Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Pitching Takes Center Stage

CURRENT W-L Records

-Buffalo Bisons: 2-6
-New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 2-3
-Vancouver Canadians: 3-3
-Dunedin Blue Jays: 3-3
-FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started)
-DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) 

TRANSACTIONS for 4/10

- RHP Rodrigo Ramirez assigned to DSL Blue Jays 2 from DSL Blue Jays

- Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent RHP Rodrigo Ramirez to a minor league contract

- Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent RHP Bryan Borbon to a minor league contract

Buffalo Bisons

Buffalo, Durham - 4/8 - PPD
Buffalo (1), Durham (7) - 4/9 Game 1

Box Score

It feels like Buffalo has been hit with a string of postponed games. After being postponed on Tuesday, they hooked up with the Durham Bulls for a doubleheader on Wednesday. The weather was still bad, cold, and miserable, but baseball was played. The Bisons pitched Jake Bloss, one of the Blue Jays top prospects, to start the series. He went 4.2 innings, giving up five hits, three earned runs, four walks, and only struck out two batters. It was a far cry from the improvements he had made in spring training. Possibly, the weather was a big factor in his wildness and decreased command. On top of not locating his pitches, his velocity was noticeably down from the 97 MPH fastballs he was throwing before the season. He worked mainly in the low 90s range but saw some concerning 89 MPH fastball readings. Hopefully, it was just weather-related, but worth noting and following in future starts. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bisons squeaked across their only run of the game. Joey Loperfido drove in Addison Barger on an RBI single after Barger got on base with a 110.7 MPH double. That would be all the runs for the Bisons this game, as Damiano Palmegiani would add the only other hit they could muster. 

Addison Barger: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

Barger has been one of the bright spots for Buffalo to start the minor league season. He has hit .280/.400/.480, while having some high exit velocities. A 33.3% strikeout rate is still cause for concern. 

Justin Bruihl: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Buffalo (2), Durham (1) - 4/9 Game 2
Box Score

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bisons fared much better, as they would get the win. However, offense was still a struggle in the cold weather. The Bisons took the lead in the fourth inning with an RBI double from Steward Berroa and a sacrifice fly from Christian Bethancourt. In the 7th inning, Durham would add their only run of the game. The Bisons controlled the Bulls with a bullpen day on the mound; Andrew Bash set the tone for the pitching, as he went two innings and struck out three batters. He didn't give up any runs and walked three hitters though. Combined, the Bisons pitchers had seven innings pitched, gave up zero earned runs, struck out nine batters, and walked five. They held Durham to just five hits. 

Jonatan Clase: 2-3, 2 1B, 1 SB

Clase just keeps on doing his thing at Triple-A. Base hits and stolen bases. He swiped his sixth base on the season in the second game of the double header. He is now hitting .440 over 25 at-bats for the Bisons. 

Josh Walker: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Buffalo, Durham - 4/10 - PPD

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

New Hampshire (1), Portland (2) - 4/8
Box Score

Snow flakes falling from the sky couldn't stop baseball from being played Tuesday night in Portland, Maine. It was a blistering 38 degrees at the time of the first pitch and the bats certainly were scared off from making contact early and often in this game. Both New Hampshire and Portland would combine to strikeout 28 times in the game, 18 coming from the Fisher Cats. Yohendrick Pinango would break through first for New Hampshire, with a home run in the second inning that came off the bat with an exit velocity of 105 mph. The ball took a few snowflakes with it as it soared over the right field fence. Blaze Jordan would supply the answer to the home run for Portland, by way of a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth inning. The bats for both teams went into hibernation following the fourth, until the game went into extra innings. In the top half of the tenth, New Hampshire got shut down completely, with Wyatt Olds striking out all three batters the Fisher Cats would send to the plate. In the bottom half of the inning Portland struck the final blow, as they singled home the winning run.

Yohendrick Pinango: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Pinango was the only hitter to do any damage to Portland pitching on the night. His home run was the first of the 2025 season for him. His hit brought his batting average up, to a team leading .222. 

Anders Tolhurst: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Tolhurst made his first start of the 2025 season and took advantage of the cold weather, throwing a gem of a game for New Hampshire. He managed to get 11 swing and misses from the Portland bats.

New Hampshire (4), Portland (1) - 4/9
Box Score

It was another frigid night in Portland, but at least the Fisher Cats had more fun during the game and took home the win. Peyton Williams, who has become known as the Iowa Meat Truck, supplied the fun as he crushed an opposite field home run, had a nice play in the field and beat out an infield single that scored an insurance run in the seventh inning. Devereaux Harrison would feed off of that energy and shut down the Portland bats with another gem on the mound from the New Hampshire rotation. He struck out eight, allowed only two hits, and one run. 

Peyton Williams: 2-5, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Watching Williams play Wednesday, you can't help but have a smile on your face. He brought energy, loads of fun, and entertainment to the game. 

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

Harrison almost mimicked Anders Tolhurst's statline from the night before. He shutdown Portland for most of the night and tallied 11 swing and misses on his way to striking out eight batters. 

