Seth Stohs

Josh Kasevich was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022 during the second round of the MLB draft. He is now a 6-foot-1, 200-pound, 25-year-old shortstop who is one call from the major leagues. Since being drafted, he has shown an ability to thrive as a defense-first prospect, but one who can produce the necessary numbers as a hitter as well. In his first three seasons following being drafted, he would routinely hit near .300 and not strike out a lot. His strikeout rates ranged from 7.4% at Single A to 14.5% at Triple A. In 2024, his slash line at Triple-A was .325/.382/.433, with a 120 wRC+. 2025 was a lost year for Kasevich, as he only managed to play in 42 minor league games, 13 of them on rehab assignments between Rookie ball and Single A. In his 29 Triple-A games, he would slash .173/.272/.184, for a 34 wRC+. It was a year to forget for him, but the good in all of this is that he appears to be healthy and having a good spring training. Gearing up for a potential rebound year in 2026, he is hitting .333 over 13 spring training games (as of March 12). 2026 should see Kasevich start back out at Triple-A Buffalo, where he will need to show he is healthy and back to having a plus hit tool. When everything is going well for him, he is an Ernie Clement clone, who will provide plus defense and do enough with the bat to stick in the lineup if needed. He won't show much power, but a bat that will limit the strikeouts is right in the Blue Jays’ wheelhouse nowadays.

McAdoo has put in a lot of miles to make it to Toronto, and that's just to get to his team's home ballpark. Being from Walnut Creek, California, he opted to play college baseball just down the road at San Jose State University (SJSU). His journey then took him across the country when the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in the 13th round of the 2023 MLB draft. There wasn't a lot of fanfare surrounding him coming out of college; he had a solid bat but barely anything else to his profile at the time. After a season and a half with the Pirates and playing in Bradenton, Greensboro, and Altoona, he popped up on the Toronto Blue Jays radar as the trade deadline for the 2024 season approached. He ultimately landed in the Toronto organization as the return piece for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. His next location would be his first stop within his new organization, New Hampshire. Before the trade to the Blue Jays, he was having a breakout year, hitting .320/.399/.556 across High-A and Double-A. He also added 15 home runs, 23 doubles, and stole 17 bases across 88 games. To that point of his 2024 season, he had a robust 167 wRC+, but his bubble burst following the trade. He would get into 37 games for New Hampshire and hit .185/.287/.323 for a 79 wRC+. He only added three more home runs and four stolen bases to cap off his whirlwind of a year. What To Like McAdoo has a profile that has evolved over the years and is now one to dream about making his way to the Rogers Centre. He has developed above-average power and speed to add to his aforementioned solid bat. In his junior year at SJSU, he hit 10 home runs in 58 games and five home runs in 28 games at Low-A. Then, last season, he would crush nine home runs at High-A (60 games) before adding another eight at Double-A (64 games). While at High-A, he was among the top percentile ranks in almost every statistical category while being above average in chase rate, whiff rate, walk rate, and strikeout rate. The only real hole in his swing was up and in. He showed excellent plate coverage and stood out among his peers. After a promotion to Double-A, he was challenged much more and had problems with the pitches down in the zone. This could have resulted from him adjusting to being traded and trying to do more damage than was possible on the low pitches. The power remained consistent behind his quick hands and solid base. This gives him above-average power to the opposite field, and the results on the field followed suit, with six of his 17 home runs going to right field. When locked in, McAdoo controls the zone with his bat, and quick hands allow him to cover most of the plate at an elite level. In 2024, 54.2% of his batted balls went up the middle or to right field. This approach, coupled with his fast hands, drives his opposite-field power. He can stay back longer and let the ball travel more, giving him the time to make better decisions. He then can launch the barrel through the zone to make great contact. Here is another one of his opposite-field home runs that looks so effortless for him. What To Work On McAdoo had an excellent 2024 season, but as with any player in the minor leagues, there are always things to improve upon on the quest to play at the top level of the sport. After jumping from High-A to Double-A, he saw more struggles than ever before. Those struggles compounded on themselves after his trade to Toronto. He started missing the ball a lot more; his contact rates fell from 78.2% at High-A to 71.8% at Double-A with Pittsburgh and then dropped even further to 66.8% with Toronto. These heat maps from Donald Stricklin Analytics show how McAdoo struggled with the pitches down in the zone. This coincided with an increase of about 5% in his pull rates from High-A to Double-A. It could be as simple as him opening up more to try and impress his new team with some power or concerning things like struggling with breaking pitches at the more advanced levels. Regardless of the underlying reason for his drop across the board at Double-A in 2025, he needs to settle back into a middle-away approach and drive the ball where it's pitched. In the field, he needs to stay the course at third base. In 2024, he only recorded seven errors at third, which is by far his best position. Toronto did have him play right field and first base, to try and give him more opportunities at playing time in the future. He struggled a little at first base and recorded an error in the three games he was in. If Toronto does indeed have thoughts of him playing more positions in 2025, he will need to shore up his skill at first base and in right field. What's Next 2025 could be the pivotal year for McAdoo, and I know that is said a lot. With his abysmal debut at Double-A for Toronto, he needs to bounce back and show the team the player they traded for. A trip back to Double-A New Hampshire will do him wonders. If he can adjust similarly to how he did at High-A last year, he should get a mid-season promotion to Triple-A Buffalo. Then, who knows, a cup of coffee with the big league club is not out of the cards for him. Expect his arrival to be more along the lines of in the summer of 2026, barring anything unexpected.

