Daniel Labude

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (June 6-8) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox): 1-5 Season Record: 28-35 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates): 3-3 Season Record: 29-25 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels): 3-3 Season Record: 23-34 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Daytona Tortugas (Cincinnati Reds): 5-1 Season Record: 25-32 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 3-2 Season Record: 20-7 DSL Blue Jays Blue Week Record: 3-2 Season Record: 3-3 DSL Blue Jays Red Week Record: 1-4 Season Record: 1-5 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 28-35 Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) June 6: Saturday's game against Worcester would feature the third straight major league arm pitching on a rehab assignment for Buffalo. While optimism was high for Buffalo, the results were not as encouraging. Shane Bieber was touched up almost immediately, as he gave up runs in the first and second innings. In the first, back-to-back RBI doubles would give the early lead to Worcester. Bieber left a changeup and fastball over the middle of the plate, and both pitches were hit hard (over 100 mph on the exit velocities). It was another fastball that Bieber left middle-in to Tyler McDonough that he crushed 409 feet to right field for a solo home run in the second inning. For the game, Bieber pitched 2.2 innings, gave up six hits and three runs, while striking out three. He didn't walk anyone, which was the bright spot, but he couldn't locate his 92 mph fastball at all. With the Bisons down three, Jonatan Clase knocked in a run in the fourth, with an RBI double, scoring William Simoneit. In the fifth, Davis Schneider finally got a hit, an RBI single. Clase would again be in the middle of the action in the sixth, scoring the game-tying run on a throwing error. Conor Larkin took over on the mound for Buffalo in the bottom of the sixth, and he was off the mark to say the least. An error by Sean Keys helped Worcester out, but Larkin gave up a two-RBI double, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single. Buffalo attempted a miracle comeback in the top of the ninth, they loaded the bases up, and Simoneit drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to three. Unfortunately for Buffalo, Clase flew out to end the game, as the Bisons fell 7-4. June 7: Grant Rogers took the mound on Sunday with one goal in mind: to help end Buffalo's losing streak. The bottom of the first inning was not the start he wanted. He gave up three hits and a walk to open the frame, which would put Buffalo down 1-0. Later in the inning, Matt Lloyd added two more runs to Worcester's lead with a two-RBI single. Willie MacIver cut into the Red Sox's lead in the top of the second inning. He crushed a ball 407 feet for a solo home run. Carlos Mendoza added an RBI single in the inning as well, further decreasing Worcester's lead. Worcester was just too much for Rogers and his pitch-to-contact style; they added a run from a sacrifice fly and an RBI double before he was removed from the game in the fifth. Josh Rivera hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh to cut the lead to two. It would be the closest Buffalo would get, as Worcester won again, this time 5-3. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 29-25 Series vs Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) June 6: It was a back-and-forth game on Saturday for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Altoona Curve. In the first inning, Altoona took a one-run lead when Callan Moss doubled in a run. The Fisher Cats answered in the third inning, aided by some wildness from Altoona. Three walks loaded the bases to begin the inning, and then Carter Cunningham cleared them with a three-run double. The top of the fourth saw the reverse, though, with Altoona getting on base via a few walks and a hit-by-pitch. In the inning, they had two RBI singles and an RBI double to bring in six runs total. They added another RBI in the sixth inning before New Hampshire started their comeback. In the bottom of the inning, Jorge Burgos doubled in a run, followed by Nick Goodwin doubling in two more. A wild pitch scored their seventh run, and Aaron Parker doubled in the tying run in the eighth inning. In extras, Eddie Micheletti Jr. came to the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning and walked off the game with another RBI double for New Hampshire, who won 9-8. June 7: The Sunday game between New Hampshire and Altoona was a tough one all around for the Fisher Cats. Gage Stanifer was on the mound facing the Curve for the second time in the week, and his command wasn't there with the fastball or split. In the first, Stanifer walked the first batter and fell behind 3-0 to Titus Dumitru, who hit a fastball over the plate for a home run. After that, he pitched mainly with his slider, which was his best pitch of the day. He got eight straight outs with six of them coming on the ground. In the fourth, though, he hung a split over the middle of the plate again for a home run. He would rebound and finish the inning. On the offensive side, New Hampshire managed just one hit in the game, a double from Jay Harry. New Hampshire lost this one 4-0. High-A Vancouver Season Record: 23-34 Series vs Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels) June 6: Holden Wilkerson had his first start of the season, as previously he’s been piggybacking after Johnny King throughout the season. He tied his season high in innings pitched, but the righty struggled, giving up nine hits, six runs, and two walks, raising his season ERA to 5.14. The offense similarly struggled as well, as although J.R. Freethy got an early run in with a double in the second, the Canadians had a scoring drought until the eighth inning, with Dub Gleed hitting a two-run homer to make it 7-3. Jonathan Todd pitched three solid innings in relief, but Ryan Nicholson hit his second homer of the night in the eighth inning to put the Canadians away for good, as they lost 8-3. June 7: Landen Maroudis seems to have taken a step back after his first few strong starts in Vancouver, as he’s now earned his fifth loss and his fifth start in a row with three or more runs given up. Jacob Sharp hit his sixth homer of the season in the first for the only run of the game for Vancouver, but the rest of the game was all Tri-City. They scored four runs off of Maroudis, and although there were 2.2 innings of reprieve when Jack Eshleman allowed zero runs, Gilberto Batista gave up a two-run homer in the seventh as he also continued to struggle this season, to make it 6-1 for the Dust Devils. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 25-32 Series vs Daytona Tortugas (Cincinnati Reds) June 6: It took Alejandro Kirk rehabbing with the D-Jays and a series against the worst team in the Florida State League, but the D-Jays are on a winning streak. After losing the first game of the series, they have now rattled off four straight wins, thanks to a great pitching performance from Blake Purnell, who earned his first professional win, pitching five innings with six strikeouts, allowing only one run in the second inning. The Jays didn’t score a run until the fourth inning, where Raimundo De Los Santos had his first homer as a D-Jay to even it up. Eric Snow hit an RBI single in the fifth inning on a night he was DHing, to give the Jays the lead, and in the sixth inning, the Tortugas committed two errors, which led to a run scoring, then Yorman Licourt cleared the bases with a three-run homer for a four-run inning, taking advantage of some shoddy defense. The Jays' bullpen pitched well, allowing only a single run, and the D-Jays won 6-2. June 7: The Jays looked to take their win streak to five, and Silvano Hechavarria finally had himself a good start since getting back in Dunedin, going a season-high five innings. He gave up a couple of doubles in the third for the first run of the game, but that was the only run that he let up, striking out five batters on the night. The Jays got that run right back as well, with Jake Cook hitting his first triple of the season before getting driven in by Blaine Bullard. Adam Hackenberg crossed home plate after hitting a single, moving to third after a double from Raimundo De Los Santos, then going home on a wild pitch. Juan Sanchez hit a big double in the fifth inning for an extra insurance run, and Cook had his second extra-base hit of the night in the sixth inning to make it a 4-1 lead. Yimi García had another scoreless inning, and although Bradley Wilson allowed a run, he got his first hold, and Angel Obando pitched a scoreless ninth for the save, allowing the Jays to win their fifth straight. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 20-7 June 6: Giacomo Taschin was on the mound for the FCL Blue Jays and set the tone against the FCL Phillies team. He went four innings and only allowed one hit. He didn't give up a run or a walk and struck out seven. The offense for the Blue Jays squad was destroying the baseball again. They hit four home runs in the game, one each from Giaconino Lasaracina, Jean Joseph, Hedbert Perez, Owen Gregg, and Renyel Campos. Gregg was 4-for-5 on the day, with three runs and three RBI. The Blue Jays team had 15 hits and 16 runs on their way to a big 16-3 win. June 8: On Monday against the FCL Tigers, the FCL Blue Jays didn't fare as well with the bats. Angel Guzman continued his hot stretch, hitting his fourth home run in a week in the fifth inning. The second run of the game for the Blue Jays came from a double by Franklin Rojas in the third inning. Those two runs were enough, though, as the Tigers team scored six in the first inning, with the big hit coming from Steven Madero on a grand slam. The FCL Blue Jays lost this one 8-2. DSL Blue Jays Blue Season Record: 3-3 June 8: Roberto Castellanos made his second appearance in a game for BJB this season, and he was dialed in. He pitched five innings, only gave up one hit, didn't allow a run to score, and struck out four. For the offense, they were keen to be thieves on the basepaths, swiping five bags, which included two double steals of second and home. BJV scored six runs in the game, two off the steals, two from sacrifice flies (one by Samuel Orellana and the other by Michael Mesa), a run from a wild pitch, and the last when the opposing catcher threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt. BJB won this one 6-0. DSL Blue Jays Red Season Record: 1-5 June 6: BJR was a hot mess on the field Saturday down on the island. They committed three errors, their pitchers walked 11 batters, and their bats only managed six hits in the game. Aneudi Severino was one of the bright spots for BJR; he had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning, a single in the third, and walked in the fifth. Another standout was Luis Nunez, who had a double, a walk, and a run scored for the game. There wasn't much else worthy to note, as BJR was burdened by bad pitching and fielding, losing 9-3. June 8: On Monday, BJR was again inundated with error after error, four in total. The errors led to six unearned runs for the opposing team. Just like on Saturday, Aneudi Severino was the standout player of the game for BJR, and it might have been one of the better days for any player on either Blue Jays team down on the island this year. Severino smacked his second home run of the early season, as well as walked once and stole two bases. The team has shown a propensity to not strike out, only two times on Saturday and just four times on Monday. The pitching just hasn't been able to overcome the errors, with BJR losing again, this time 6-3. View full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (May 30-June 1) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies): 2-4 Season Record: 27-30 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees): 3-3 Season Record: 26-22 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants): 3-3 Season Record: 21-30 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia Phillies): 1-5 Season Record: 20-31 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 3-2 Season Record: 17-5 DSL Blue Jays Blue Week Record: 0-1 Season Record: 0-1 DSL Blue Jays Red Week Record: 0-1 Season Record: 0-1 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 27-30 Series vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies) May 30: It was Grant Rogers’ turn on the mound again for the Saturday afternoon game against Lehigh Valley, and he might have had his best game of the season. Rogers was again his usual self, pitching entirely to contact. He worked into the sixth in the game, going 5.2 innings, only giving up five hits and walking none. He got a ton of soft contact from hitters in the form of groundouts and pop-ups. He did strike out two, but it was the weak balls-in-play that got him into the sixth without giving up a run. With Rogers doing his part on the mound, the bats were able to go to work and build a nice lead for Buffalo in the game. RJ Schreck got the scoring started for the Bisons in the third inning with an RBI single that scored Ryan McCarty. He would have a big game, as he added two more RBI in the fifth with another single. William Simoneit extended the lead in the sixth with a home run, his fourth of the season. The blast was a moonshot, coming off the bat at a 40° launch angle. With a four-run lead, Matt