New Hampshire (3), Portland (14) - 4/10
Box Score 

The third game of this series with Portland was one to forget for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Four errors, two by Alex De Jesus at third base, one by Ryan McCarty at second base, and one by Eddinson Paulino at shortstop marred the game and opened up the doors to big innings for Portland. The scoring for New Hampshire would be provided by Eddinson Paulino, a two-RBI base hit in the top of the fourth inning, and Jace Bohrofen, a bases loaded walk in the top of the fifth inning. The Fisher Cats would not come any closer, as Portland rolled to their fifth win on the season. 

Eddinson Paulino: 1-3, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 RBI

Paulino got his batting average for the season up to .200 with a two-RBI single in the top of the fourth inning. 

Michael Dominguez: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 5 K

Dominguez came into the game in the fifth inning and was dominant, striking out five of the eight hitters he faced and only allowed one baserunner, a walk. He racked up nine swing and misses in his short outing, showing he's got some good stuff when he is dialed in. 

Vancouver Canadians

Vancouver (2), Spokane (8) - 4/8
Box Score

The Vancouver offense struggled to get anything going against Konner Eaton, only getting a single hit off from utility man Jay Harry. Spokane on the other hand were able to get a run off of starter Connor O’Halloran and blew the game open against Irv Carter once he relieved the starter. Nate Garkow gave up another 3 runs before the Canadians were able to get on the board from a double from catcher Aaron Parker and Jay Harry got his second hit of the night to score Parker immediately after, but alas it was not enough.

Jay Harry: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

Harry has been surprisingly good for the Canadians after being more touted for his glove, and has been one of the most consistent offensive contributors early into the season. Getting him for Trevor Richards could be a steal if he develops into anything more than organizational depth, and the fact that his first name in Jay makes me want to believe in nominative determinism. Him playing all over the diamond allows for other prospects to get reps in at different defensive positions so he’s a useful org piece even if he doesn’t become more than that. 

Connor O’Halloran: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Mississauga’s very own soft tossing lefty Connor O’Halloran had a strong start keeping the Indians hitters off balance. It’s a nice start for the Canadian, who’s had tough results early on in his career despite strong peripherals. O’Halloran throws a high 80s to low 90s fastball, with a low 80s slider and a mid 80s changeup that he uses more against opposite handed hitters. He’ll figure to be a fixture in the Vancouver starting rotation. 

Vancouver (8), Spokane (4) - 4/9
Box Score

The Canadians struggled to get anything going while McCade Brown was on the mound, who struck out six and gave up no hits in 3.0 IP, but once the Indians went to the pen the offense exploded, dropping five runs on Stu Flesland III and another three on Hunter Mann spearheaded by the top of the order in Pinto, Nimmala and Keys who each had two hits, as well as nine hitter Jacob Wetzel. The defense was shaky to start for the Canadians but the pitching was excellent, only giving up one earned run and not walking a single batter. Kevin Miranda earned the win after Perez came out of the game, three innings pitched with four strikeouts, and Bo Bonds finished the game off with 2 IP and two strikeouts. Fun Fact: The Spokane Indians had Jays Prospect Carson Messina’s older brother Cole Messina as their starting catcher. 

Jacob Wetzel: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR

Center fielder Jacob Wetzel was key for the Vancouver offense getting on base 3 out of 4 plate appearances and scoring a couple of runs, including a homer hit off of reliever Hunter Mann. Wetzel is a little old for the level, already being 25 years old and was originally a part of the Cubs organization before being signed by the Jays. 

Fernando Perez: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 K

The young Nicaraguan continues to pitch well in his career, giving up no earned runs and showing advance feel and pitchability at only 21 years old. He did have to deal with a couple of errors from Cutter Coffey and Wetzel which resulted in 3 unearned runs, but Perez was able to get a bunch of ground ball outs throughout the game, with a 73.3% ground ball rate. 

Vancouver (0), Spokane (1) - 4/10
Box Score

It was a pitching duel for both the Indians and the Canadians, with Grant Rogers taking the bump for the 2nd time on the season. The Canadians couldn’t do much to Michael Prosecky, who struck out seven in four innings of work, and the bullpen for the Indians kept the Canadians scoreless. Grant Rogers was not to be denied though as he pitched six strong scoreless innings, and Chay Yeager also had two scoreless innings in relief with three strikeouts as well. With the offense not providing much of the fight getting only five hits and three walks on the day while striking out 12 times, the bullpen had to be perfect, and unfortunately, JJ Sanchez was not and let in a run in the bottom of the 9th for a walkoff loss. 

Arjun Nimmala - 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B

Arjun was one of the few bright spots for a struggling Canadians offense, getting on base twice including a double in the 8th to give the Canadians a chance to take the lead but was stranded on second. He’s been playing quite a bit of DH to keep him off his feet and to let others play in the field recently so that’s something that should be looked out for. Hopefully he’s able to get some reps in defensively as if he can stick at shortstop it’ll make his range of outcomes as lot better.

