Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Vancouver Canadians Take the Division Lead

[Simon Li]

CURRENT W-L Records

• Buffalo Bisons: 27-36
• New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 28-31
• Vancouver Canadians: 29-28
• Dunedin Blue Jays: 29-29
• FCL Blue Jays: 17-11
• DSL Blue Jays Blue: 2-4
• DSL Blue Jays Red: 3-4

Transactions

• 06/11/25: Buffalo Bisons sent RHP Hayden Juenger on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays.
• 06/11/25: Buffalo Bisons released LHP Jimmy Burnette.
• 06/11/25: Toronto Blue Jays selected the contract of LF Will Robertson from Buffalo Bisons.
• 06/11/25: Vancouver Canadians sent LHP Kendry Rojas on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays.
• 06/11/25: Buffalo Bisons sent RHP Hayden Juenger on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays.
• 06/10/25: Buffalo Bisons placed LHP Easton Lucas on the 7-day injured list.
• 06/10/25: Buffalo Bisons sent 3B Will Wagner on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays.
• 06/10/25: Buffalo Bisons activated RHP Bobby Milacki.
• 06/10/25: RHP Hunter Gregory assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
• 06/10/25: RHP Jose Andrades assigned to DSL Blue Jays Blue.
• 06/10/25: Buffalo Bisons sent 3B Will Wagner on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays.
• 06/10/25: RHP Landen Maroudis assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays.
• 06/10/25: RHP Landen Maroudis assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays.
• 06/10/25: RHP Hunter Gregory assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo (3), Columbus (4) - 6/10
Box Score

Buffalo began a series on Tuesday at home against the Columbus Clippers. The Bisons struck first in this one, with an RBI double from Riley Tirotta following two walks by Michael Stefanic and Joey Loperfido. Columbus would answer back quickly with a two-run home run from Will Wilson to left field, scoring C.J. Kayfus. After that, both starting pitchers made easy work of the batters. For the Bisons, CJ Van Eyk went six innings, only giving up three hits and the two earned runs, while walking two, and striking out two. Will Robertson gave Buffalo the lead in the sixth inning on a two-run double. Wilson took over again in the seventh with his second home run of the game, this one going 385 feet to left field and tying the score at three. In the ninth, Columbus would push across a run on an RBI single to take the lead by one. Buffalo would get out quickly in their half of the ninth and lose this game 4-3. 

Riley Tirotta: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B

CJ Van Eyk: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Buffalo (3), Columbus (4) - 6/10
Box Score

Lazaro Estrada got the start in this game for Buffalo and almost threw another quality start. He came close to matching Van Eyk's line from the day before, going 5.2 innings, surrendering three hits, two earned runs, one walk, and striking out six. He had the Columbus hitters fooled for much of the game, except for an RBI triple in the fourth by Brayan Rocchio and an RBI single in the sixth. For the Bisons, Yohendrick Pinango tripled in a run himself in the fourth, and Rainer Nunez followed by driving him in with a single. In the seventh, Orelvis Martinez walked with the bases loaded to give Buffalo a one-run lead, and Nunez drove in two more with a single shortly after. With the three-run lead, Tommy Nance came on for the ninth and shut down the Clippers for the Buffalo win. 

Rainer Nunez: 3-4, 0 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Lazaro Estrada: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Hampshire (4), Reading (3) F/10 -  6/10
Box Score

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats started a new series Tuesday night against the Reading Fightin Phils. New Hampshire had Devereaux Harrison on the mound and a lineup full of bats that had been hot the prior week. In the top of the first inning, the Fisher Cats loaded the bases with only one out, but Ryan McCarty struck out and Cade Doughty lined out to end the scoring threat. Harrison got into a jam in the bottom of the second, when Reading scored two runs from a sacrifice fly and a single, but he got out of it with a pick-off of a runner at first base.

In the top of the fifth, New Hampshire finally got on the scoreboard. Charles McAdoo grounded out, scoring a run, and Peyton Williams added two more on his single. The bullpen would falter a little bit in this one, giving up a run to Reading in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly. The game would head into extra innings. Doughty would cash in the ghost runner on a sacrifice fly, and Alex Amalfi would get a 1-2-3 inning, securing the 4-3 win for New Hampshire. 

