Blue Jays Minor League Highlights Thread

[Olerud363.354]

18 hours ago, Brownie19 said:

Speaking of Jojo - so far so good at A+.  Not a ton of power yet, but he's walking and K'ing at a 18.6% clip, which is nice to see (86 PAs).  142 wRC+

People will think my Jo Jo = Biggio shtick is just for laughs... honestly not.  80% of what I post is super-serious.

Jo Jo obviously has more talent and better exit Vs then Biggio.  Which is why he will be able to put up Biggio 2019/2020 numbers when the ball isn't juiced and the advanced scouts are out and about and those numbers will be worth 3-4 WAR a year.   That's a great projection and maybe even too optimistic. 

[Olerud363.354]

8 hours ago, bronson44 said:

Nice start from  Perry tonight. I say f*** it. Let him take this spot in the rotation next time through since Taillon is dead.

 

I was destroyed for this opinion by both the hive members and commoners back in May or so...

Out of King and Perry, Stanifer, Guerrero or other which one should come up?  One should right?  Or multiple ?  Up and down just trying to piece games together ?  Or 40 man problems with multiple ?  

[max silver]

16 hours ago, bronson44 said:

Nice start from  Perry tonight. I say f*** it. Let him take this spot in the rotation next time through since Taillon is dead.

 

I do suspect he may be close to MLB ready if the need were to arise, but I don't know how many bullets he has remaining for the season as he's coming off of Tommy John and has already established a new innings high for his career.

[Olerud363.354]

16 minutes ago, max silver said:

I do suspect he may be close to MLB ready if the need were to arise, but I don't know how many bullets he has remaining for the season as he's coming off of Tommy John and has already established a new innings high for his career.

Honestly at the point with the starters where if he could put in 2 appearances 6-8 innings it would help.  Honestly if Perry/King/Guerrero could give 20 innings ** between them that could be better maybe then 20 innings of ?  Spaghetti guy  I guess... and a tired bullpen?

** Probably not possible to get all 3 on 40 man.  Just saying if you just wanted to piece together the rest of the season somehow given the situation...  

[John_Havok]

Not JoJo's 19th HR

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/818840/video/r-j-gordon-in-play-run-s-to-aaron-parker

[Olerud363.354]

Sprock with a nice finish in Vancouver - https://www.milb.com/player/ryan-sprock-823779

One thing Jays seem to be doing is collecting guys who passed the low A full season test nicely.  Sprock is an example.  Same with https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=southi000ty-

Could call this the Billy Beane test as Billy sort of explains in Moneyball.  The scouts all thought he was cant-miss.  He showed up in Little Falls NY Penn League .210 .252 .283.   Up and down a bit after that, horrible k/bb, horrible in the majors. 

First 6 weeks in state side low a you find out if a guy has 95% hand eye coordination, or 99%.  So Jays pick up guys who passed at least that first test.   Not saying they'll make it, but seems Jays take on guys that are the opposite of Billy Beane, lower drafted, lower ranked but hit ..280 or .300 or somethiing with 30 walks and 15 ks the first 6 weeks.  Obviously these are under-powered, or unathletic, or some other flaw, no one is trading a guy with 30 walks and 15 ks and power and scouts well.   But like Jays are collecting 'passed the first test' guys and we will see if any of them become anything. 

[John_Havok]

Vancouver is up 2-0 in the NWL Championship series, it's a best of 5 vs the Eugene Emeralds. Last nights game was won with a walk-off sac fly in the 10th. 

Their playoffs is where the first half winner plays the 2nd half winner. Vancouver was actually dead last in the league in the first half (27-39), Eugene being the first half winner. However, Vancouver came alive and was 2nd in the 2nd half (37-29) but again Eugene finished first by half a game, so Vancouver gets in as the 2nd half representative. 

First 2 games were in Van, last 3 games if needed are in Eugene. 

[Laika]

BA - five sleeper AL pitching prospects. Two jays written up.