Bowman came into the game in the eighth for Buffalo, and it all evaporated. He would give up two runs before giving way to Chase Lee, who allowed two inherited runners to score and a third run, all via a three-run home run. In the bottom half of the inning, the long ball saved Buffalo, with both Josh Rivera and Je'Von Ward launching solo home runs. They took back the lead by one, and Lee would finish up the ninth without allowing anyone else to cross home, giving Buffalo the 6-5 win. May 31: On Sunday, Max Scherzer made a rehab start with Buffalo, bringing a lot of anticipation and hope with him. The big league club desperately needs pitching, and he can provide it once he is done with his rehab assignment. This start went smoothly for him; he threw three innings, didn't allow a hit, only walked two, and struck out four. His fastball ranged between 92 and 94 mph; he is working to regain the velocity from being on the shelf for so long. He would depart the game with the lead, after RJ Schreck, Willie MacIver, and Josh Kasevich all had RBI base knocks in the bottom of the third inning. In the fifth, Devereaux Harrison would give up three runs to tie the game up, but MacIver and Kasevich combined to score two in the bottom half of the inning. The runs came on MacIver's RBI single and Kasevich's sacrifice fly. Nate Garkow had trouble in the sixth and gave one run back. In the seventh, the bullpen imploded further, Conor Larkin came in with two men on and drilled the first batter he faced to load the bases up. The next batter he faced would put the game out of reach, as Liover Peguero hit a grand slam. Lehigh took Sunday's game 8-5, with Buffalo now falling to three games under .500. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 26-22 Series vs Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees) May 30: Saturday wasn't a good day for hitting between New Hampshire and Somerset. The Fisher Cats were stifled by Patriots pitcher Kyle Carr, who would go six innings and struck out 10. New Hampshire managed just one earned run off of him, a catcher's interference and an error led to a two-run double from Jace Bohrofen in the first. Then, an Aaron Parker home run in the fourth gave New Hampshire a three-run lead. It didn't last, though, as three RBI singles from Somerset tied the game in the bottom of the inning. A wild pitch in the seventh inning ended up allowing the winning run to score for Somerset. New Hampshire lost this one 4-3. May 31: Jay Harry got the scoring started in the third inning of the Sunday finale between New Hampshire and Somerset. He hit an RBI single to the shortstop in the third inning. Sean Keys would put the Fisher Cats up two with a home run to left field in the fourth. In the fifth, Somerset got a home run from Jace Avina to cut the lead in half, and then an RBI single in the seventh tied the game. Jace Bohrofen hit a double down the right field line in the eighth for New Hampshire to take the lead. They would hold on and win this low-scoring game, 3-2. High-A Vancouver Season Record: 21-30 Series vs Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants) May 30: It was the return of the King as Johnny King bounced back from his worst start of the season with one of his best. He tied his season high strikeout total, while only walking two batters and allowing three hits without allowing a single run. The offense also got it going for King, as Jacob Sharp hit his fifth homer of the season in the first to give the Canadians a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Manuel Beltre added onto the lead with an RBI single in the fourth inning, and Dub Gleed broke it open in the sixth inning with a three-run homer to make it 5-0 for Vancouver. Holden Wilkerson replaced King in the sixth as he usually does, and had a scare in the seventh, almost giving the lead back with a four-run inning from the Emeralds. He was able to close it out in the eighth and ninth to give himself his first save and the Canadians the series lead. May 31: The Canadians had a chance to win the series with Nolan Perry taking the mound, but he was human for the first time in a few weeks. He gave off a leadoff single, then a homer immediately after to make it 2-0 for Eugene. He pitched well heading into the fourth inning, where a bunt single and a throwing error allowed another run to score, becoming the most runs Perry has given up this season in a single game. Jack Eshleman made his first appearance for Vancouver, replacing Perry in the fifth inning and getting the first three batters he saw out. He gave up a solo shot in the sixth inning, but then successfully completed his second frame. The Canadians finally answered with an RBI groundout from Dub Gleed, allowing J.R. Freethy to score, but that was it for the Canadians, as they lost the last game of the season for a series tie. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 20-31 Series vs Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia Phillies) May 30: The Dunedin Blue Jays almost came back from a 4-0 deficit off the back of a three-hit night from Blaine Bullard. Jake Bloss had a shaky start on rehab assignment, giving up a two-run single in the first, and homers in the second and third innings. Bullard hit a double in the fourth and was driven in by Sam Shaw to give the D-Jays one run, and in the fifth inning delivered with a two-run single to make it three to four, and then promptly stole his 19th bag of the season. Shaw had a double of his own in the sixth inning, and Aldo Gaxiola drove him home to even it up in the seventh inning. Gaxiola moved up to second on a passed ball, then David Beckles drove him in to take the lead. Jack Nedrow, unfortunately, couldn’t keep the lead as with two outs in the sixth inning, he allowed a single, then a double to Will Vierling to make it an even game. Nedrow allowed another single to give up the lead, and it gave him his first loss of the season. May 31: Shane Bieber returned on rehab assignment in Dunedin, and he was able to take the mound and showed solid stuff despite poor results. He gave up five runs in 2.1 innings, but his velo was similar to pre-injury, and he pounded the zone. The Jays were only able to get one run on a Jake Cook RBI, and despite scoreless outings from Blake Purnell and Diego Dominguez, the offense couldn’t score anything else. Angel Obando made his Single-A debut and gave up a solo homer, which made it a 6-1 game. This was another loss to the Threshers, who won five out of the six games of this series. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 16-4 May 30: It was a very pitcher-oriented game between the FCL Blue Jays and FCL Tigers on Saturday. The Tigers took the early lead in the bottom of the first, when Jack Penney hit a two-run homer off of Miguel Pantoja. Pascual Archila hit a home run of his own in the third inning to cut the lead in half for the Blue Jays. David Guzman tied the game an inning later with an RBI single, and Andres Arias launched his third home run of the year to take the lead in the sixth. The Blue Jays got to the final out of the game, but Nolan McCarthy crushed a three-run walk-off home run for the Tigers team, as the Blue Jays squad lost this one 5-3. June 1: Seojun Moon got the start in this one for the FCL Blue Jays against the FCL Tigers again. Moon would hold the Tigers hitless until the fourth inning and ended up finishing the frame to give him four innings pitched, only allowing the one hit, one walk, no runs, and striking out five hitters. The FCL Blue Jays took the lead in the first inning, when Sam White singled, CJ Stubbs doubled, Cade Doughty singled, and then Hedbert Perez singled. The two runs that scored would be the entire offense for both teams in the game. The FCL Jays ended with eight hits, and the Tigers squad had just three. The FCL Blue Jays won 2-0. DSL Blue Jays Blue Season Record: 0-1 June 1: Blue Jays Blue opened their season down on the island Monday. Roberto Castellanos pitched four innings, struck out four, and gave up four runs on seven hits. Castellanos is a 19-year-old pitcher who signed with the Blue Jays this past offseason during the J15 International Signing Period. Samuel Orellana had two singles, and Ruben Sanchez drew four walks. Isay Veras doubled home a run and Daniel Dominguez scored two on a single in the ninth for BJB. It wasn't enough for them to make a comeback, though, as they fell in game one of their season, 7-5. DSL Blue Jays Red Season Record: 0-1 June 1: Ayberson Ortega hit a single in the second inning to left field for the first hit of the DSL Blue Jays Red (BJR) team's season, in the opening game on Monday. He was quickly erased from the bases on a double play, though. In the third inning, a Gabriel Porras single was followed by two walks to load the bases for the BJR team. A flyout would end their threat this time. In the fifth inning, a wild pitch and a single would bring in three runs for the DSL Tigers1 team. That would be all the scoring on the day, as the BJR team ended up losing 3-0. View full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (May 23-May 25) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Syracuse Mets (New York Mets): 2-4 Season Record: 25-26 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies): 1-4 Season Record: 23-19 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Spokane (Colorado Rockies): 2-4 Season Record: 18-27 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Minnesota Twins): 4-2 Season Record: 19-26 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 3-2 Season Record: 14-3 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 24-25 Series vs Syracuse Mets (New York Mets) May 23: Postponed May 24, Game 1: It was another doubleheader for Buffalo on Sunday afternoon, and at least the weather cooperated for the teams to get both games in. Grant Rogers was on the mound for the first game, and he would take care of most of the innings for Buffalo. He made it through the fifth, but again pitched mostly to contact. At this point in his career, a contact pitcher is really all he ever will be. He makes it work for most starts, just like he did on Sunday. He allowed three runs, only two earned, while only giving up four hits and one walk. Syracuse got to him in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI single, then again in the bottom of the fifth on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly. During this game, he threw a heavy dose of sinkers and splitters, which drives the high contact rates against him. Luckily for Buffalo, RJ Schreck was in the lineup, and he really carried the bats. Schreck got the scoring started for Buffalo in the first inning, a missile that shot off the bat at 107.2 mph and went over the right field fence for a solo home run. The blast was Schreck's sixth of the season and went 372 feet. In the third inning, it was Schreck again. This time, it was a three-run home run. With the lead at just one in the sixth inning, Schreck was yet again in the middle of the action for Buffalo. He walked and then came in to score a few batters later on Willie MacIver's sacrifice fly. Je'Von Ward then added another run with an RBI single. In the bottom half of the sixth, Ryan Clifford got ahold of a pitch from Brendan Cellucci to lead off the inning with a solo home run. It was the closest Syracuse would get, as Hayden Juenger came into the game in the ninth and recorded two strikeouts on his way to earning the save. Buffalo won 6-4. May 24, Game 2: For Buffalo, the bats decided that their performance in game one of the doubleheader was enough and stayed holstered for the entirety of the second contest. They only recorded two hits, singles from William Simoneit and Ryan McCarty. While the bats played peekaboo, the pitching was locked in. Austin Voth got the start and pitched into the fourth inning. He only surrendered one run, walked none, and gave up just three hits. Brendon Little came into the game in the fifth inning and pitched two perfect frames, six up and six down. Syracuse only had three hits in the game, scoring their lone run in the fourth inning on Ryan Clifford's 10th home run of the season. Buffalo fell 1-0. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 23-19 Series vs Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) May 23: Jackson Wentworth was on the mound for the Saturday game between New Hampshire and Hartford. He pitched well this time around, going five innings, only allowing one run, giving up four hits, and striking out two. New Hampshire took the lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single to center field from Sean Keys, on which Arjun Nimmala and Jace Bohrofen scored. In the top of the second, Dyan Jorge brought in a run for Hartford on a sacrifice fly. That is where the game remained until the ninth inning. Conner Capel launched a game-tying home run to right field. Then, GJ Hill smacked an RBI single to right field, which gave Hartford a one-run lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Jay Harry would knock a single to left field, but he would be stranded on base when Jackson Hornung grounded out to end the game. New Hampshire lost 3-2. May 24: Postponed High-A Vancouver Season Record: 18-27 Series vs Spokane (Colorado Rockies) May 23: With the series tied up two apiece, the Canadians had a chance to win the series with two straight wins. Danny Thompson Jr. was once again the starter for Vancouver, but he had a tough