Eddinson Paulino: 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B

Devereaux Harrison: 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

New Hampshire (5), Reading (4)  - 6/11
Box Score

Wednesday saw Juaron Watts-Brown take the mound to face the bats from Reading. He cruised through the first three innings, not allowing a hit. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Felix Reyes got a hold of a pitch from Watts-Brown and sent it over the fence for a home run. The blast cut their deficit by one. New Hampshire had gotten a solo shot of their own in the top of the third from Paulino and another run from Jace Bohrofen's double. In the top of the fifth inning, Bohrofen doubled again, resulting in a play at the plate, where Jay Harry was thrown out and failed to score. Watts-Brown surrendered two triples to start the bottom of the sixth and got chased from the game with it tied at two. Reading would add one more in the inning, before New Hampshire put up a crooked number in the top of the seventh. Bohrofen doubled in Alex Stone, and Devonte Brown singled in two runs. Reading added a run to their total in the bottom of the eighth, and then Bohrofen started a relay from right field to nail a runner at home, ultimately securing the 5-4 win. 

Jace Bohrofen: 3-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 2B

Juaron Watts-Brown: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Vancouver Canadians
Vancouver (5), Spokane (1) - 6/10
Box Score

Vancouver started off strong with Khal Stephen taking the bump. Stephen continued to keep hitters off the basepaths, and when they did reach, he struck out batters to strand them. The offense was powered by some extra base hits, as Carter Cunningham gave them a lead in the third inning with a solo shot, and then Sean Keys had a homer of his own to score two runners, this time in the fifth. Victor Arias has raised his OPS to .800, as he hit a two-run triple to give the Canadians a 5-0 lead in the sixth. Spokane only got on the board with Stephen out of the game, as JJ Sanchez gave up a homer to Skyler Messinger in the eighth, but that’s all they could get. Irv Carter came on in the ninth inning, and with his re-worked cutter, struck out two batters to end the game. 

Sean Keys: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Keys has struggled offensively recently, but he’s still providing good power, he’s still finding ways to get on base despite hitting below the Mendoza line, and he’s been an RBI machine. He hit his seventh homer of the year. 

Khal Stephen: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Stephen seemingly is itching to join his draft class mate Trey Yesavage in New Hampshire, with another dominant scoreless outing. Stephen’s command was on point in this one, and he generated 17 swings and misses and racked up the strikeouts. That’s now 20 strikeouts in two starts for Stephen after a one-strikeout start a couple of starts ago. 

Vancouver (8), Spokane (4) - 6/11
Box Score

Vancouver got on the board first with an Arias double, then an Arjun Nimmala fly out put Arias on third, which allowed him to score on a wild pitch. Jackson Wentworth started off the game strongly, striking out four batters in the first two innings. However, in the third, after he walked Caleb Hobson, who subsequently stole second, Wentworth allowed a few base hits from Charlie Condon and Aidan Longwell to give Spokane a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of that same inning, Nick Goodwin walked, then Arias hit his second double, which led to Nimmala hitting a big three-run homer to give the Canadians the lead. Jackson Hornung hit a single, then Cutter Coffey hit a double, and Keys hit a sac fly to pad an extra run onto the lead in the same inning.

Wentworth lost his command in the fourth inning, as he walked two batters before Pat Gallagher replaced him. Gallagher let an inherited run score off a Condon single, but then struck out Longwell to end the inning. Arias had his third hit of the game after another Goodwin walk, and with two outs, Cole Messina committed catcher interference, extending the inning and allowing Coffey to knock in a run on an RBI single. The Canadians' bullpen did a great job, with Gallagher striking out five, Yondrei Rojas striking out three, and Bo Bonds striking out two batters, although he gave up a homer to Jared Thomas. Meanwhile, Eddie Micheletti Jr. continued to be an extra-base hit machine, hitting his tenth double of the season to make it eight runs for the Canadians. After being near the bottom of the standings for some time despite an elite run differential, the Canadians are now first in the Northwest League!

Arjun Nimmala: 1-5, 1 R, 3 RBI
Nimmala had an 18-game on-base streak that was broken the previous game, but came back with a huge three-run homer to give the Canadians the lead. The teenager now has double-digit homers on the season.