After a four-year college career, where he played three years at Lafayette and one year at Georgetown, Bloss was drafted in the third round of the 2023 MLB draft by the Houston Astros. After some token innings to end the season at Rookie ball and Single-A Fayetteville, he would start the 2024 season at High-A Asheville. In his first full professional season, he would accomplish a feat virtually unheard of in today's baseball world. He would play in games at four different levels, including the major leagues, and for two different teams after being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline. In the minor leagues that season, he pitched in 21 games for a total of 93.1 innings, amassed a 3.18 ERA, and a 3.92 FIP. He had a 23.3% strikeout rate, a 9.5% walk rate, and a 1.07 WHIP. His time in the major leagues for Houston was not nearly as rosy. In three starts (11.2 innings), he had a 6.94 ERA and an insane 7.92 FIP. In 2025, Bloss was looking to get back on track at Triple-A Buffalo for the Toronto Blue Jays and even make it back to the major leagues. However, fate intervened when he had Tommy John surgery after just six starts. Those six outings were rough to say the least; he had a 6.46 ERA in 23.2 innings, but a more respectable 4.76 FIP. His season would end with him having a 20.9% strikeout rate and a walk rate that ballooned to 11.3%. He had begun to turn a corner before his injury; in two of his last three starts, he went a total of nine innings, didn't give up an earned run, and struck out 12. What To Like Bloss has a very big pitch arsenal for a pitcher in the minor leagues. He used five pitches in 2025, with his four-seam fastball grading out as one of his best pitches. He sat just under 94 mph with the offering and averaged 18.3 inches of induced vertical break (IVB). His above-average extension of 6.9 feet also helps to boost how the fastball plays against hitters. It works to give him the appearance of a slightly faster pitch, and when coupled with his high IVB, makes his fastball a near plus offering. His other nearly elite pitch was actually his curveball, which he only used 12.4% of the time. What he was doing well with his pitches in 2025 was setting up batters with his fastball high and then getting swings and misses down in the zone from his secondaries. He had 55.6% and 73.3% whiff rates just below the zone on each side of the plate. It can also be seen in his 13.2% swinging strike rate (SwStr%), which was his highest mark since his debut in 2023. What To Work On Bloss has a daunting task ahead of him. Not only does he have to rehab and return healthy from Tommy John surgery, but he also has to get back to what made him so good in 2024. The first thing he will have to do is focus his control/command, which will help him to miss less often high and to the arm side. The vast majority of his pitches in 2025 were missed there, and it undoubtedly led to his 11.3% walk rate (41st percentile). He also needs to stay away from the middle of the zone with his pitches, where he gave up high slugging rates. He needs to work hitters down in the zone and on the edges, as his pitches give him the best success when located there. One of the easier, but most effective things he can improve on is his first pitch strike rate (F-Strike%). In 2025, his F-Strike% sat at 47%; in 2024, it was 51.2% in the minors and 60% during his three starts in the majors. What's Next? Bloss is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery and, as such, won't likely return to games until late in the season, if at all this year. He is still one of the better starting pitching prospects in the Blue Jays organization and will immediately look to regain the 2024 form that saw him shoot all the way up to the major leagues. If he can do so, he will have an upside of a poor man's SP2 but will most likely land as a back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. He was on the cusp of being a contributor at the major league level, but he will have to get healthy and find the stuff that made him a prized piece at the 2024 trade deadline. It's an uphill battle for him, but he's got all of the talent to get there and maybe even shine while doing so.

