Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Home Run Power On Display and Kendry Rojas Debuts In New Hampshire

[Brian Labude]

CURRENT W-L Records

• Buffalo Bisons: 35-49
• New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 33-47
• Vancouver Canadians: 44-35
• Dunedin Blue Jays: 37-39
• FCL Blue Jays: 27-17
• DSL Blue Jays Blue: 10-14
• DSL Blue Jays Red: 11-13

Transactions

• 07/04/25 Buffalo Bisons placed LHP Trenton Wallace on the 7-day injured list.
• 07/04/25 Devereaux Harrison assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
• 07/04/25 Toronto Blue Jays optioned LHP Justin Bruihl to Buffalo Bisons.
• 07/04/25 Toronto Blue Jays selected the contract of RHP Lazaro Estrada from Buffalo Bisons.
• 07/04/25 New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated C Robert Brooks.
• 07/04/25 Devereaux Harrison assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
• 07/03/25 FCL Blue Jays activated 2B Edrick Felix from the 7-day injured list.

Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo (8), Rochester (14) - 7/3
Box Score

It was a wild game Thursday between Buffalo and Rochester, and the balls were flying out of the park. In the top of the first inning, Rochester got to Buffalo starting pitcher CJ Van Eyk in a big way. They scored five runs, all with two outs, on three singles, a walk, and a three-run blast from Jackson Cluff. Rochester took a six-run lead in the second inning, this time on a José Tena RBI double. Buffalo finally saw their bats come alive in the bottom of the second inning though. Will Robertson launched a two-run shot to center field and then Orelvis Martinez hit a mammoth majestic blast to center field as well, going back-to-back with Robertson. Michael Stefanic would single in a run, and then Riley Tirotta hit his ninth home run of the season, a three-run shot to put Buffalo up two. Unfortunately for the Bisons, that was where their runs on the scoreboard ended. Rochester went on to score eight unanswered runs, the biggest being a Nick Schnell three-run homer in the eighth. Buffalo would lose this one 14-8. 

Riley Tirotta - 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 SB

Ryan Jennings - 1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Buffalo (9), Rochester (6) - 7/4
Box Score

Friday's game between Buffalo and Rochester started off fast for the Bisons. They got a double in the top of the first by Stefanic, who was then cashed in on an RBI single from Robertson to center field. Rochester finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when they put up four runs. The damage was done by two RBI doubles, an RBI single, and a sacrifice fly. In the top of the fifth, Buffalo answered by way of a Phil Clarke double to right field and Stefanic driving in a run on a single. Tena's RBI double in the bottom of the fifth and an RBI groundout would put Rochester up three. In the sixth, Buffalo came roaring back with a big inning. They added five runs to their total, starting with a Yohendrick Pinango single to drive in Robertson. After an RBI single and RBI double, Joey Loperfido would cap off the scoring with an RBI double of his own. In the top of the ninth, Tirotta cashed in an insurance run on an RBI single to right field. Hayden Juenger would complete his second inning of the game for a six-out save, and Buffalo won, 9-6.

Michael Stefanic - 2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 2B

Hayden Juenger - 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, K
 

Buffalo (5), Rochester (8) - 7/5
Box Score

The Saturday game of the week-long matchup between Buffalo and Rochester was a back-and-forth affair that turned sloppy for the Bisons. Buffalo took the lead by one in the first inning on a Stefanic home run. In the second inning, a single with an error from Tirotta resulted in two runs for Rochester. Alan Roden got the run back in the top of the third with an RBI single, but Schnell homered in the Rochester frame to give them the lead. In the fourth and fifth, Buffalo got solo shots from Josh Rivera and Martinez. It was the second game in a row that Martinez homered in. Tena homered in the fifth for Rochester, and Ali Sánchez doubled in a run for the Bisons in the seventh. Tena tied the game for Rochester with a double in the seventh and then Buffalo surrendered another run on an error to give them the lead. To finish off the scoring, Yohandy Morales drove in two runs in the eighth, handing Buffalo the 8-5 defeat. 

Orelvis Martinez - 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

Adam Kloffenstein - 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Hampshire (5), Portland (11) - 7/3
Box Score

Thursday's game with Portland saw the Fisher Cats bring their walking shoes to the ballpark in their quest to get a win. In the bottom of the second inning, Portland's Brooks Brannon got them on the scoreboard with a solo shot to center. They added to their lead in the third with an RBI groundout. In the bottom half of the inning, Charles McAdoo continued to show improvements, launching his seventh home run of the season (and his third in the last seven games). It was a two-run shot, scoring Jace Bohrofen who had reached via a walk.