Pat Gallagher: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K

Dunedin Blue Jays 
Dunedin (4), Fort Myers (5) - 6/10
Box Score

Dunedin went down early to the Mighty Mussels, as Daniel Guerra struggled with his command. He gave up a homer in the second inning before some shaky defense, some walks and a hit-by-pitch resulted in three more runs scoring in the third inning. Guerra was replaced in the third, and the D-Jays bullpen didn’t allow an earned run after he was taken out. The Jays' offense began to pick up in the fourth inning, as Edward Duran and Tucker Toman both hit RBI singles to halve the lead, and Manuel Beltre cut it to one with a sac fly in the fifth. In the eighth inning, some shaky command from Javen Coleman and a throwing error from Duran allowed a run to score, and although Lizandro Rodriguez, who pinch hit for the rehabbing Will Wagner, doubled to score Beltre in the eighth, they couldn’t capitalize, and they ended up losing 5-4.

Sam Shaw: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B

Eliander Alcalde: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Alcalde has been great for the D-Jays pitching in relief after he returned from the Complex League. In four appearances with Dunedin, he’s only given up a run in one of them. 

Dunedin, Fort Myers - 6/11 
PPD

FCL Blue Jays
F-BLU (4), F-TIG (2) - 6/10
Box Score

Sann Omosako set the Blue Jays up well in this game. He pitched great for five innings, while only allowing one earned run and striking out three. In the second inning, the Blue Jays' team scored on a sacrifice fly from Dylan Leach. The Tigers' team answered back in their half of the inning, tying the game on a double play ball. In the fifth, the Tigers added a run on a single and an error from Omosako. The Blue Jays' team came alive in the last inning, the seventh. Yorman Licourt hit a two-run triple to left field, and David Beckles drove him in with a sacrifice fly. The Blue Jays' team would win this one 4-2. 

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

Diego Dominguez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

DSL Blue Jays Blue 
D-BJB/D-ARB - 6/10
PPD

DSL Blue Jays Red
D-BJR (5), D-ARR (4) F/8 - 6/10
Box Score

It was a battle of Reds in the Dominican on Tuesday, when the Red teams for the Blue Jays and the Diamondbacks faced each other. Both teams scored their first runs in the second inning. In the top half, ARR scored on a couple of singles. In their half of the inning, BJR scored three runs, one from a wild pitch and two on a Wilmer Blanca single. ARR tied it up in the fourth, and the score remained tied after the seventh, sending the game to extra innings. ARR scored their ghost runner on a single but couldn't get any more runs. In the bottom of the eighth, BJR loaded the bases, and then Luis Felipe drew a walk, scoring Nestor Urbina and tying the game. Elaineiker Coronado then grounded out, with the play coming home to get the lead runner. Juan Sanchez would then draw another walk and end the game, with BJR winning 5-4. 

Diego Arce: 1-1, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 2B

Johandi Medina: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period

• Pitcher of the Period: RHP Khal Stephen (Vancouver): 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
• Hitter of the Period: CF Victor Arias (Vancouver): 5-8, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB

Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days)

Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Hitters
Rank	Player	Team	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS
1	Arjun Nimmala	Vancouver	9	1	1	0	0	1	3	0	2	0	0
4	Orelvis Martinez	Buffalo	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	0	0
7	Alan Roden	Toronto	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
9	Jonatan Clase	Toronto	8	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	0	0
11	Josh Kasevich	Dunedin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Charles McAdoo	New Hampshire	10	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	3	1	0
18	Enmanuel Bonilla	FCL Jays	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
20	Jace Bohrofen	New Hampshire	10	1	3	3	0	0	3	2	1	0	0

 

Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Pitchers
Rank	Player	Team	BF	G	GS	IP	H	HR	ER	BB	K
2	Ricky Tiedemann	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Trey Yesavage	Vancouver	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Khal Stephen	Vancouver	26	1	1	6	6	0	0	2	9
6	Jake Bloss	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Landen Maroudis	FCL Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Kendry Rojas	FCL Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Johnny King	FCL Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	Gage Stanifer	Vancouver	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Adam Macko	FCL Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	Fernando Perez	Vancouver	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	Brandon Barriera	Dunedin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	Juaron Watts-Brown	New Hampshire	22	1	1	5	6	1	3	2	2

                                
                                            

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[Orgfiller]

Lazaro Estrada keeps putting up quality starts one after the other. ERA a little inflated but the K/BB numbers look good and he's limiting the bombs to a reasonable amount.