Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Strong Starts for Manoah, Yesavage, Cates, and More

[Simon Li]

CURRENT W-L Records

• Buffalo Bisons: 51-73
• New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 50-71
• Vancouver Canadians: 68-52
• Dunedin Blue Jays: 57-61
• FCL Blue Jays: Season Complete 
• DSL Blue Jays Blue: Season Complete
• DSL Blue Jays Red: Season Complete

Transactions

• 08/27/25 - Vancouver Canadians activated 3B Cutter Coffey from the seven-day injured list.
• 08/26/25 - LHP Ryan Borucki assigned to Buffalo Bisons.
• 08/26/25 - RHP Bobby Milacki assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Buffalo Bisons.

Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo (5), Indianapolis (4) - 8/26
Box Score

Alek Manoah got the start for Buffalo in the first game of the series versus Indianapolis, as he continues to rehab and work his way back to the major leagues. He struggled some in the first inning of this game, giving up a three-run home run on a hanging slider. The runs were unearned, though, due to an earlier error. Manoah did strike out three batters in the first inning and ended with five strikeouts over 5.2 innings. The home run led to the only runs he gave up, as he looked much better in this game with his velocity and command. In the third inning, Joey Loperfido drove in two runs with a single, and Rainer Nunez's double in the sixth tied the game. Rafael Flores hit his second home run of the game for Indianapolis to give them a one-run lead in the seventh. The top of the eighth saw RJ Schreck hit a two-run single to right field, giving Buffalo the one-run lead and ultimately the victory, 5-4. 

Rainer Nunez - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B

Alek Manoah - 5 2 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Buffalo (6), Indianapolis (3) - 8/27
Box Score

Trey Yesavage started for Buffalo on Wednesday and continued the hot pitching on the week for the Bisons. He held Indianapolis to just one run on two hits over 4.2 innings. He walked two batters and struck out five. The offense for Buffalo started out clicking in this one as well. Schreck launched a three-run home run in the first inning to give Buffalo the lead and control of the game. Nick Solak singled home a run for Indianapolis in the bottom of the first, but the Bisons returned quickly with three runs over the next two innings. Michael Stefanic and Josh Kasevich hit sacrifice flies, then Yohendrick Pinango hit an RBI double to put Buffalo up five runs. Cam Devanney and Nick Yorke hit RBI singles for Indianapolis, but it wasn't enough. Buffalo won again, this time 6-3. 

RJ Schreck - 1-3, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR

Trey Yesavage - 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Hampshire (3), Erie (4) F/11 - 8/26
Box Score

Tuesday saw New Hampshire begin a new series against a rough Erie team. Alex Amalfi was on the mound to start the game for the Fisher Cats. It would be his eighth start of the season, as he has only recently seen more starts after the trade deadline, when a number of starting pitchers were moved out of the Double-A rotation. New Hampshire got onto the scoreboard first, with Jackson Hornung singling home Charles McAdoo, who had reached base on a double to center. The next batter was Eddinson Paulino, who smacked a ball to the pitcher, but both the runner at first and Paulino were able to reach safely and allow Je'Von Ward to score from third. Meanwhile, Amalfi was brilliant on the mound, going into the sixth inning and not allowing a run. Unfortunately for New Hampshire, the bullpen was not up to the task of closing out the game. Nate Garkow coughed up a solo home run to Jake Holton in the top of the seventh inning, and Hunter Gregory gave one up to Danny Serretti in the eighth. The game would move into extra innings, and in the 11th, Erie got a two-run home run from one of the top prospects in baseball, Kevin McGonigle. In the bottom half of the inning, Cade Doughty doubled home the ghost runner to bring Erie's lead to one.  Their comeback would fall short when Nicolas Deschamps lined out to end the game, with the Fisher Cats falling 4-3 in extra innings. 