Out of Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, Florida, Nimmala was selected 20th overall in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He signed for just $3 million, which was slightly under slot value, but it was more than enough for him to jump into professional baseball and forego playing in college. He managed to get into a few Rookie ball games that same year, collecting five hits across nine games, including a double, triple, and a stolen base. What was extremely impressive during the small sample was his 14 walks, good enough for a walk rate of 35%. It was a sign of his potential talent and gave Blue Jays fans plenty of optimism heading into his first full season the following year. In 2024, the Blue Jays sent Nimmala straight to Single-A Dunedin, where he promptly looked like a stud. In his first three games, he hit a home run, knocked in three, and racked up four hits. For the season, he played in 83 games at the level, slashed .232/.313/.476, and hit 16 home runs. His power was on full display, as he added 17 doubles and six triples to his home run total. In all, he had 39 extra-base hits on the year and was starting to get a ton of national attention in the prospect world. He did, however, show some worrying signs through all of the good; he had a strikeout rate of 31.3% and walked at only an 8.3% clip. His contact rate was also a little low at 69.9%. Then came his 2025 season. Last year was one in which Nimmala saw improvements in some aspects of his game, but regression in others. He played the entire year at High-A Vancouver, where he had 543 plate appearances across 120 games. Health was a bright spot for him, and so was his strikeout rate, which dropped from 31.3% the prior season to 21.4%. Despite the big change in his swing and miss profile, his slash line dipped to .224/.313/.381, and he only had 13 home runs on the season. Nimmala did make up for some of the lack of power with 29 doubles and three triples, but they just don't affect the game as much as the flashy home runs do. He did pick up his impact on the basepaths last year, swiping 17 bags in 20 attempts. His newfound speed adds an extra layer to the multitude of ways he can help his team win games. What To Like Nimmala has loads of power in his bat, and he's shown a tremendous ability to get to it, whether it is in the form of home runs, doubles, or triples. He impacts the game and can do it at an elite level. Last season, his home run total took a step back while at High-A Vancouver, but the 13 home runs he did have were good enough for the 87th percentile in all of the minor leagues. He made up for the drop in home runs by hitting a crazy amount of doubles, 29 (97th percentile). With Vancouver's ballpark being a notoriously pitcher-friendly environment, expect to see some of his home run power return when he moves up a level. However, his home ballpark may not be able to account for all of his dramatic drop in home runs per flyball last year. It could be just a matter of adjusting his swing path to tap back into the juice in his bat, but it is something worth monitoring as he moves through the minor leagues. What To Improve On Despite his budding power, Nimmala has had some issues with his bat-to-ball skills. His contact rate at Single-A Dunedin was 69.9%, and at High-A Vancouver it was 73.6%. He has made some improvements over the years in that arena, but his batting averages are really subpar at best. He's never hit over .232 in a minor league season and needs to make large strides towards improvement in that area in 2026. If he can become a much better contact hitter, his ceiling will drastically jump up into stardom status. Unfortunately, through two seasons so far, he has not shown any signs of becoming better at making more contact, let alone more quality contact. His next stage in development will really hinge on whether or not he can make the improvements needed to become a .250 or .275 hitter, or if his destiny is a profile similar to Lenyn Sosa. What's Next Nimmala is not quite ready for the Double-A level and is back at High-A Vancouver to start the 2026 season. He knows the areas he needs to improve in and what he needs to continue to do well. If he can become a better contact hitter and keep his power going, he has an elite ceiling he can reach. If not, he will be looking more like a platoon bat with power than a star. This season is extremely important to his outlook as a prospect and should give the Blue Jays organization and fans more insight as to what his future trajectory will be.

Yesavage made his way to the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 2024, when they drafted him in the first round (20th overall), out of East Carolina University. The Blue Jays opted to hold him out of games that season and then start him at Single-A Dunedin to begin 2025. He started his magical season with a rough game, one in which he walked six batters and showed terrible control. It didn't take long for him to right the ship, as he had three double-digit strikeout games over his next six starts. The phenomenal aspect of those performances might have actually been his control; he only walked two over 29.2 innings in that span. He was then promoted to High-A Vancouver, where the strikeouts continued to rack up, but the walks did as well. He wasn't long for High-A Vancouver, only pitching in four games there, for a total of 17.1 innings, and allowed just three runs. It was then off to Double-A New Hampshire, where he walked 11 batters in his first five starts. Ultimately, he adjusted and found his control again, walking zero over his last three starts there. Triple-A Buffalo was his next stop and proved to be a real challenge for him, as he walked 11 in six appearances and gave up seven earned runs. The Blue Jays were nonetheless ready to get Yesavage to the major league level, having him debut on September 15. It's what happened next that