third inning, giving up a walk and three hits, which resulted in three earned runs. The Canadians offense tied it up, scoring two runs in the fourth off a Maddox Latta single and a Carter Cunningham sac fly. Then Alexis Hernandez continued his hot hitting, knocking in J.R. Freethy with a double. The game went back and forth as Jay Schueler replaced Thompson, and gave up two solo home runs in the sixth inning, but the Canadians came back with Freethy’s first homer of the year in the seventh and Hernandez's second RBI double of the night. An error from Peyton Williams turned into the third homer given up by Schueler on the night, and Reece Wissinger allowed two doubles, leading to two more runs scoring for Spokane. He then gave up another homer in the eighth inning, which was the fourth homer given up by the bullpen on the night. Down four in the ninth inning, Williams hit a double with no outs, but all Vancouver could do was drive him in with a groundout, spoiling a chance at another comeback victory. May 24: It was Johnny King day, and it seemed very likely that Vancouver could earn the series split with who was on the mound. Alexis Hernandez is a doubles machine, as he hit his third in two games to give Vancouver an early lead. Things did not go to plan in the bottom of the inning, as King raised his ERA to 2.60, not being able to get out of the first inning and giving up five runs with three walks and four hits. The Canadians slowly clawed their way back, with Hayden Gilliland recording an RBI in the second. A wild pitch made it 5-3 in the third inning, and Gilliland had a solo shot in the fourth inning to make it a one-run lead. J.R. Freethy tied it up in the fifth inning with a double, and then the Canadians took the lead when Spokane’s third baseman threw it away on a grounder to third on a throw to second. Holden Wilkerson came in after Carson Pierce replaced King, and he pitched well, going four innings with four strikeouts, but in the sixth inning, he took the loss as he gave up three hits and two runs, which ultimately became the last runs of the game as the Canadians could not get on base after that. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 19-26 Series vs Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Minnesota Twins) May 23: The Jays’ plundering of independent ball seems to have been paying off, as Jack Nedrow had his third straight great appearance in a row, with his second straight quality start. The offense supported his good start, as they took advantage of some shaky defense. Yorman Licourt got an RBI single in the bottom of the second, then scored in the bottom of the fourth on a dropped third strike. The Jays got their third run of the night on a passed ball, then their fourth unanswered run with an Eric Snow single. Nedrow gave up the first runs of his professional career in the seventh inning with a two-run homer, but Eduar Gonzalez came in and continued pitching well with two scoreless innings. JoJo Parker gave the Jays much-needed insurance with a two-run single in the eighth, which ended up mattering, as in the ninth, Lluveres Severino gave up what would have been the game-tying runs without Parker’s clutch hitting. May 24: Jake Bloss looked great in his first game back in Dunedin on a rehab assignment. The righty sat 95.8 mph on his fastball, topping out at 97 mph. He went four strong innings, with his only blemish being a solo shot in the fourth inning. The Jays were able to get a run in on a balk in the first inning, so the game was tied. The Jays' bullpen was solid, as Ramon Suarez kept it tied into the sixth inning. Blaine Bullard then hit a two-run homer, scoring Jake Cook and giving the Jays a two-run lead. Franly Urena gave up a run on an RBI groundout in the eighth inning, but Jack Eshleman got save number six to shut the door and give the Jays another win. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 14-3 May 23: Miguel Pantoja was on the mound to begin the Saturday FCL game between the Blue Jays' and Tigers' squads. He again went over four innings, this time 4.1. He gave up three hits, three runs, a walk, and struck out two. The big hit for the Tigers was a home run in the fourth by Cris Rodriguez. It was another good outing from Pantoja, one of the youngest players in Rookie ball. On offense, the top of the order did the damage for the Blue Jays. Angel Guzman tripled in a run in the first inning and would score later himself on an RBI single from Franklin Rojas. Sam White would have a big day, going 3-for-3, with two singles, three RBI, a home run, and a stolen base. His home run in the bottom of the sixth scored two runs and gave the Blue Jays team the lead for good, as they went on to win 5-4. May 26: Shane Bieber started the Monday FCL game between the Blue Jays and the Yankees. He went two innings, allowing just three hits, and didn't give up a run. He would strike out three batters and not walk a batter. Seojun Moon came in next, but didn't have a good start in his first game out of the bullpen. After a double and two walks, Moon would allow a run on a wild pitch and two more on an RBI single. He would settle in and almost get through two innings overall. An error would extend the inning, and he finished his day with another walk and a hit-by-pitch. Overall, he seemed to be a bit wild on the day. The Blue Jays team took the lead in the second inning on an Andres Arias home run. In the fifth inning, Brock Tibbitts would cap off a five-run inning with a three-run home run to right field. The Blue Jays team would win again, this time 8-3. View full article

Here we are, a little more than one month into the minor league season, and we have made our first in-season update to the Jays Centre Top 20 Prospect rankings. It has been a roaring start for some and a slow crawl for others. Let's check out a few of our prospects that moved up and down the rankings, as well as a couple of new entries to the list altogether. Blue Jays Top 20 Prospects: Key Risers No. 3 Johnny King, SP - Vancouver Canadians Johnny King has been a force to be reckoned with down in High A for the Vancouver Canadians. At just 19 years old, he has been slowly ramping up his pitch count and innings over the first month of the season, but those innings have been fantastic. He currently has an ERA of 0.81 to go with a sparkling batting average against of just .130. He is not allowing many hits at all, just 10 in seven games and 22.1 innings pitched. He is still excelling with some great swing and miss numbers, striking out 35.9% of hitters, but the walks have seen a jump up to 15.2% so far this season. Fastball command may be a key factor in the walk rate rising, and it could be because his fastball now sits in the mid-to-upper 