Cade Doughty: 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 2B

Alex Amalfi: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

New Hampshire (2), Erie (3) - 8/27
Box Score

Game two of the series with Erie was nearly a carbon copy of Tuesday's game. Fernando Perez was on the mound for New Hampshire, and he was masterful for six innings. He didn't give up a run and only allowed three baserunners on the day: two singles and a walk. New Hampshire even had the lead, 2-0, when he exited the game. In the bottom of the fourth, Doughty launched a two-run home run to right, his third of the year at Double A. The bullpen was again the downfall of New Hampshire, as Devereaux Harrison came in for Perez in the seventh and quickly lost the lead. Eliezer Alfonzo doubled home two runs before scoring himself on Serretti's RBI single. That is where the game stood until the bottom of the ninth inning. Ward walked for New Hampshire to start a rally, but it ended with Gabriel Martinez grounding into a double play. The Fisher Cats lost their second game in a row after leading through six, this time falling 3-2. 

Cade Doughty: 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR

Fernando Perez: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Vancouver Canadians
Vancouver (9), Hillsboro (0) - 8/26
Box Score

The Canadians put on a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. On offense, Vancouver tallied 17 hits, as three hitters had three hits each (J.R. Freethy, Eddie Micheletti Jr., and Jay Harry) and another three had two apiece. The Canadians got off to a great start, with Arjun Nimmala reaching on a fielder’s choice and knocking in Freethy, before Carter Cunningham hit a sac fly to score another run. Alexis Hernandez then scored Nimmala with a single for an early 3-0 lead. In the third, Sean Keys added two runs with a single, and Edward Duran hit a homer after Keys was picked off. Harry got an RBI single in the fifth, and then a Micheletti double and a Hernandez sac fly were the eighth and ninth unanswered runs the Canadians scored. The pitching was also excellent, as Austin Cates got his first win as a Canadian, striking out eight batters in six innings, only allowing three hits. Edinson Batista and JJ Sanchez combined for four strikeouts in three innings, with neither allowing a run to score. The result was a complete game shutout to pair with the offense going off. 

Edward Duran - 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB
Duran had a slow start to his High-A tenure, but he showed signs of heating up with his second homer for Vancouver. 

Austin Cates - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Cates’ devastating splitter has adjusted well to High-A competition; he has 18 strikeouts in his last two starts. He’s a name to look out for as the organization's next developmental success story, especially if he can find another gear on his fastball. 

Vancouver (6), Hillsboro (11) - 8/27
Box Score

The Hops got their revenge after a shellacking the previous night, as they combined for 17 hits with the Canadians’ pitching struggling. Chris McElvain had a tough night after a streak of strong pitching performances, allowing 10 of the hits himself, and he couldn’t miss bats, only striking out two. The Canadians went down 6-0 by the fourth inning, and McElvain had to be replaced. The Canadians kept on fighting, however, as once David Hagaman was taken out of the game, they struck against the Hops’ relievers. Hernandez started it off with an RBI single before Keys came in to score on a wild pitch. Micheletti knocked in a run in the seventh, and Nimmala had a huge hit to bring it within one immediately after. Unfortunately for the Canadians, the pitching could not hold on, as the dam broke against Irv Carter and Jonathan Todd. The Hops fired back with another five runs of their own. Nimmala hit a double in the ninth as a last effort, but it was not enough, as the Canadians were not able to overcome a poor pitching night.

Arjun Nimmala - 2-5, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 SB

Dunedin Blue Jays 
Dunedin (), Fort Myers () - 8/26
Postponed

Dunedin (1), Fort Myers (5) - 8/27 - F/7
Box Score

Austin Smith started it off with a bang for the D-Jays with a 97.7-mph homer to right center field that went 393 feet. Unfortunately for Dunedin, that was the only run they’d score all game. Holden Wilkerson allowed four runs as his struggles continued, with his ERA now at 6.75 on the season. Lluveres Severino struggled with walks, as he allowed another run to score in the fourth, and despite two good innings from Diego Dominguez, the Jays' offense faltered. They couldn’t get another runner to cross the plate, leading to a quick 5-1 loss. 

