Blue Jays Minor League Recap: New Hampshire Keeps Winning, Brandon Barriera Keeps Getting Better, and Juan Sanchez Launches a Home Run

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (May 7-May 8)

Triple-A Buffalo Bisons
Series vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies): 2-2
Season Record: 17-20

Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats 
Series vs Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox): 4-0
Season Record: 19-10

High-A Vancouver Canadians
Series vs Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants): 2-1
Season Record: 13-17

Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays
Series vs Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh Pirates): 1-3
Season Record: 12-19

FCL Blue Jays
Week Record: 3-0
Season Record: 5-0

Triple-A Buffalo Bisons

• Season Record: 17-20
• Series Opponent: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies)

May 7: RJ Schreck followed up his monster game Wednesday with another big game on Thursday. He led the offensive barrage from the Buffalo bats, as they broke through against Lehigh Valley with 13 runs, eight of them coming in a crazy fifth inning. Schreck started the scoring off in the top of the first inning with a two-run home run to right field, his fourth of the season. The lead was short-lived, with Otto Kemp connecting for a three-run home run off of Grant Rogers in the bottom half of the inning. After adding a couple of runs to take the lead back, Buffalo began the fifth inning with a lead-off walk and a single. Schreck then roped a ball to right center that scored a run. Later in the inning, Rafael Lantigua drew a bases-loaded walk to get another run across home plate, and then Carlos Mendoza was hit by a pitch to get the third run of the inning home. Buffalo wasn't done though. Ryan McCarty, Ismael Munguia, and Charles McAdoo all drew bases-loaded walks as well. Schreck would come back up in the inning and get a two-RBI single to cap off the big, eight-run inning. On the day, Schreck was 3-for-4, with five RBI, and three runs scored. Pat Gallagher was the best pitcher for Buffalo, going 2.2 innings, giving up just one hit, one walk, and striking out four. He brought his ERA down to 1.42 for the season and could be someone the big league club looks to if there comes a need for a relief pitcher over the summer. Buffalo took the game 13-5 and could have potentially started a win streak. 

May 8: With Chad Dallas on the mound Friday night as the bulk pitcher, Buffalo had a real shot to have a three-game winning streak heading into the final two games of the series this weekend. Dallas proved up to the task, coming in following Hayden Juenger's poor start. He gave up two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Dallas was cooking through four innings, giving up one unearned run. Other than that one blemish, he was great, striking out six and surrendering a measly two hits. He sat around 93 with his fastball and sinker, looking better the further out he gets from his Tommy John surgery. With the pitching keeping the game within reach, it was ultimately the bats that fell woefully short, only managing five hits in the night, only one going for extra bases. Buffalo was shut out on the offensive side of things, taking the loss 4-0 and falling to three games under .500 for the season. 

Double-A New Hampshire

• Season Record: 19-10
• Series vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox)

May 7, Game 1: Gage Stanifer was on the mound for the first game of the doubleheader against the Portland Sea Dogs on Thursday. He started out strong, getting six of the first seven batters out, three via the strikeout. In the third and fourth innings, he gave up four baserunners, but made it through without giving up a run. He got a couple of pop-ups, a couple weak fly outs, and a groundout. Stanifer would work his way around a single in the fifth inning to cap off his best Double-A start: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. He also battled a very small strike zone on the day. On the offensive side of things, Adrian Pinto doubled in two runs in the third inning, and a groundout and error gave New Hampshire two more. They would go on to win game one by a score of 4-2. 

May 7, Game 2: In the second game of the day, Portland took the quick lead on a home run and an RBI single from Richard Gallardo. Gallardo would power through, though, and make it five innings, striking out eight batters without allowing another run. The New Hampshire offense picked it up, with two RBI groundouts and then an RBI single from Arjun Nimmala to tie the game at three. The game went to extra innings, and in the eighth and ninth frames, both teams traded runs. In the 10th inning, Nick Goodwin put New Hampshire up one with a sacrifice fly, and Eddie Micheletti Jr. laced an RBI single to give the Fisher Cats a two-run lead. It was enough, as Irv Carter held the Sea Dogs to nothing and New Hampshire won 7-5. 