90s at times, which is a great sign for his overall stuff. He just needs to control it more frequently, which he should, with more experience. No. 10 Sean Keys, 1B/3B - New Hampshire Fisher Cats Sean Keys has taken the Double-A world by storm in the first month-plus of the season. At one point, he was the hottest and best hitter at the level, launching 10 home runs in just 36 games played, to go with a slash line of .290/.413/.581 and a wRC+ of 155. He has been getting on base, taking walks, hitting for power, and limiting the whiffs some. He has a walk rate of 12.7% and a strikeout rate of 26.0%. If he keeps going at this pace, he could see the bump up to Triple-A Buffalo sooner rather than later. No. 8 Yohendrick Piñango, OF - Buffalo Bisons/Toronto Blue Jays Yohendrick Piñango was enjoying a solid beginning to his year at Triple-A Buffalo, slashing .288/.370/.488, with three home runs, two stolen bases, and a wRC+ of 122 over 22 games. His jump in the rankings, though, largely comes from his first 16 games as a Toronto Blue Jay. He has hit .333/.373/.438, launching one home run with three walks and just six strikeouts. There may not be enough room in the Blue Jays’ outfield for playing time when everyone is healthy, but he is certainly making a case for more at-bats at the moment. Blue Jays Top 20 Prospects: Key Fallers Landen Maroudis, SP - Vancouver Canadians Landen Maroudis has actually pitched well at times this season, and his velocity has started to return to its 2024 level. Over eight games and 27.1 innings pitched, he has a 4.61 ERA and a 3.93 FIP. His walk rate is down considerably this season at 9.6%, but his strikeout rate is only 20.8%. He has been getting outs, but he needs to see his swing and miss stuff tick back up. Brandon Barriera, SP - Dunedin Blue Jays Brandon Barriera had put together a couple of good starts before the injury bug again landed him on the IL. The numbers weren't great as a whole this season (5.29 ERA, 5.43 FIP), but four of his last five games saw him give up no runs or one run. Hopefully, he returns soon and gets back in a groove on the mound. Yeuni Munoz, OF - Released Yeuni Munoz didn't play a lot of games with the Blue Jays organization due to injuries, but he did show a good ability to hit the ball hard and often. Toronto released the outfielder before the season. Blue Jays Top 20 Prospects: Newcomers No. 17 Nolan Perry, SP - Dunedin Blue Jays/Vancouver Canadians Nolan Perry began the season with Single-A Dunedin and has been making up for lost time quickly. He missed the 2025 season with Tommy John surgery, but you wouldn't know it by watching him this year; he has been one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues. Over five games and 22 innings with Dunedin, he pitched to a 1.71 ERA and 2.50 FIP, with a strikeout rate of 41% and a walk rate of just 7.7%. Single-A hitters couldn't get much contact against him, and when they did, it wasn't very good either, with his batting average against coming in at .114. After a promotion to High-A Vancouver, Perry hasn't lost a step, as his numbers have gotten even better. In two games, he has pitched 10 innings with 18 strikeouts (47% strikeout rate), only allowing one run (0.90 ERA). This season, Perry has been using a deep pitch mix when he attacks hitters and does so with a good deal of command on all of his pitches. The fastball is in the mid-90s and occasionally has gotten into the upper 90s, with good ride up in the zone. The pitch comes with a very good amount of induced vertical break as well (averaging 18 inches at Dunedin). His slider and curveball are fantastic pitches with sharp break and tunnel well off of his four-seam fastball. Perry also has above-average extension on his pitches at 6.5 feet. His fourth pitch, a changeup, needs some more work, but it could be a good pitch down the line as well. Perry currently ranks in the 92nd percentile or better in strikeout rate (98th), K-BB% (98th), BAA (97th), SwStr% (94th), WHIP (99th), ERA (93rd), FIP (92nd), and xFIP (97th). This is all in his first season back after Tommy John surgery. Assuming he keeps improving and his command gets even better, we could see him make the jump up to Double-A New Hampshire at some point and cement himself as one of the best pitching prospects in the Blue Jays organization. No. 20 Dylan Watts, SP - Dunedin Blue Jays Dylan Watts has pitched in eight games for Dunedin and has thrown 23.1 innings. Currently, he has a 4.63 ERA and a 4.57 FIP, with a 26.2% strikeout rate, a 9.7% walk rate, and a batting average against of .272. Watts has five pitches he can control effectively, and that deep pitch mix has done well at generating swing and misses so far this season. He has a mid-90s four-seam fastball, which has great ride up in the zone, with 17.5 inches of induced vertical break and 10 inches of horizontal break. His sinker can be the reverse of his four-seam fastball, with more horizontal break than induced vertical break. His strikeout pitches are his cutter and changeup, coming in at whiff rates above 40% and 60%. His last pitch is a slider, and it generates a high percentage of whiffs, but he currently doesn't throw it much. Look for Watts to keep working on his pitch mix and finding a way to minimize contact from hitters. If he can get into a good spot and string together some better games, he could get the bump up to High-A Vancouver come June or July when the next wave of promotions is likely to happen. View full article

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (May 16-May 18) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox): 4-2: Season Record: 23-22 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Reading Fighting Phils (Philadelphia Phillies): 3-4 Season Record: 22-15 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Everett AquaSox (Seattle Mariners): 3-3 Season Record: 16-23 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Tampa Tarpons (New York Yankees): 2-4 Season Record: 15-24 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 4-1 Season Record: 11-1 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 23-22 Series vs Worcester Red Sox May 16: Buffalo got a little bit of a gift on Saturday, as it seemed the good karma they have built up by enduring an endless amount of postponed games the last two seasons was cashed in. Josh Fleming was on the mound and was excellent. Over five innings, he kept Worcester to only one extra-base hit and three singles, while only walking one. At the plate, Buffalo had the power swing going early in this one. In the second inning, Josh Rivera launched his sixth home run of the season, a solo shot to left field. The blast had an exit velocity of 103.1 mph and went over the fence, landing 