After giving up a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth, New Hampshire got one of their own from Ryan McCarty to tie it back up in the bottom half of the inning. They took the lead a few pitches later when Devonte Brown scored on a wild pitch. Another sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth for Portland tied the game back up at four, before a throwing error in the bottom of the sixth allowed Dasan Brown to score. A single by Portland's Mikey Romero tied the game back up in the seventh, as the teams continued to trade shots back and forth. New Hampshire finally took control of the game in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI double from Peyton Williams and a sacrifice fly from Cade Doughty. Rafael Sanchez came in and shut the doors on Portland, giving New Hampshire the 7-5 victory on the backs of eight walks and just six hits. 

Charles McAdoo: 1-4, 0 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

Ryan Watson: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

New Hampshire (1), Portland (7) - 7/4
Box Score

Fourth of July baseball for New Hampshire was a special one for starting pitcher Kendry Rojas, who was making his Double-A debut. He was up against a big challenge, as Tanner Houck and Payton Tolle were the scheduled pitchers for Portland. Rojas breezed relatively easily through the first four innings, racking up four strikeouts along the way. Unfortunately, he unraveled quickly in the fifth, surrendering a two-RBI single to Mikey Romero and getting chased from the game with a runner on first base. Alex Amalfi came into the game for Rojas and didn't fare too much better, coughing up another two-RBI single to Allan Castro. In the seventh, Portland added an RBI single and in the eighth, Romero launched a two-run home run. New Hampshire went into the ninth down 7-0. Williams prevented the shutout, crushing his eighth home run of the season to center, a solo shot. The Fisher Cats fell without much of a fight 7-1. 

Peyton Williams: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HR

Kendry Rojas: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

New Hampshire (4), Portland (2) - 7/5
Box Score

Saturday night was a game that New Hampshire showed a lot of fight in. They jumped out to a lead in the top of the second inning with a double from Charles McAdoo, who scored later in the inning on Cade Doughty's single. Masataka Yoshida tied the game up in the bottom of the third with an RBI single of his own. Things stood all square until the bottom of the seventh, when Yoshida again had an RBI single to give the lead to Portland. Brown smacked a home run in the eighth to tie things back up late in the game. McAdoo then continued his torrid month by taking a first-pitch low and in over the left field fence for his eighth home run of the season. Two batters later, Doughty matched him by squaring up a low-and-in pitch as well for his second home run of the year. New Hampshire would win this one 4-2 on the back of three unanswered solo home runs. 

Charles McAdoo: 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 2B

Juaron Watts-Brown: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Vancouver Canadians
Vancouver (6), Everett (5) - F/10 - 7/3
Box Score

Chris McElvain faced off against Ashton Izzi in the third game of the series, and both pitchers went scoreless for the first two innings of the game. Things changed in the bottom of the third inning, as Izzi walked three batters to load the bases, and then Arjun Nimmala started off the scoring with a two-run single. Eddie Micheletti Jr. hit one of his own to make it a three-run inning for the Canadians. McElvain immediately gave up two runs in the fourth, as he gave up a hit to Josh Caron, and Tai Peete homered off McElvain. He got one more out before getting replaced by Kai Peterson.

Victor Arias got those two runs back in the inning after, with a two-run homer himself after Bryce Arnold hit a single. An error from Nick Goodwin into a wild pitch from Peterson allowed a run to score after Caron hit a single, which dropped the lead to two. After Aaron Munson pitched three scoreless innings, the Canadians turned to Chay Yeager in the ninth inning, but he allowed a run on two hits, and then a throwing error by Cutter Coffey allowed the runner on second to score. Yeager however didn’t allow a runner to score in the 10th inning, and Ben Hernandez walked Micheletti and hit Aaron Parker to load the bases. Jay Harry was the hero and singled to walk it off!

Victor Arias - 2-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
Arias hit a triple in his past two games, and this time he hit a homer. He now has the same number of triples as homers on the season. Arias has always had strong exit velocities, but if he begins to lift the ball, he can turn that into extra-base hits. 

Aaron Munson - 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Munson continued a strong June with his longest outing this season, only allowing one hit in three scoreless innings. 

Vancouver (9), Everett (2) - 7/4
Box Score

After a tight one, Vancouver dominated against the AquaSox in this game. Fernando Perez took the bump and uncharacteristically walked four batters but still pitched 4.2 innings of two-run ball, allowing a homer to Charlie Pagliarini, which scored two runs. Micheletti tied the game up with a homer of his own the next inning. In the top of the fifth, the Canadians kept the runs coming. After Harry singled, Goodwin hit a double, and then Hayden Gilliland hit his second double of the season to score Harry and Goodwin. Perez could not finish the bottom of the fifth after loading the bases, and Edinson Batista replaced him and struck out Colt Emerson to end the inning. Gilliland continued an excellent game with his first professional homer in the seventh, and the hits kept coming. Arias hit a single, then Sean Keys hit one as well, and a run scored after a fielding error by Curtis Washington Jr. Coffey scored Keys on a double, and then Micheletti had his second extra-base hit of the night with a double to score Coffey. Parker had a single of his own to make it a five-run inning for the Canadians, which put the game out of reach for good. 