May 8: In the Friday night game, pitching was truly optional. New Hampshire took a seven-run lead over the first two innings. The big hits were a Jay Harry three-run triple and a Harry RBI double. In the fourth, Jace Bohrofen launched his ninth home run of the season to put New Hampshire up seven runs again. Things went south the next few innings as Portland crushed two home runs. Eddie Micheletti Jr. would put the Fisher Cats up six runs with a three-run blast in the seventh inning. An Arjun Nimmala RBI double gave the Fisher Cats a three-run lead in the ninth, but the pitching again faltered, and Portland tied it up at 13 to go to extra innings. Thankfully, Portland was out of pitchers and brought in a position player to pitch. Sean Keys teed off on a pitch and crushed his 10th home run of the season. New Hampshire would finish off the Sea Dogs and win this wild one, 15-13. 

High-A Vancouver 

• Season Record: 13-17
• Series vs Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants)

May 7: The dual-headed monster of Johnny King and Holden Wilkerson shut down the Eugene Emeralds. King struggled with his command again, walking four batters, but was still able to keep the runners on base from scoring, allowing only a single run in three innings pitched. Dub Gleed excelled in the lead-off spot, as he got on base four times. He ended up being the first run, as Alexis Hernandez hit a sac fly to score him to put the Canadians up one. Manuel Beltre hit his second homer of the year to add on to the lead. Peyton Williams had his seventh RBI for the Canadians this season with a single in the fourth. Wilkerson once again dominated in relief, pitching five innings of one-hit baseball, striking out five and lowering his season ERA to 1.52. Jonathan Todd gave up a run in the ninth but still got the save as the Canadians got a close win.

May 8: The Canadians had another great pitching performance, this time from the recently promoted Nolan Perry, who’s been excellent since returning from injury. Other than a solo homer given up to Lisbel Diaz in the bottom of the third inning, Perry was nearly untouchable. He gave up only three hits and one walk, while striking out eight batters and generating 18 swings and misses. Tucker Toman and Jacob Sharp led the way for the offense, as both hitters had two-RBI nights; they turned a tied game in the top of the eighth into a three-run lead with two clutch singles. Kelena Sauer got his second save of the season, allowing a run but guaranteeing the win with two innings of solid pitching. 

Single-A Dunedin

• Season Record: 12-19
• Series vs Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh Pirates)

May 7: Brandon Barriera’s velocity was down a bit, sitting only 93 mph, but he relied heavily on his slider to strike out four batters in three innings, allowing one earned run. A big night from Yorman Licourt led the way for Dunedin’s offense, as the slugger hit his fifth homer of the season and drove in five of the Jays’ nine runs. Oakville kid Owen Gregg got his first hit as a Dunedin Blue Jay as well, as the Jays ran away with this one early. Mason Davenport allowed four runs in the seventh inning to make it a bit more interesting, but a Licourt double took the lead back to three, and Lluveres Severino got his first save of the season to get the Jays their first win of the series. 

May 8: The Jays had to face the talented Seth Hernandez for the second time this season, and the 2025 sixth-overall pick one-upped his last outing against the Jays by striking out nine batters in six innings. Troy Guthrie struggled to put hitters away, allowing nine hits and five runs while only striking out three. Noah Palmese had his longest appearance of the season, going 3.1 innings in relief, allowing a run on a solo homer to the “Password.” The Jays' only runs of the game came in the bottom of the ninth inning, with Juan Sanchez finally showing some of the power that he was known for in the Florida Complex League, hitting his first homer of the season. Yorman Licourt ended up scoring on a balk that same inning, but they couldn’t get any closer than that. 

FCL Blue Jays

• Season Record: 5-0

May 7: Thursday's game for the Rookie ball Blue Jays featured Sann Omosako pitching in his first game of the season. Yimi García started the game on his rehab assignment and got two outs before allowing two singles. Omosako came in for him and gave up a single himself, which would score a run. After that, he was solid, going 4.1 innings, not allowing another run to score, walking just one, and striking out one. With the game still up for grabs, Renyel Campos knocked in a run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single, and then Jake Cook did the same in the bottom of the fourth. Cook would give the Jays the win with another RBI single in the sixth, capping off his 2-4 game, with two RBI. The Jays won 3-2, but Tim Piasentin is still searching for a groove, as he went 0-3, with a walk and dropped his batting average down to .071 through the first week of the season. 

May 8: The FCL Jays started the game against the FCL Yankees hot. Tim Piasentin drew a walk and then scored on Franklin Rojas’ RBI double. Two batters later, Kennew Blanco doubled home Rojas and gave the FCL Jays a quick 2-0 lead. In the next inning, the Jays added two more runs with a double from Angel Guzman that scored Pascual Archila and Rafael Flores, who had reached via walks. The Jays didn't score any more runs the rest of the game, but Piasentin did collect a single on a line drive to right field in the top of the fourth inning. The FCL Jays won 4-3 and stayed perfect on the season with a 5-0 record. 

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