cemented him as a legend to Blue Jays fans. The team made him a part of the postseason roster, and he didn't disappoint, firing 5.1 no-hit innings against the hated New York Yankees and striking out 11 on his way to one of the best performances of the 2025 playoffs. In fact, only he was really able to outdo himself. It took seven innings of three-hit ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series to do it. He would end up striking out 12 batters on that magical night in Los Angeles, and while he couldn't help the Blue Jays to the ultimate win, he earned the kind of legendary status that will last all of time. What To Like When you look at Yesavage, the biggest thing to like about him is his swing-and-miss stuff, and he has a lot of it. In the minor leagues during the 2025 season, he had a strikeout rate of 41.1% (100th percentile). In his three games in the majors before the playoffs started, his strikeout rate was 25.8%, and it rose to 35.6% in the playoffs. What makes him so good is that, to pair with his elite strikeout stuff, he is able to keep hitters from making good contact. He held minor league hitters to just a .156 batting average and major league hitters to a .236 batting average. The uniqueness in Yesavage's delivery and his pitch arsenal really drives the whiffs to crazy levels. He has a pitch release of over seven feet, one of the highest in all of baseball. While his arsenal features some really good pitches, he relied mostly on three: a four-seam fastball, a splitter, and a slider. The four-seam fastball had around 19.5 inches of induced vertical break (iVB). Couple that with his release height and attack angle, and it proved to be an extremely difficult pitch for hitters to square up. His splitter was his next best pitch and dove on hitters. With 31.5 inches of actual vertical drop, it was nearly unhittable. His slider became a huge weapon in the playoffs when he lost the command of his splitter; it had the same effect with a different type of break. What To Work On Yesavage really had only one major thing holding him back at times from becoming a star: his control. He tamed it in the playoffs last year, but in the minor leagues in 2025, he had a walk rate of 10.5% (48th percentile). In the majors, it was 11.3% (10.1% in the playoffs), and this year, it has been 12.5% on his rehab assignment. You can see just from his playoff games how vital curtailing the walks is to him becoming an ace starting pitcher. He walked just one in the 11-strikeout game against the Yankees and zero in his 12-strikeout game against the Dodgers in the World Series. In the three starts he made between those games in the playoffs, he walked nine and only struck out a combined 15 hitters. His strike rate in the minor leagues last year was 64.8% (78th percentile). This shows he might be searching for the strikeouts a little too much and could improve his performances by not nibbling on the edges and instead trusting his stuff in the zone a little more. This should also improve his length in games, as he won't rack up as many pitches with deep counts and strikeouts.

Trey Yesavage started collecting cards about the time that he was called up to the big leagues last year. He collects some baseball cards but also football cards. But, if you want to mail him cards through the mail to sign for you, just don't. On the We the Hobby podcast, Yesavage said that he doesn't collect cards of himself, but he also isn't going to sign cards sent to him through the mail. "People send me my cards in the mail to sign and send back, but I don't sign them. I'll put that out there. if you send them to me, you're not going to get them back. I do keep some of them and give them to my family and whatnot, but I really don't collect any higher-end stuff of myself." He doesn't really explain why he doesn't do it. It doesn't appear to come from a place of anger. In the interview, he just said it simply, straightforward. Does that bother you? Do you care? If you send cards through the mail, what is your expectation for return? Share your thoughts. (time stamp about 16:12) In the 25-minute conversation recorded about a week ago, the Blue Jays (can we call him an Ace yet?) pitcher discussed a number of topics from his rehab, the high moments of the playoffs and his call up, and much, much more.

The Blue Jays clearly have put a focus on their bullpen this offseason, and that continued on Friday. Hours after they announced the acquisition of Chase Lee from the Tigers, reports began circulating that the Jays have signed free-agent submariner Tyler Rogers. The right-hander will receive a three-year contract worth $37 million with a vesting option for a fourth season that would pay him $11 million. Tyler and his twin brother Taylor Rogers will turn 35 next week. Taylor Rogers has played for six big-league teams over the past 10 seasons. Tyler Rogers was the 10th round pick of the Giants in 2023 out of Austin Peay State. He made his MLB debut as a 28-year-old in 2019. Since then, he has been one of the most active relievers in baseball. He has led the National League in appearances in 2020, 2021, 2024, and again in 2025. He pitched in 68 games in both 2022 and 2023. Tyler Rogers spent his entire career with the Giants until the 2025 trade deadline when he was dealt to the New York Mets. Rogers's release point is basically the ground. Because of that, he has the slowest fastball in the game. Read this Royals Keep article discussing what Rogers can do for a team to illustrate how he can help the Blue Jays bullpen. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Rogers will be a completely different look out of the Jays bullpen, much different than the big velocity arms like Jeff Hoffman, Louis Varland, and Braydon Fisher. Rogers won't get a ton of strikeouts, but he also walks very few batters. What do you think of this signing for the Blue Jays? Maybe they should bring in Taylor too.