Austin Smith - 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR

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

Dunedin (3), Fort Myers (1) - 8/27 - F/7
Box Score

The makeup game for the previous day’s rainout was a better one for the D-Jays, as they got a strong pitching performance from UDFA Dayne Pengelly. He had his longest outing as a pro, striking out four batters and not allowing a run in four innings pitched, and he now has a 1.08 ERA in his early career. The offense also got runs again in the first inning, this time with Yeuni Munoz reaching on an error before Kendry Chirinos walked, and Jean Joseph hit his 18th double of the season to score both of them after a fielding error from Yasser Mercedes. In the third inning, Smith continued to have himself a solid rookie campaign with another extra-base hit to start the inning, before getting moved to third on a groundout and a balk, which scored him for an insurance run. The D-Jays had solid efforts from their relievers too. Carson Myers and Danny Thompson Jr. each pitched a scoreless inning, and Mason Olson secured the hold despite allowing a run on a double. The D-Jays managed a nice win after a loss earlier in the day.

Jean Joseph - 2-3, 2 RBI, 1 2B

Dayne Pengelly - 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period

• Pitcher of the Period: RHP Austin Cates (Vancouver) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
• Hitter of the Period: RF Eddie Micheletti Jr. (Vancouver) - 4-8, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B, 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	10	1	3	1	0	0	5	0	3	1	0
2	JoJo Parker	N/A
9	Alan Roden	TRADED
10	Orelvis Martinez	Buffalo	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0
11	Yohendrick Pinango	Buffalo	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
13	Josh Kasevich	Buffalo	8	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0
16	RJ Schreck	Buffalo	5	1	2	0	0	1	5	1	0	0	0
17	Victor Arias	New Hampshire	9	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
19	Jonatan Clase	Buffalo	5	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0

Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Pitchers
Rank	Player	Team	BF	G	GS	IP	H	HR	ER	BB	K
3	Trey Yesavage	New Hampshire	18	1	1	4.2	2	0	1	2	5
4	Ricky Tiedemann	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Khal Stephen	TRADED
6	Johnny King	Dunedin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Kendry Rojas	TRADED
8	Gage Stanifer	Vancouver	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Landen Maroudis	Dunedin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Juaron Watts-Brown	TRADED
15	Jake Bloss	Buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Brandon Barriera	FCL Jays	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Adam Macko	Buffalo	14	1	0	3.2	2	1	1	2	4

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[Orgfiller]

Random Tim Mayza sighting in the first clip. Was almost confused on what kind of highlight I was about to witness.

[Orgfiller]

Nice to see low BB (for their standards) starts from Manoah and Yesavage. Fernando Perez really going under the radar, at least to me. 21 years old in AA means he's a legit prospect.

[AMS528]

54 minutes ago, Orgfiller said:

Nice to see low BB (for their standards) starts from Manoah and Yesavage. Fernando Perez really going under the radar, at least to me. 21 years old in AA means he's a legit prospect.

Every time Manoah goes out there and doesn't s*** the bed, it's a good day given the injuries and how little overall he's pitched in that time. Just needs to keep it building. 

[John_Havok]

7 hours ago, AMS528 said:

Every time Manoah goes out there and doesn't s*** the bed, it's a good day given the injuries and how little overall he's pitched in that time. Just needs to keep it building. 

This.

Results for him really dont matter right now...sure its nice to see him not decapitating hitters and getting some swing and miss but hes not on the radar for 2025... just keep him where he is, get as many pitches from him as possible, have a good offseason at the lab and see what happens next spring.

[Spanky__99]

9 hours ago, AMS528 said:

Every time Manoah goes out there and doesn't s*** the bed, it's a good day given the injuries and how little overall he's pitched in that time. Just needs to keep it building. 