 

Danny Thompson Jr., RHP, Blue Jays

Thompson’s story begins at Division III North Carolina Wesleyan, where he had notable seasons as a freshman and sophomore before struggling as a junior. He transferred to UNC Greensboro for his final two seasons of eligibility and earned first-team all-conference honors in 2025. The Blue Jays drafted Thompson in the eighth round in 2025. Signed for just $5,000, Thompson was essentially given a chance and no other guarantees. After a notable 13.2 innings post-draft in 2025, Thompson began the 2026 season with High-A Vancouver. 

 

Thompson has so far made the most of that chance, as he stood out this season while splitting his season between High-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire by pitching to a 3.41 ERA backed by a 3.66 FIP, 4.05 xFIP and 1.16 WHIP. He struck out 29.7% of batters faced while walking 9.6%. Thompson seemed to get better as the season wore on, too, posting stronger numbers in the Double-A Eastern League than he had in High-A.

 

Thompson’s transformation since his time in college is another testament to the Blue Jays’ pitching development success over the last two seasons, as he’s added power and pitches to his arsenal in a short time with the organization. His four-seam fastball has jumped by 2 mph on average, and he now sits 94-96 mph while touching 98 with added armside run and spin.

 

His slider is now an upper-80s gyro pitch with tighter shape than he had in college and more velocity, while the changeup is now what looks like a kick changeup compared to the undeveloped splitter he threw in college. He’s also added a low-to-mid-80s sweeper that’s become a large part of his arsenal. Thompson has above-average swinging-strike rates against his four-seam, changeup and sweeper, and all boast an expected wOBA of .250 or below. 

 

Thompson is a bit undersized for a starter, but his ability to consistently throw a quartet of quality pitches in the zone gives him a shot to once again overcome obstacles heading into next year.

 

Daniel Guerra, RHP, Blue Jays

The 6-foot-6 Guerra signed with the Blue Jays out of Venezuela in June 2022. He spent three seasons in the Florida Complex League and the Low-A Florida State League before reaching Triple-A this year and making a convincing case to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason. Pitching his way across three levels in 2026, Guerra accumulated 101 strikeouts over 74 innings, holding opponents to a .214 average. Over 23 appearances primarily as a starter, Guerra pitched to a 3.04 ERA backed by a 3.76 FIP and 3.76 xFIP. 

 

Among pitchers who threw 70 or more innings in the minor leagues this season, Guerra has one of the highest Stuff+ scores. His three-pitch mix consists of a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup, all of which are effective swing-and-miss offerings. Guerra’s four-seam fastball is his primary offering, and it grades as a plus-plus pitch on Stuff+ models. It sits around 95-97 mph and can get up to 99. The pitch shows heavy ride-cut shape and average extension and generated a 15.5% swinging-strike rate this season. 

 

While Guerra’s four-seam fastball is impressive, his best pitch is actually his slider, which logged a plus Stuff+ score of 122. The slider sits 87-89 mph with cutter shape and ride and heavy cut from a higher slot, playing up the angle. It ran a 27.9% swinging-strike rate across all levels this season along with a 37.4% chase rate. A true weapon for Guerra, the slider has held opposing hitters at bay all season with a .245 xwOBA. His changeup, meanwhile, is used far less than the slider or four-seam fastball, but it has still performed well when used. The pitch sits in the high 80s with good vertical separation off his fastball, and Guerra has generated a high rate of ground balls against it this season (61.9%). 

 

With a trio of quality pitches, the ability to throw enough strikes with swing-and-miss stuff and tough angles, Guerra is a name to watch in 2027.    

 

 

[Eat My Shatkins]

Stanifer get promoted to AAA?

He's listed there on fangraphs now. Doesn't look like he's made an appearance yet

[bronson44]

1 hour ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

Stanifer get promoted to AAA?

He's listed there on fangraphs now. Doesn't look like he's made an appearance yet

He pitched today.

Also anyone remember the first guy. Old friend of the pod, right?

[Eat My Shatkins]

Going to be nice having Winck for the bullpen next season.