Another breakout prospect for the Jays in 2025, Gage Stanifer went from an unknown 19th-rounder to a borderline top-100 prospect. Prior to the 2025 season, Stanifer struggled in the Florida Complex League and Single A, pitching to an ERA over 6.00 across his first two professional seasons. Despite decent stuff, he walked a lot of batters. In 2025, Stanifer set a career high in innings pitched, with 110, and went from Single-A Dunedin up to Double-A New Hampshire, mainly piggybacking off of Trey Yesavage. He’s expected to start the 2026 season back at Double A. One of the big things that stood out for Stanifer from his previous seasons, compared to 2025, was that he was able to make significant gains in velocity after a very productive offseason. Stanifer went from sitting 92 mph on his four-seam fastball to 95 mph. The shape of his fastball was also still very solid, with 17.8 inches of vertical break and 12.6 inches of run, and because it was such an effective offering for him, and because he could consistently throw it for strikes, Stanifer threw it over two-thirds of the time in Dunedin. His main secondary, thrown more against righties than lefties, is a slider that gets more depth than normal, which gives it a sort of “deathball” shape (-5.1 inches of vertical break). It was extremely effective as a whiff generator, but Stanifer could sometimes lose the zone with it, too often leading to middling chase rates. His third pitch is a split-changeup that’s still a work in progress. The shape is intriguing, with 15 inches of vertical separation from his fastball and nearly 14 inches of fade, but he’s still developing a feel for it. He only throws it to lefties, making him nearly a two-pitch pitcher against each handedness of hitter. Stanifer’s arsenal and stuff propelled him to the top of the minor league leaderboards, as out of all qualified minor league pitchers, he led the pack with an absurd 35.5% K-rate, above the Cardinals’ Braden Davis and the Yankees’ Carlos Lagrange. The stuff did tick down in spring training a bit — Stanifer’s velo was not where it was in the 2025 season — leading to some poor results, but he assuaged the velo drop off with an electric Spring Breakout performance against the Phillies, striking out four batters in three scoreless innings while only giving up a single walk. The Phillies’ announcers sang his praises throughout, and his velo ticked back up; he sat 95.6 mph and touched 97.4 mph with his four-seamer. Stanifer does have some concerns going forward, however. Although he has reined in the walks, he still walks over 10% of the batters he faces, which is fringy for a starting pitcher. Scouts also have concerns about the repeatability of the delivery. Those concerns could take his outlook from a solid fourth starter to more of a back-end bullpen piece. Stanifer may also want to add a pitch or more to his arsenal to better fit the role of a starter. Although his three-pitch mix has shown effectiveness already, he may need more weapons going forward. A bridge pitch like a cutter could provide that for him. Stanifer will start the season in Double-A New Hampshire and will be challenged against upper-level hitters again. The Jays currently have a crowded rotation, but there’s the slightest chance that Stanifer could make his MLB debut this season as a reliever if he progresses well and the Jays need some extra firepower in the ‘pen.

At just 19 years old, Johnny King is the epitome of a starting pitcher in stature, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 210 pounds. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2024 MLB draft in the third round, 95th overall. He kicked off his minor league career with a stellar performance in the Florida Complex League last season. He completely dominated hitters across seven games and 24 innings. His ERA was 1.13, with his FIP and xFIP equally standing out at 1.53 and 1.83, respectively. What should be highlighted above all was his propensity to strike batters out. He was one of the best strikeout pitchers in Rookie ball, ending his time there with a 41.8% strikeout rate. He was able to pair that with solid command as well, only walking 7.1% of the batters he faced. King was quickly promoted to Single-A Dunedin and continued to show a top-notch ability to generate whiffs. Over 11 games and 37.2 innings to finish the season, he struck out 38.1% of hitters as an 18-year-old facing mostly more advanced batters. He didn't give up many hits either, only seeing his batting average against rise from .195 at Rookie ball up to .201 at Single A. His ERA and FIP took a jump up, to 3.35 and 4.24, respectively. The main issue with the promotion was that his command routinely slipped at Single A. He had a somewhat concerning 17.1% walk rate, though he was able to finish the season strong, with a 4.2-inning performance, giving up just one hit and zero earned runs, while striking out seven and walking three. What To Like As an 18-year-old last season, King showed a rare ability to have exceptional stuff at such a young age and to be able to command it enough to strike out hitters at Single A. He has a great frame and still projects to get stronger and add velocity on his fastball. He already possesses two plus pitches in his four-seam fastball and curveball. Both were virtually unhittable in 2025, with the fastball having a batting average against of .213 and a whiff rate of 36.3%. The pitch has very good ride up in the zone, and he generates close to 18 inches of induced vertical break on it. The curveball had one of the best whiff rates in the minor leagues at 49.4%, and hitters could only hit .193 off of the pitch. King also gets above-average extension on the pitches, in the range of 6.5 feet. That will give him an exceptional base to pitch from to continue improving his repertoire as he gets older. His third pitch was his changeup, and while decent, it needs some work. It was a good pitch, which he used to limit the success of batters, but he didn't get as many swings and misses on it, with only a 22.2% whiff rate at Single A. It is a great pitching foundation to have two plus pitches to go with a third serviceable one, something not often seen from an 18-year-old. What To Work On As the season wore on, King's command took a hit, and his walk rate was simply worrisome at times. Jumping from 7.1% at Rookie ball up to 17.1% at Single A shows he needs to work on getting batters out in the zone to go with his elite ability to generate