Eddie Micheletti Jr. - 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
Micheletti has been on a tear since June, as the hot weather has led to a bunch of extra-base hits. He’s now tied for the organization lead in homers. 

Fernando Perez - 4.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Vancouver (3), Everett (0) - 7/5
Box Score

This was a duel between two former teammates, as Jays second-rounder Khal Stephen faced off against the ace of Mississippi State and first-round pick for the Mariners Jurrangelo Cijntje. The switch-pitcher struggled early against the Canadians, as Nimmala hit an RBI double in the first inning after Keys was hit by a pitch. Cijntje then gave up another two runs in the third inning, with Arias hitting a single, and then Coffey hit his sixth homer of the season to give the Canadians a three-run lead. Cjintje was chased in the fifth inning after he walked Coffey, and Nimmala and Micheletti loaded the bases with singles of their own, but the Canadians could not score against Allan Saathoff. The bullpens for both teams kept the game scoreless after that, as Javen Coleman and Yondrei Rojas combined to give up one hit for the Canadians in three scoreless innings, which led to a Canadians victory to end the series. 

Cutter Coffey - 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR

Khal Stephen - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Stephen once again showcased his dominance, showing that he’s been the better pitcher so far this season than his former teammate and ace of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He lowered his High-A ERA to 1.49 and continued to show excellent command. 

Dunedin Blue Jays 
Dunedin (), Lakeland () - 7/3
PPD

Dunedin (0), Lakeland (4) - 7/4
Box Score

The Dunedin Blue Jays were shut out for the second game in a row as they only mustered two hits on the night, and walked three times. Colby Holcombe started for the D-Jays but gave up seven hits and two walks which resulted in three runs scored, with Ricardo Hurtado hitting an RBI double in the second and Garrett Pennington and Cristian Santana both getting RBI singles in the third. The other pitchers were good for the D-Jays, as Amir Garrett had a strong second rehab appearance, striking out two batters in 1.1 innings of work, and Daniel Guerra allowed only one unearned run and struck out five in three innings. Yet, with no runs scored on the Jays' end, there wasn't much the arms could do. 

Sam Shaw - 2-4, 1 2B, 1 SB

Daniel Guerra - 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 5 K

Dunedin (), Lakeland () - 7/5
PPD

FCL Blue Jays
F-BLU (0), F-PHI (0) - 7/3 Suspended
Box Score

Brandon Barriera got through two clean innings in this one. He only walked one batter and struck out three. The game was suspended in the bottom of the second inning, with a Braden Barry single for the Blue Jays' squad being the only hit for either team. 

F-BLU (10), F-TIG (4) - 7/4
Box Score

The fireworks were on full display early in the day for this game between the Blue Jays' team and the Tigers' squad. The Blue Jays got the scoring started with a balked-in run in the second inning. Then in the third, Yorman Licourt hit his sixth home run of the season, putting the Blue Jays' team up three. An RBI single for the Tigers' team brought the lead down to two, but then another home run for the Blue Jays' team saw it bounce back to three. In the fifth, two more home runs were launched by the Blue Jays' team, this time coming from Aldo Gaxiola and Enmanuel Bonilla. Up 8-1 in the fifth, the Blue Jays' team would go on to win by nine. 

Enmanuel Bonilla - 3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

Troy Guthrie - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

F-BLU (10), F-TIG (4) - 7/5
Box Score

The Saturday matchup between the Blue Jays' and Tigers' teams was a lot less eventful, with only four hits for the Blue Jays. Two doubles in the fourth and fifth innings brought in three runs for the Tigers. After a double by Licourt and a single from David Beckles for the Blue Jays in the sixth, a wild pitch scored Licourt. That would be all the scoring the Blue Jays could get in this one and they would lose 3-1. 

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

Luis Quinones - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

DSL Blue Jays Blue 
D-BJB (7), D-WSX (1) F/7 - 7/3
Box Score

Angel Guzman started the game off right for BJB, hitting his second home run of the season in the first inning. Franklin Rojas added to their lead with a double in the third inning, and Juarlin Soto added two more on his double, scoring Rojas and Darwin Núñez. Guzman capped off his big day with an RBI triple in the sixth inning. Deiker Pineda had himself a day on the mound, going five innings with his only blemish being an RBI groundout in the fifth. BJB won the game easily 7-1. 

