Blue Jays Minor League Recap: Dominant Starts for King and Perry, While Piasentin Hits His First Homer

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (May 19-May 20)

Triple-A Buffalo Bisons
Series vs Syracuse Mets (New York Mets): 0-2
Season Record: 23-24

Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats 
Series vs Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies): 1-1
Season Record: 23-16

High-A Vancouver Canadians
Series vs Spokane Indians (Colorado Rockies): 1-1
Season Record: 17-24

Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays
Series vs Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Minnesota Twins): 0-1
Season Record: 15-25

FCL Blue Jays
Week Record: 0-1
Season Record: 11-2

Triple-A Buffalo Bisons

• Season Record: 23-24
• Series vs Syracuse Mets (New York Mets)

May 19: On Tuesday, Buffalo opened a new series, this one with the Syracuse Mets. Grant Rogers was on the mound for the Bisons, and he was looking around for the do-over button from the very start. He threw a cutter that hung in the middle of the plate, and Christian Arroyo took him deep for a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the first. Unfortunately, Syracuse was just getting started in the inning. With two outs and down 1-0, Rogers surrendered two singles and then a triple to Ji Hwan Bae, bringing the lead for the Mets to 3-0. Next, Cristian Pache singled home Bae, and Ben Rortvedt smacked the second home run of the inning off of Rogers, a two-run blast. Buffalo was in a big hole early and tried to fight out of it. In the third inning, Je'Von Ward stayed hot at the plate for Buffalo, launching his third home run in his last four games, a two-run shot to right center. Ward kept the comeback going in the fifth inning, hitting a lead-off double and coming around to score on Josh Kasevich's single. The next batter, Charles McAdoo, would bring Buffalo to within one of Syracuse, with his monster two-run home run, 424 feet to center field. The Bisons wouldn't get the chance to tie the game, though. Devereaux Harrison and Michael Plassmeyer combined to give up three runs in the bottom of the seventh, putting the game out of reach. Buffalo fell 9-5 in a game in which they fought hard to come back from a big deficit early on. 

May 20: Wednesday's day game had the beginnings of a promising bounce-back contest. Buffalo had Chad Dallas on the mound, who has continued to get better as the season has progressed, and some of their bats have been warming up after early struggles. Dallas would not be the savior Buffalo was hoping for, though; he stumbled often in this game. Across three innings, he coughed up eight hits and five runs, only striking out two. The damage from Syracuse started in the bottom of the first inning. After Dallas allowed a single and a walk, Eric Wagaman singled home the first run of the ballgame. William Simoneit quickly tied the game back up in the top of the second, with a 393-foot solo home run. Dallas was in more trouble in the bottom half of the second inning, hitting his second batter of the game, allowing a single, and then Christian Arroyo knocked in both runners with a single of his own. In the bottom of the third, it was an RBI triple and another RBI single from Arroyo that put two more runs on the scoreboard for Syracuse. Carlos Mendoza singled home a run for Buffalo in the next half inning, and Josh Rivera added a run from a sacrifice fly, as Buffalo pulled back to within one run at 5-4. Unfortunately for Buffalo, the bullpen once again imploded, giving up five runs between the fifth and sixth innings. With Buffalo down big again, they only managed to add on an RBI single by Riley Tirotta and lost the game 10-5. 

Double-A New Hampshire

• Season Record: 23-16
• Series vs Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies): 

May 19: Mason Olson got the start on the mound to begin the series between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Hartford Yard Goats. He went five innings, only allowing four hits and one run. Bryant Betancourt drove in the first run of the game in the fourth inning for Hartford. In the sixth, Eddie Micheletti Jr. launched his seventh home run of the season to tie the game up. A throwing error would give Hartford the lead in the seventh inning, and the score would hold until the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, Adrian Pinto added to his good game by tying things up at two with an RBI double. In the bottom of the 10th, a bases-loaded walk from Aaron Parker tied the game at three, before Jay Harry walked the game off with an RBI groundout to win the game for New Hampshire, 4-3. 

May 20: The Wednesday game between Hartford and New Hampshire was a wild one. Hartford took the big lead early and kept adding to the scoreboard, bringing at least one run across the plate in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings. They scored eight runs and took the commanding lead in the game. Benny Montgomery homered, GJ Hill hit an interesting inside-the-park home run, and Bryant Betancourt homered in that span. In the bottom of the eighth inning, things flipped for New Hampshire. Jay Harry came up to the plate with the bases loaded and crushed a ball over the right field fence for a grand slam. Patrick Winkel added a home run in the inning as well, as the Fisher Cats scored eight in the frame. Quickly though, Hartford put another run on the board, this time with another Montgomery home run. New Hampshire lost this one 10-8. 