swings and misses. His 60% strike rate at Single A was in the 39th percentile in the minor leagues and will need to take a step up if he is to continue to get older hitters out while moving up levels. Another area King will need to focus on in 2026 will be getting hitters back on the ground. When he jumped from Rookie ball to Single A, his groundball rate dropped from 59.1% to 33.8%. He will want to get batters to hit the ball on the ground more like he did at the start of his 2025 season, to help limit damage overall. What Is Next King will begin the 2026 season at High-A Vancouver. It could be a rocky/challenging start given the wild Northwest weather this time of year, but he has the potential to vault up prospect rankings due to his young age and plus stuff on the mound. If everything goes right for him, expect him to spend a couple of months at High A before getting a late-season crack at Double-A New Hampshire. Everything is pointing towards a huge season for him, and he could be the next great pitching prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

The Toronto Blue Jays signed Rojas as an international free agent out of Cuba in 2020 for $215,000. He started his Blue Jays career in good fashion at the Complex League as an 18-year-old in 2021. It was only eight games and 23.2 innings pitched, but it came with a pristine ERA of 2.28 and some sparkling strikeout numbers. He struck out 44.8% of the batters he faced and only had a walk rate of 5.7%. In 2022, he received a well-earned promotion up to Low-A Dunedin. There, he showed similar promise for getting hitters out and limiting runs for someone younger than almost every batter he faced. What slowed his progress the most in 2022 was an injury that took out the majority of his summer. However, following a few months of rehab, he finished the year strong, only giving up three runs in his last four outings for Low-A Dunedin. In 2023, he would repeat the level and put together a complete season. Showing an extreme improvement in swing-and-miss stuff, he would get a promotion one more time to High-A Vancouver for the 2024 season. Like many Blue Jays pitchers, an injury once again limited him to just 13 games and 62.2 IP. To finish 2024, he was healthy again and made some noise, going deep into games and striking hitters out, setting himself up for the upcoming 2025 season to be a big one. What's To Like The first thing that stands out when you see Rojas is his size and improving body. Currently, he is listed at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds. He has grown noticeably stronger and now really fills out his frame compared to a more slender nature the previous few years. This has naturally helped him increase his fastball velocity from an average of 90.8 MPH in 2022 to 92.9 MPH in 2023. The increase in max velocity from those years was even more noticeable; he went from a max fastball of 94.3 MPH to 97.3 MPH. This past season, he was routinely sitting 94-96 MPH on his fastballs, which, as a left-handed pitcher, will play up even more than from the right side. This increase and sustainability of his velocity greatly improve the possible outcomes he could have as a starting pitcher in the major leagues. Rojas’ repertoire is a key to his success on the mound. He now features a plus 4-seam fastball sitting between 94 and 97 MPH. The pitch has a natural cutting action and works well up in the zone, where he used it often, with excellent command. In 2023, his four-seam fastball had very good iVB, routinely in the range of 18 inches. This also came with good extension on the pitch. The combination of iVB and extension will cause the fastball to work much better up in the zone, and when paired with his command, it results in a plus pitch. From 2023, you can see exactly how well he uses his four-seam fastball up in the strike zone. Rojas has a sinker, slider, and changeup to complete his pitch mix. He also pitches from an abbreviated stretch position and can use a hesitation delivery and a quick pitch. The slider comes in at 83 MPH but has had a wider range of velocities than most. The shape can vary a lot, but still misses bats frequently. The changeup averages around 85 MPH and can range from the low to upper 80s. The pitch has improved a lot over the years and flashed plus more frequently this past season. Rojas also has a sinker, which he can use to mix in a different look from time to time. Rojas can get a lot of swing and miss from the four-seam fastball, slider, and changeup, usually in different areas of the strike zone. This improves the deception of the pitch mix when all of the pitches are working simultaneously. The fastballs are used up in the zone, the slider down to the glove side of the plate, and the changeup mostly down and to his arm side. Here are his strikeout pitches from 2023 (catcher's view, the middle box is the strike zone). Following his return from injury in 2024, Rojas racked up swinging strikes with an improved changeup, which was added to his already good fastball/slider combo. He finished the year averaging 14 swings and misses per game over his last ten games. This helped him to a strikeout rate of 27.9%. What To Work On The main areas that Rojas needs to work on are his consistency overall and pitch quality for his slider and changeup. He has made big strides with his changeup, but now is the time to improve the consistency. Being able to throw a changeup for strikes and off the plate to get a swing and miss will go a long way, helping to move him up levels and towards the major leagues. Also, he needs to have more consistent pitch shapes with the slider and changeup. This will help with the control and command and lower his already great walk rate even more. He needs to work on his health and pitching deeper into games for an entire season. We saw Rojas pitch more innings per start at the end of the 2024 season, and that is the next step in his evolution as a starting pitcher. What's Next Rojas should begin 2025 at Double-A New Hampshire. If he can routinely stay healthy and pitch five innings or more, he could reach Triple-A Buffalo by the end of the season. Improvements in his command of the slider and changeup can propel him up levels even faster. If everything comes together, he has the makings of a mid-rotation major league starting pitcher who should debut at the end of 2025 or early 2026. There are some promising times ahead for him if he can remain healthy and continue progressing.

