Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Relievers of the Month - May 2025

[Daniel Labude]

With the month of May in the books, it is time to look back across the Toronto Blue Jays' minor league system and acknowledge some of the phenomenal work that was done by their pitchers, specifically relief pitchers. To pick the Relievers of the Month, we looked deep in the system and wanted to highlight some relievers who gave their teams outstanding performances this month.

Before we begin, a couple of honorable mentions

Honorable Mentions 
RHP Gage Stanifer (Vancouver) - 17 IP, 2.65 ERA, 12 BB, 30 K, 43.5% K Rate, 17.4% BB Rate, .107 BAA
Stanifer has been on a rocketship this season with his ability to get hitters out, as he limits contact, strikes batters out, and generates swings and misses. Even with his promotion from Single-A Dunedin to High-A Vancouver, he has been stellar. He would have been the Reliever of the Month again if not for the pseudo-starting pitcher role he has filled as the piggyback starter following Trey Yesavage. At this point, hopefully, he moves into an official starting slot soon. His success on the mound is definitely noteworthy.

LHP Javen Coleman (Dunedin) - 11.2 IP, 6.17 ERA, 8 BB, 21 K, 38.9% K rate, 14.8% BB rate, .261 BAA
It has been much the same for Coleman in the month of May, but some numbers have jumped up. He allowed 5.5% more walks this past month and a batting average against almost .100 points higher than in April. Those two numbers led to more baserunners and runs given up and kept Coleman out of the top five. His strikeout rate was still very good and worth an honorable mention. 

Top Five Minor League Relief Pitchers for May
5. RHP Conor Larkin (New Hampshire) - 7.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 BB, 9 K, 32.1% K Rate, 7.1% BB Rate, .115 BAA
Larkin took a big leap in May, and it was fueled by a complete 180-degree transformation in his walk rate. In April, he was pretty wild, walking 21.4% of batters. He dropped that down to 7.1%, only walking two batters this past month, which limited the damage he allowed. 

4. LHP Justin Bruihl (Buffalo) - 12.2 IP, 1.42 ERA, 6 BB, 16 K, 31.4% K Rate, 11.8% BB Rate, .140 BAA
Bruihl has been a mainstay in the Buffalo bullpen, and usually that came with some very good performances in May. He allowed much less high-quality contact this month compared to April. He also saw his batting average against drop from .261 down to .135. More strikeouts and fewer hits are the keys to Bruihl’s success, and he may be next in line to get to Toronto if he can keep this up over the month of June. 

3. RHP Diego Dominguez (FCL Blue Jays) - 9 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 BB, 9 K, 24.3% K Rate, 8.1% BB Rate, .176 BAA
Dominguez has started his Complex League tenure with about the best results you could hope for. He hasn't allowed a single run and is striking out 24.3% of hitters as a 20-year-old in his first taste of stateside baseball. A 79.2% groundball rate has also helped to fuel his pristine production so far. When the Complex League comes to a close, Dominguez could see a bump up to Dunedin with the way he is pitching this season.

2. LHP Kai Peterson (Vancouver) - 11 IP, 0.82 ERA, 3 BB, 17 K, 40.5 % K Rate, 7.1 % BB rate, .111 BAA
Peterson was one of the best pitchers in the Blue Jays' system in May. He made hitters look silly at times, as he began striking out batters at will. His strikeout rate jumped from 21.6% in April to an eye-popping 40.5% this past month. His walk rate also dropped by almost 10%. Any other month, and maybe Peterson could have been the Relief Pitcher of the Month.

1. RHP Colby Martin (Dunedin) - 9 IP, 1.00 ERA, 5 BB, 12 K, 35.3% K rate, 14.7% BB rate, .069 BAA
Martin has been a standout pitcher in the Dunedin bullpen this season, and his numbers actually got worse in May, if you can even classify them as such. He only surrendered two hits in the month, walked five batters, and struck out 12. He displayed the best combination a reliever can have: limiting hits, not allowing baserunners, striking out hitters, and not surrendering runs.

Martin might have one of the best fastballs in the Blue Jays organization, as he averages 97 mph with 17.5 inches of IVB on the pitch. He uses the fastball frequently, about 61% of the time. At Single A, his cutter and slider might be just as good, though. Both pitches play well off of his fastball, with the cutter having a whiff rate of 67%, while the slider hasn't had a hard hit against it all season. If he can keep pitching like this, a promotion to Vancouver could be in his near future.

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