Angel Guzman: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 3B

Deiker Pineda: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

D-BJB (6), D-PIB (2) - 7/4
Box Score

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, BJB finally got on the scoreboard. Esmeiquel Arrieche scored on a throwing error by PIB's catcher and Rafael Flores scored on a wild pitch. BJB added four more runs in the bottom of the seventh; Cristopher Polanco and Núñez each drew bases-loaded walks, Rojas scored on another wild pitch, and Polanco came in on a passed ball. The runs were enough, as Angel Rivero had his best start of the season, going four innings, allowing one run on two hits, and striking out eight. BJB would win this one 6-2 without recording any RBI hits.

Esmeiquel Arrieche: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB

Angel Rivero: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

D-BJB (3), D-BJR (4) F/7 - 7/5
Box Score

Saturday saw both of the Blue Jays' DSL teams face each other in a seven-inning contest. BJR powered their way to be the first on the scoreboard, while Juan Sanchez hit his fourth home run of the season to left field. BJR added to their lead in the second with a two-RBI double off the bat of Renyel Campos. BJB cut the lead to two in the top of the third inning with an RBI single from Guzman. BJR got that run back when Elaineiker Coronado scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the inning. Guzman would again cut the lead to two with an RBI single in the top of the fifth. In the seventh, BJB was down two and needed to put something together for the comeback. They had two batters get hit by pitches, and then Polanco walked to load the bases with only one out. Núñez then grounded out to second base, scoring Rojas. Soto came to the plate to be the hero, but went down looking at strike three. BJR won this matchup of the Blue Jays, 4-3. 

Angel Guzman: 2-3, 1 RBI

Geremy Barroso : 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

DSL Blue Jays Red
D-BJR (3), D-PIB (5) - 7/3
Box Score

BJR loaded the bases up in the bottom of the second inning, and then Coronado singled home two of them. In the fourth, it was again Coronado who had the big hit, a single that would score Sanchez from first base, while he was thrown out trying to go for second base. A two-RBI single would extend the lead to two for PIB. They would then add another run late on an RBI, as they defeated BJR by a score of 5-3. 

Elaineiker Coronado: 2-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

Bryan Borbon: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

D-BJR (8), D-ARR (15) - 7/4
Box Score

BJR got this high-scoring game started off in the top of the second inning, Nestor Urbina doubled home Pascual Archila and then stole third base, scoring on a throwing error by the catcher. Coronado singled in Luis Felipe and was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double, ending the inning. Down 10-3 in the top of the fifth, Urbina added to his monster day, launching his first home run of the season, scoring Campos. In the sixth, Campos got in on the fun with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot as well. BJR just had nothing going for them on the pitching side, coughing up 15 runs on 12 hits, as BJR fell 15-8. 

Nestor Urbina: 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 2B

Carlos Almonte: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 

D-BJR (4), D-BJB (3) F/7 - 7/5
Box Score

Saturday saw both of the Blue Jays' DSL teams face each other in a seven-inning contest. BJR powered their way to be the first on the scoreboard, while Sanchez hit his fourth home run of the season to left field. BJR added to their lead in the second with a two-RBI double off the bat of Campos. BJB cut the lead to two in the top of the third inning with an RBI single from Guzman. BJR got that run back when Coronado scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the inning. Guzman would again cut the lead to two with an RBI single in the top of the fifth. In the seventh, BJB was down two and needed to put something together for the comeback. They had two batters get hit by pitches, and then Polanco walked to load the bases with only one out. Núñez then grounded out to second base, scoring Rojas. Soto came to the plate to be the hero, but went down looking at strike three. BJR won this matchup of the Blue Jays, 4-3. 

Juan Sanchez: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HR

Edgar Gallegos: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period

• Pitcher of the Period: RHP Khal Stephen (Vancouver) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
• Hitter of the Period: 1B/3B Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 4-11, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 K, 2 HR, 1 2B

Prospect Summary (Last 3 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	10	1	3	1	0	0	3	0	4	0	0
5	Alan Roden	Buffalo	5	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
6	Orelvis Martinez	Buffalo	9	2	2	0	0	2	2	1	2	0	0
11	Yohendrick Pinango	Buffalo	9	2	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	0
13	Josh Kasevich	Dunedin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Jonatan Clase	Buffalo	15	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	5	1	1
17	RJ Schreck	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	Sam Shaw	Dunedin	4	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
20	Victor Arias	Vancouver	15	3	4	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0

Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Pitchers
Rank	Player	Team	BF	G	GS	IP	H	HR	ER	BB	K
2	Trey Yesavage	New Hampshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Ricky Tiedemann	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Khal Stephen	Vancouver	20	1	1	6	2	0	0	1	6
7	Johnny King	FCL Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Kendry Rojas	Dunedin	19	1	1	4.2	4	0	3	1	5
9	Landen Maroudis	Dunedin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Gage Stanifer	Vancouver	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Jake Bloss	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Juaron Watts-Brown	New Hampshire	21	1	1	5	4	0	1	2	6
16	Adam Macko	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Brandon Barriera	FCL Jays	7	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	3

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