Not to mention he's recovering from a UCL injury, command comes back in the second year for the most part. He's a decent #4/5 pitcher next season I'd bet.

[John_Havok]

1 hour ago, Spanky__99 said:

Not to mention he's recovering from a UCL injury, command comes back in the second year for the most part. He's a decent #4/5 pitcher next season I'd bet.

He will definitely get a shot at a rotation spot next year. No guarantees of course nor should there be.

Gausman, Lauer and Berrios are probably written in ink, but the other 2 spots will be available, probably 1 filled via FA and the other internally from the laundry list of options. Manoah, Macko, Yesavage, Ricky T, Lucas, Varland maybe...Van Eyk, Fernando Perez maybe.

[Spanky__99]

1 hour ago, John_Havok said:

He will definitely get a shot at a rotation spot next year. No guarantees of course nor should there be.

Gausman, Lauer and Berrios are probably written in ink, but the other 2 spots will be available, probably 1 filled via FA and the other internally from the laundry list of options. Manoah, Macko, Yesavage, Ricky T, Lucas, Varland maybe...Van Eyk, Fernando Perez maybe.

Yes that is what I said in means of prospects man? The rest is depth as well. The AAA guys are set for now.

[Spanky__99]

1 hour ago, John_Havok said:

He will definitely get a shot at a rotation spot next year. No guarantees of course nor should there be.

Gausman, Lauer and Berrios are probably written in ink, but the other 2 spots will be available, probably 1 filled via FA and the other internally from the laundry list of options. Manoah, Macko, Yesavage, Ricky T, Lucas, Varland maybe...Van Eyk, Fernando Perez maybe.

Beiber or Valdez.

 

[Eat My Shatkins]

Bloss, Bastardo and Francis should all be in the mix for a rotation spot next year too. Going to be quite the competition. I just hope the Jays can get a top of the rotation SP signed and only have 1 spot to fill. Obviously Bieber would be preferable at this point. 

[Simon Li]

4 hours ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

Bloss, Bastardo and Francis should all be in the mix for a rotation spot next year too. Going to be quite the competition. I just hope the Jays can get a top of the rotation SP signed and only have 1 spot to fill. Obviously Bieber would be preferable at this point. 

Bastardo would most likely be the long-man in the pen if he breaks camp. He's still going to have to be on the 26-man roster for the requisite time outlined by the Rule-5, so the Jays are mostly likely going to hide him in low leverage. Bloss will also be out for a signficiant portion of next season with the UCL tear and recovery so I won't bank on him either. 

[John_Havok]

16 minutes ago, Simon Li said:

Bastardo would most likely be the long-man in the pen if he breaks camp. He's still going to have to be on the 26-man roster for the requisite time outlined by the Rule-5, so the Jays are mostly likely going to hide him in low leverage. Bloss will also be out for a signficiant portion of next season with the UCL tear and recovery so I won't bank on him either. 

I wouldn't even bank on Francis being ready. I know he hasn't had surgery (yet) but he was shut down twice with setbacks during his recovery. Imaging hasn't shown any structural damage but...still. 

[John_Havok]

8 hours ago, Spanky__99 said:

Beiber or Valdez.

 

I'd put Woodruff there too

[Simon Li]

Just now, John_Havok said:

I wouldn't even bank on Francis being ready. I know he hasn't had surgery (yet) but he was shut down twice with setbacks during his recovery. Imaging hasn't shown any structural damage but...still. 

I believe it would be wise to be slow with Francis' recovery as well, because next season he'll be out of option years, which means that the Jays might have to choose between adding him to the major league roster or just cutting him/trading him at some point next season. I think they'll try to delay that decision as much as possible, especially with a pretty significant 40-man crunch. 

[Spanky__99]

6 minutes ago, John_Havok said:

I'd put Woodruff there too

Oh s***, I completely forgot about him. The more the merrier.