Pre-2025 Scouting Report Juaron Watts-Brown was drafted out of Oklahoma State by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023. He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. When drafted, he was billed as a strikeout pitcher and didn't disappoint this past season on his way up to High-A. He began the year in Low-A and was pretty successful overall, as he managed a 3.43 ERA and a 3.60x FIP. His numbers were backed by a strikeout rate of 30.3% and a batting average against of .209. After 12 starts, he had shown enough to move up to High-A. High-A was where some issues crept in and caused his numbers to balloon over his final nine starts of the season. His strikeout rate remained solid at 27.3%, but unfortunately, his walk rate jumped to 14.8%. His ERA rose to 6.35, which didn't tell the whole story. His xFIP was much lower at 4.56, meaning he pitched better than the results. Ultimately, he finished the 2024 season as one of the best Blue Jays minor league pitchers in swinging strike rate, at 16.8%. This past season, the four pitches Watts-Brown relied on the most were a four-seam fastball, cutter, changeup, and slider. The four-seam fastball doesn't have the best velocity but comes with an iVB of 18 inches and an above-average release extension of 6.8 feet. Both numbers let the fastball play up much more than the lower velocity. He did have a max fastball velocity of 96.1 MPH at Low-A, so there may still be room for improving the pitch with added strength. His cutter and slider are the strikeout pitches right now, and the changeup is developing into a usable pitch versus left-handed hitters. The cutter had a whiff rate at Low-A of 46%, the slider at 55.6%, and the changeup at 50.9%. The deep pitch mix, including a curveball, allows him to stay less predictable on the mound. The Blue Jays will look for Watts-Brown to continue developing his control and command while improving his pitch mix and getting stronger. Added velocity to his fastball could be a game changer given his iVB and release extension; however, it doesn't mean much if he continues to throw just 61% of his pitches for strikes. He should get another crack at High-A to start 2025, and where he goes from there will probably depend on his ability to throw strikes consistently, as he should continue striking batters out at a good rate. - Daniel Labude

Pre-2025 Scouting Report The Slovakian-Canadian came over in the controversial Teoscar Hernandez trade, but his performance in the minors since joining the Blue Jays is not one of the reasons for that controversy. The undersized lefty who attended Vauxhall Academy in Alberta has struggled with his health and his command ever since being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. However, since joining the Blue Jays organization, Macko has steadily lowered his walk rate from about 12.0% with the Mariners, to 10.8% in 2023, and then in 2024 lowered it again to 9.0%. He also threw career highs in innings pitched with 86.0 in 2023 and then 93.1 in 2024. That being said, his command is still fringe-average at best, and he was shelved for six weeks for a forearm strain, showing that his injury issues weren’t fully behind him. Macko has been quite successful in his professional career at striking hitters out, with a greater than 25% strikeout rate at every level he’s pitched at (other than the three innings he pitched in his debut with the Buffalo Bisons). Macko is able to rack up those strikeouts with his solid secondary pitches, the best one being his big loopy curveball, which he throws in the mid-70s, which comes equipped with 14.8 inches of induced vertical break as well as 7.6 inches of arm side horizontal break that makes hitters look foolish swinging at it. However, hitters rarely did so because the pitch is easy to identify out of the hand with its shape and velocity. The slider is the secondary pitch he throws the most, which he tosses in the low-80s. It's more of a pitch he can locate in the zone more often and helps bridge the gap between his fastball and slow curveball. Macko’s fastball velocity is pretty mediocre, actually regressing a bit since last year where he used to sit 93-95 mph (now in the 91-93 mph range), but he has a deceptive delivery and his fastball had a 15.3 iVB in his short appearance in Triple-A Buffalo. It also has 7.9 inches of run as well, which helps it play up. He still can touch up to 95 mph, but that comes fewer and farther between than years past. Lastly, his changeup has a nice shape as well, with 15.9 inches of fading action, but he isn’t as consistent with it compared to his other offerings. This will be Macko’s second year on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, and now that he’s pitched decently in Double-A New Hampshire, he’s looking to continue his success in Triple-A Buffalo. His fringy velocity and average command probably limits his ceiling to a back-end rotation starter, but he’ll be a part of the limited starting pitching depth for the Jays in 2025, behind Jake Bloss and maybe even Easton Lucas and Adam Kloffenstein.

