a pitch for his first home run of the season to put the Blue Jays up 2-1. An RBI groundout would add a third run in the fourth inning for the Blue Jays. In the fifth inning, Andres Arias shone when he crushed his third homer of the season and second in as many games. With the Blue Jays' team up 6-1 in the sixth inning, the Tigers would push across run after run for the next two innings. Going into the eighth inning, the Blue Jays were down 8-6. In the eighth, the Blue Jays saw their patience at the plate pay off. They walked four times and added a run on a wild pitch and a David Beckles single. The Blue Jays' team would shut the door and win this wild one 11-8. 

Andres Arias: 2-2, 4 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, 2 SB

Silvano Hechavarria: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

F-BLU (3), F-YAN (1) - 5/26
Box Score

In this matchup between the Blue Jays' and Yankees' teams, hits were at a premium. Sann Omosako came on in relief in this one for the Blue Jays and shut down the Yankees. He pitched four innings, giving up only four hits and one unearned run, walking no one and striking out six batters. On the offensive side, Bonilla continued his good stretch this weekend by hitting an RBI double in the sixth inning. The big hit came in the seventh, when Yorman Licourt launched his first home run of the season, a two-run blast to put the Jays up three. The Yankees would add a late sacrifice fly to bring the game within two, but it wasn't enough as the Blue Jays won 3-1. 

Yorman Licourt: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

Sann Omosako: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

DSL Blue Jays

No games

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period

• Pitcher of the Period: RHP Trey Yesavage (Vancouver) - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
• Hitter of the Period: 1B Peyton Williams (New Hampshire) - 4-12, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 K, 2 HR

Prospect Summary (Last 3 Days)
1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 2-9, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K
2. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP
3. Trey Yesavage (Vancouver) - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 0-4, 1 RBI. 1 BB, 4 K
5. Khal Stephen (Vancouver) - DNP
6. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP
7. Alan Roden (Buffalo) - 1-7, 1 RBI, 1 BB
8. Landen Maroudis (FCL Jays) - DNP
9. Jonatan Clase (Toronto) - 1-3, 1 K
10. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP
11. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - 1-5, 1 R, 1 K
12. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP
13. Gage Stanifer (Vancouver) - 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
14. Adam Macko (FCL Jays) - DNP
15. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - DNP
16. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - DNP
17. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP
18. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - 2-6, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 SB
19. Juaron Watts-Brown (New Hampshire) - 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
20. Jace Bohrofen (New Hampshire) - 2-8, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K

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