High-A Vancouver 

• Season Record: 17-24
• Series vs Spokane Indians (Colorado Rockies)

May 19: Spokane ruined another great Johnny King start, who pitched five innings for the second time this season, striking out five batters and only allowing one run. The offense for Vancouver had a solid start as well, with Jacob Sharp hitting his third homer of the season to make it 2-0. Those two runs were the only runs scored for Vancouver, and Holden Wilkerson had his first truly bad appearance, giving up five runs in the seventh inning himself. Carson Pierce also gave up a run that same inning. That led to the loss in the first game of the series against Spokane. 

May 20: The awesome pitching performances for Vancouver continued with Nolan Perry taking the bump once again. This time, he struck out double-digit batters for the third time this season, and he didn’t allow a run in five innings. Perry has begun to establish himself as the next big Jays pitching prospect. The offense didn’t slack either, as Alexis Hernandez and Dub Gleed carried the way. Hernandez had two homers and three walks, while Gleed had a four-hit night with a double and a homer. The Canadians faced a scare when Carson Myers made his Vancouver debut and struggled, giving up five runs to make it a more competitive game, but Jonathan Todd stopped the bleeding with a save. 

Single-A Dunedin

• Season Record: 15-25
• Series vs Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Minnesota Twins)

May 19: Postponed

May 20: Nathan Lukes finally was able to play on rehab assignment, as the previous game was rained out. Despite finishing with zero at-bats, he was able to walk and hit a sac fly in two plate appearances. Aldo Gaxiola continues to hit, getting the second run of the game with a 100-mph single. This was also the professional debut for Blake Purnell, whom the Jays recently signed out of independent ball. He had a solid start, going five innings and allowing two earned runs while striking out four batters, but unfortunately, he took the loss as a Juan Sanchez error in the fifth led to an unearned run, putting the Jays behind 3-2. The bullpen let the game get out of hand as well, as Jack Eshleman allowed two runs in three innings of work despite striking out six batters, and Lluveres Severino allowed another, making it six runs for the Mighty Mussels. The Jays' offense was able to bring it within two with RBI singles from Raimundo De Los Santos and JoJo Parker, but it was too little too late. 

FCL Blue Jays

• Season Record: 11-2

May 19: Tuesday was a big day for a few of the key players on the FCL Blue Jays squad. Carson Messina was on the mound and made easy work of the FCL Phillies. He went three innings and didn't allow a hit, only surrendered one walk, and struck out four batters. On the offensive side, Tim Piasentin launched his first professional home run in the sixth inning and added a double later in the game. Also in the sixth inning, Andres Arias crushed his first home run of the season as well, also in the sixth inning. After tying the game in the ninth on a bases-loaded walk from Arias, the Blue Jays squad couldn't hold on, as they lost the game in the 10th inning; the Phillies scored three, and the Jays could only muster an RBI groundout in their half of extras. The FCL Blue Jays lost this one, 8-6. 

Transactions

05/20/26     SS Nick Goodwin assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
05/20/26     RHP Conor Larkin assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
05/20/26     Dunedin Blue Jays activated SS Raimundo De Los Santos from the 7-day injured list.
05/20/26     New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated OF Jace Bohrofen from the 7-day injured list.
05/20/26     New Hampshire Fisher Cats placed RHP Irv Carter on the 7-day injured list.
05/20/26     RHP Kelena Sauer assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians.
05/19/26     Toronto Blue Jays recalled RHP Chase Lee from Buffalo Bisons.
05/19/26     Toronto Blue Jays sent RF Nathan Lukes on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays.
05/19/26     RHP Bradley Wilson assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays.
05/19/26     RHP Blake Purnell assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays.
05/19/26     RHP Edgar Gallegos assigned to FCL Blue Jays from Dunedin Blue Jays.
05/19/26     LHP Luis Fonseca assigned to FCL Blue Jays from Dunedin Blue Jays.
05/19/26     New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated RHP Caleb Freeman from the 7-day injured list.
05/19/26     Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent RHP Bradley Wilson to a minor league contract.

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