Landen Maroudis was a name to watch at the beginning of the 2024 season. He had a promising showing in an appearance in the MLB Spring Breakout game and pitched in just three games in Single-A Dunedin before heading to the injured list with an elbow injury. After more than a year of rehab and recovery, Maroudis was back pitching, but things had changed significantly. His velocity on his fastball, once sitting at 94 mph, only sat at 90 mph. The pitch dropped from 13 inches of vertical break down to 11, but did gain four inches of run. His control disappeared, as he walked more batters than he struck out and had a strike rate of just 51.8%. Maroudis will only be 21 years old in the 2026 season, and despite the setback to his health, pitch quality, velocity, and command, there’s practically nowhere for him to go but up. With a full offseason not spent rehabbing, there’s reason to believe that he’ll rediscover the velocity that he had prior to the elbow surgery, and that he’ll find some semblance of command as well. His pitches looked mediocre due to the lack of velocity, but when he was able to find the zone, Single-A hitters didn’t make great contact, and his curveball had a whiff rate of over 40%. Maroudis’ future looks much shakier than ever before, but the athleticism and potential from when the Jays gave him a $1.5 million signing bonus in 2023 can still prevail if he returns to form. Maroudis will get another chance to pitch in Dunedin this season, and reportedly, his velocity is back up to the 93-95 mph range.

Khal Stephen was the 2nd round draft pick for the Jays in the most recent 2024 MLB draft, receiving an underslot signing bonus of $1,116,750 out of Mississippi State. As a college junior, receiving an underslot bonus is more representative of his leverage than his talent, as he had a very successful 2024, pitching 96 innings with a 3.28 ERA with 107 strikeouts to just 21 walks. Stephen was with Purdue from 2022-2023, first as a reliever, then as a starter; he improved his numbers across the board after transferring to face stronger competition in the Southeastern Conference. What to Like Standing at 6' 4", Khal is an imposing figure on the mound. Stephen throws with an over-the-top delivery and has a shorter arm action. His main pitch, which he threw over 65% of the time, was his superlative fastball. A pitch modeling darling, Stephen’s fastball didn’t blow anyone away with its velocity, only sitting around 92-94 miles per hour, but could reach 96 mph. Due to his height, he gets solid extension on the pitch of 6.5 inches, and he regularly gets a ton of induced vertical break, averaging over 20 inches on the fastball. Adding in his very solid command of his fastball, there’s a reason why he threw the pitch so many times. If Stephen can keep his fastball up in the zone, he’ll continue to get ugly swings. Stephen also throws various secondary pitches, but with his high usage of his fastball, he doesn’t really throw the rest all that much. His main secondary is a slider that averaged around 83-84 mph and had a greater than 40% whiff rate on the season. Stephen also had another breaking ball in his curveball, which he threw more to get me over pitch. It had an Induced Vertical Break of -5.2 inches and -17.0 inches of horizontal break that he threw in the higher 70s. Stephen’s most interesting secondary is his changeup, which he didn’t throw too much of the time, but it had good results when he did throw it. The changeup has decent velocity separation from the fastball, sitting around 85 mph on it, and it has good fade, with 11.9 inches of horizontal break and 14.6 inches of iVB. It generated solid whiff rates at 41.9% and held a solid ground ball rate when hitters did make contact. Lastly, Stephen threw a cutter sporadically, which sat around 88 mph. Having a deeper arsenal allows for more hope that Stephen can last as a starting pitcher as he develops. What to Work On Although Stephen had a ton of success with the pitch in college, he would benefit a lot from adding more velocity to his fastball; if he could sit more in the 95 mph range, it would add a lot of effectiveness to his already good fastball. MLB hitters are more used to seeing guys with average fastball velocity like Stephen has, and even though he has an excellent ride on it, hitters have been getting better at hitting fastballs with a ride. He’d also need to improve his secondary pitches; MLB hitters are too good at hitting fastballs to throw one over 65% of the time for the most part. His breaking balls were solid but unspectacular in college, and the Jays could work on a bit of pitch design to help sharpen up his slider and create more separation from his curveball. Increasing the velocity on his secondary pitches would also be a boon for Stephen, as pitches generally get more effective with higher velocities, as long as there is still reasonable separation from each pitch to throw off hitters’ timings. Getting more comfortable throwing the changeup would also be helpful for him; he would need to be able to repeat his delivery well enough to fool hitters, and he would also need to be able to locate it well, which is still a work in progress. The Jays could also tinker with adding other pitches to his arsenal, and a splitter that tunnels well off the fastball could add a devastating swing-and-miss pitch, and the Jays have found a lot of success with splitter pitchers in the major leagues. What’s Next Khal Stephen has a lot of interesting traits that we could look forward to, and if development goes right, he could be a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter. There’s also always reliever risk for any pitching prospect, and if his velocity falls off, he could be seen as more of a reliever. Still, the upside is genuinely there if the Jays do a solid job at development and if he stays healthy. Stephen hadn’t thrown a single professional inning as of yet. Still, as he was drafted out of college and is pretty advanced, he should start in Single-A Dunedin, or if the Jays are very confident that his fastball is too much for Single-A, he could head right to High-A Vancouver instead to face more of a challenge to debut. Stephen has already spent time in Florida at the Jays developmental complex, and the Jays should have already started evaluating what could work for him and, if he is successful in that, could get promoted pretty quickly through the system, barring any setbacks.