Grant Rogers - 6.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Rogers had his second great start in a row, there was a bit of traffic with seven hits given up and one walk, but he was able to deal with runners on base with some big Ks. Rogers has ten straight innings without any earned runs given up on the season. 

Dunedin Blue Jays 

Dunedin (19), Jupiter (5) - 4/8
Box Score

A game for the ages, Trey Yesvage debuted for the Jays, but was outshined by a dastardly pitching performance by the Jupiter where they issued 22 walks and hit three batters. More on the game can be found here: 32 Walks and 4 HBPs: Trey Yesavage’s Highly-Anticipated Debut Was Historically Weird

Yeuni Munoz: 2-4, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

Although there was a ton of walking from the Dunedin Jays, Yeuni Munoz also had a couple of extra base hits including the only homer of the game that was hit 102 mph. He’s been off to a hot start and has shown some power that he hasn’t had previously in his minor league career. 

Gage Stanifer: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 6 K

Stanifer was easily the best pitcher of the day, showing off his high powered fastball that sat 95-96 mph and managing to walk only 2 batters in 4 innings pitched when every other pitcher walked more than they struck out. His slider also showed some promise, sitting around 86 mph and getting whiffs at a 40% clip, he also flashed a power change at 88 mph with decent fade that got a fair amount of whiffs as well. 

Dunedin (7), Jupiter (4)- 4/9
Box Score

Dunedin got off to an early lead from a 95.6 mph exit velocity homer by Edward Duran, but starter Colby Holcombe gave up a run immediately after in the bottom of the inning after a couple of hits. The Hammerheads took the lead in the 4th after Holcombe made an error, but the Jays answered back with an RBI triple from Bryce Arnold and an RBI groundout from Jaden Rudd. NDFA Jack Eshelman had a scoreless inning but struggled in the 6th giving up two runs, but then the bullpen locked it down for the remainder of the game. On the other hand, Jupiter’s pitching fell apart again, with 3 RBI walks, an RBI HBP and a wild pitch giving the Dunedin Jays a 7-4 lead that they never relinquished. 

Tucker Toman - 2-3, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 R

The former Jays top prospect and second rounder has started off strong, showing some great plate discipline and has barely struck out. If he’s managed to figure out his contact skills he could finally move up from Low-A ball. He isn’t hitting the ball with much authority, but he’s not getting beat in the zone as of yet and that’s a marked improvement. 

Javen Coleman - 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB, W

Coleman was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 16th round of the 2023 draft, but was released and scooped up by the Jays. He showed some excellent stuff from the left hand side with a sinker at around 93 mph with over 18 inches of induced vertical break and 13.6 inches of arm side run that he relied on the most. He also used his 2 secondaries to generate a ton of whiffs, with a slider that had a whiff rate of 50%, and a changeup that had an even gaudier whiff rate at 75% to rack up the strikeouts. 

Dunedin (2), Jupiter (3) - 4/10
Box Score

The Dunedin Blue Jays had a stellar starting pitching performance from Khal Stephen, but the offense wasn’t able to muster up much of a fight. Kendry Chirinos and Braden Berry were able to drive in Yhoangel Aponte twice to give Dunedin a slim 2-1 lead, but once Khal Stephen was taken out of the game the bullpen could not hold on. Johan Simon struck out five in two innings of work in relief, but gave up the game tying homer and Bennett Flynn tried to keep the game tied in the bottom of the 9th but gave up a walkoff single to lose the game. 

Yhoangel Aponte: 3-4, 2 R, 0 K, 1 2B

Yhoangel Aponte had himself a 3 hit night and scored the only 2 runs that the Jays scored this game, with 2 of those hits being hard hits including a 105.9 mph double. Aponte has struggled with strikeouts throughout his career, so having days like this with more consistent contact will be helpful for his prospect stock in the future. 

Khal Stephen: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 1 HR

Other than a homer from OF Dillon Head, Khal Stephen faced the minimum, erasing a lead off walk with a pickoff throw to when Starlyn Caba tried to steal third base. The stuff looked fantastic, with his fastball generating a 45% whiff rate due to elite ride and his changeup was working well despite some weird location, as it generated a 50% whiff rate. Stephen is too advanced for Low-A, given that he’s an accomplished SEC pitcher, but the stuff is encouraging to see and he’ll most likely move quickly through the season as a college arm as this was his second great start in a row. 

FCL Blue Jays
No games

DSL Blue Jays
No games

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Day

Pitcher of the Period: RHP Khal Stephen (Dunedin): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

Hitter of the Period: OF Yhoangel Aponte (Dunedin): 4-9 2 2B, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Prospect Summary (Last 3 Days)

1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 4-12, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 2B
2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 4 K
3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP
4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 0-6, 5 K
5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 1-9, 1 BB, 2 K, 
7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP
8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP
9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 01-9, 6 K, 1 SB
11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP
12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP
13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - 4 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - 1-6, 1 RBI 2 BB, 2 K
15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP
16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP
17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP
18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - DNP
19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - 1-6, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP

Interested in learning more about the Toronto Blue Jays' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!