391 feet from home plate. Two batters later, Je'Von Ward smacked his second home run in as many games. His was nearly identical off of the bat, 103.9 mph, and it went 383 feet. After a 31-minute rain delay, the game was called after Worcester hit in the top of the fifth, giving Buffalo the 2-0 win and moving them to two games above .500. May 17: After a decent streak of games where the bats couldn't miss the ball, Buffalo went cold on Sunday and didn't get anything going at the plate. They were able to get three singles and four doubles, but nothing would come of it, as they were shut out in the game. Josh Kasevich had one of the hits and one of the walks, raising his batting average for the season to .293. Austin Voth pitched rather well, throwing five innings, only surrendering four baserunners (three hits and one walk). He did give up one run, a solo blast in the third to Nathan Hickey. Pat Gallagher came in for Voth to start the sixth inning, and things went south fast for Buffalo. Gallagher coughed up three runs on a single, triple, and a double to the three batters he faced, handing it off to Hayden Juenger. Juenger would not fare much better, giving up another run on an RBI single, before he loaded the bases up with a walk to Hickey. Braiden Ward would ground out and let Buffalo off the hook of a massive inning. With Buffalo down 4-0, they would go down in order the remainder of the game, 12 up and 12 down. The loss brought the Bisons back to the edge of .500 for the season. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 22-15 Series vs Reading Fighting Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) May 16: The Saturday tilt between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Reading Fightin Phils was one to forget for New Hampshire. From the start of the game, things went south for the Fisher Cats. Starting pitcher Jackson Wentworth only went one inning and gave up an unearned run. After that the relievers were pile driven into submission. Reading ended the game with 22 hits, seven walks, and the Fisher Cats had three errors. That is 32 baserunners. On the other side, New Hampshire couldn't get on base, only managing four singles and one walk. New Hampshire lost this one 20-0. May 17, Game 1: In the first game of the Sunday doubleheader, Chris McElvain was on the mound for New Hampshire against Reading and had one of his best starts. He went six innings, only allowed two hits, didn't give up a run, and only walked two batters. He struck out four hitters. Conor Larkin came on for the seventh and pitched a clean inning with a strikeout to finish off the seven-inning shutout. The New Hampshire offense was not its usual dominating self, but they did manage five hits and two runs. Victor Arias had an RBI single in the third, and Eddie Micheletti Jr. launched his sixth home run of the year in the sixth inning. New Hampshire would win game one 2-0. Game 2: Game two of the doubleheader was just as lacking in the hitting department for both teams. New Hampshire managed just four hits, and only two hitters (Jay Harry and Nick Goodwin) collected those four hits. Goodwin had an RBI single and an RBI double, with Victor Arias adding an RBI groundout. It wasn't enough, as Reading managed five runs on five hits, and New Hampshire lost 5-3 High-A Vancouver Season Record: 16-23 Series vs Everett AquaSox (Seattle Mariners) May 16, Game 1: Landen Maroudis had his first blow-up start for the Canadians, as he gave up eight hits, a walk and six runs in a little over three innings of work. That raised his season ERA to 4.61 and earned him his first loss of the season. The offense tried to catch up, with Tucker Toman leading the charge with a three-RBI night, but the AquaSox got up to a 7-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning after Reece Wissinger replaced Maroudis and gave up a two-run double. An error from Peyton Williams made the lead even bigger in the sixth inning, and although the Canadians scored two more runs off of a bases-loaded walk from Williams and a sac fly from Dub Gleed, that was the closest it got, as they couldn’t hit Brock Moore, who took the win for Everett. Game 2: Gilberto Batista started for the Canadians in the second game of the doubleheader and gave up an RBI double in the first inning with two outs. Kendry Chirinos tied it up with an RBI double of his own, and it remained tied until the fourth inning, when Batista’s shaky command led to a bases-loaded walk to lose the lead for Vancouver. Kelena Sauer took over in the fifth inning for Vancouver and faced trouble himself, with a leadoff triple setting up the inning for failure. He allowed two runs in two innings, while giving up three hits and two walks, despite striking out four batters. Matt Scannell’s first homer of the season brought the lead to two, but Jonathan Todd gave up two more runs in the seventh, for another disappointing Vancouver loss. May 17: The Canadians were able to turn it around on the last game of the series, as an Alexis Hernandez solo shot and a two-RBI Peyton Williams double made it an early 3-0 lead. Daniel Guerra’s newfound velocity has led him to be a breakout pitching prospect for the Jays, as he had his second double-digit strikeout game of the season. He allowed a single run in the third on a triple to Josh Caron but was able to limit damage other than that. Danny Thompson Jr. relieved Guerra in the fourth inning, and although he immediately gave up a solo shot, he also pitched well despite some shaky command, striking out four batters in 2.1 innings. The Canadians' offense also took those runs right back, as after Peyton Williams hit a triple, Carter Cunningham hit a two-run homer to bring the lead back to three. Another two-run homer, this time from Manuel Beltre, gave the Canadians their seventh run of the game and gave them insurance for a shaky Trace Baker appearance, who came in after Juanmi Vasquez pitched two scoreless innings, allowing the Canadians to win at least the last game of the series. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 15-24 Series vs Tampa Tarpons (New York Yankees) May 16: The Dunedin Blue Jays got 12 hits on the night, but were outhit by the Tarpons in a near blowout. Eric Snow got it going for the Jays with an early RBI single to score Blaine Bullard, but starter Dylan Watts gave up the first run for the Tarpons in the first after two errors were committed in a row. Watts gave up four singles in the second inning to allow another two runs. The Jays were able to get to Henry Lalane again in the fifth inning with two RBI doubles from Snow and Juan Sanchez, to even up the game. Eduar Gonzalez replaced Watts in the fourth inning, and in the fifth inning loaded the bases, before walking in a run. Franly Urena was able to replace him and get out of the inning, however. A David Beckles double tied it up once again for the Jays, but Urena gave up four runs in the seventh inning, and Luis Victorino gave up two more runs, putting the Jays in a big hole that they couldn’t recover from. May 17: Jack Nedrow’s second professional appearance and first start was another scoreless one; this time, Nedrow had his first quality start and first win. Dariel Ramon was able to get on through a fielding error to the pitcher and stole second, and Jake Cook moved him over to third on a single. Blaine Bullard grounded into a force out, but Ramon was able to score. Bullard stole second base and after Parker struck out, Juan Sanchez just missed a homer off the top of the wall for a booming RBI double to give the Jays a two-run lead. The Tarpons could not touch Nedrow, who only gave up four hits and a walk all day, and after he was replaced by Edgar Gallegos, they still couldn’t get anything going off him either, as he went three innings with only one hit given up for his first save of the season. Aldo Gaxiola had the cherry on top with a two-run shot in the top of the ninth inning to end the series off with a bang. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 11-1 May 16: In the Saturday FCL matchup for the Blue Jays squad, Seojun Moon was on the mound to start against the FCL Yankees. Moon pitched well again, going two innings and allowing just an infield single, to go with three walks, and no runs. He struck out three batters. Miguel Pantoja came in after him and was equally as good. He threw three innings, allowing just one hit; he struck out six, didn't give up a run, but did surrender four walks. On the offensive side, Sam White drove in a run in the first, as did Brock Tibbitts. A couple of bases-loaded walks, a wild pitch, and a Kennew Blanco single put the Blue Jays team up six in the sixth. The Yankees got things going in the bottom of the seventh, putting up six runs to push the game into extra innings. In the seventh, Tim Piasentin doubled in a run, Owen Gregg tripled in three runs, and Angel Guzman had an RBI single. The Blue Jays won this one, 11-7. May 18: Jake Bloss started this one for the FCL Blue Jays and pitched 2.1 clean innings, only allowing one hit and striking out three batters. Tim Piasentin drove in a run when the Yankees team committed an error in the second inning. A double steal for the Yankees tied the game in the third inning. Sam Shaw would quickly break the tie with a two-run blast to right field. In the sixth, five runs would score for the Blue Jays, this time on an Owen Gregg single, a Brock Tibbitts single, and a Pascual Archila bases-loaded walk. The Blue Jays would go on to win this one, 8-4. View full article

Lock in for Vladito tonight

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been better than these players so far this year Shohei Ohtani Kyle Tucker Gunnar Henderson Fernando Tatis Jr. Cal Raleigh Ronald Acuna Jr. Just found it hilarious lol

Blue Jays Affiliate Overview (May 9-May 11) Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Series vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies): 4-2 Season Record: 19-20 Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Series vs Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox): 4-1 Season Record: 19-11 High-A Vancouver Canadians Series vs Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants): 2-4 Season Record: 13-20 Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays Series vs Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh Pirates): 2-4 Season Record: 13-20 FCL Blue Jays Week Record: 5-0 Season Record: 7-0 Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Season Record: 19-20 Series Opponent: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies) May 9: RJ Schreck continued his torrid stretch in May, collecting four more hits on his way to leading Buffalo to a victory Saturday. He smashed his second home run of the series with Lehigh Valley and hit another double, bringing that total to five for the week as well. Buffalo kicked the scoring off with two bases-loaded walks in the second inning, one each by Carlos Mendoza and William Simoneit. In the third inning, Josh Kasevich added a run with an RBI single, scoring Jonatan Clase. Then, after a Charles McAdoo walk, Riley Tirotta smoked a ball 108.1 mph over the left field fence for a three-run home run. The lead didn't last long, as CJ Van Eyk coughed up four unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning and Devereaux Harrison surrendered three more runs in the fifth. With Buffalo now trailing by a run, Josh Rivera squeaked a ball over the left field fence at just 93.1 mph for a solo shot. The next inning, Schreck came to the plate and pummeled a ball 104.1 mph for a two-run home run and gave Buffalo the lead for good. Tanner Andrews pitched the ninth and struck out two. Earning the save and the win for Buffalo, 9-7. May 10: On Sunday, Buffalo put an exclamation point on the week-long series with Lehigh Valley, as the bats were sizzling hot. Four players had multiple hits, and three of them had at least three hits, including RJ Schreck. He will surely be disappointed when Buffalo leaves Lehigh. He tallied 15 hits in the series, six doubles, two home runs, and 16 RBI. In the game Sunday, he had four of the RBI, one on an RBI single in the first inning, two from a two-RBI double in the fifth, and the last one on an RBI single in the eighth. While Schreck was a big performer in the game, Willie MacIver had an even bigger day. He had himself a 4-for-5 day, with four RBI, a double, and a home run. The home run was a three-run blast that went just over 400 feet to right-center field. Ismael Munguia stayed hot at the plate as well, collecting three hits in the game and raising his batting average at Triple-A to .359. On the mound, Josh Fleming pitched five innings of one-run ball and handed it over to the bullpen with a big lead. The bullpen did its job and finished the game, only allowing one unearned run. Brendon Little continues to push for a promotion back to the big league club. He pitched another scoreless inning and struck out one. Buffalo ran away with this game and won 11-2, pulling to within one game of their kryptonite .500 record. Double-A New Hampshire Season Record: 19-11 Series vs. Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) May 9: Postponed May 10: In the Sunday finale between New Hampshire and Portland, the Fisher Cats got to see one of the top breakout starting pitchers in the minor leagues, Anthony Eyanson. New Hampshire struggled with him in his Double-A debut, only managing four hits off of him in four innings. Victor Arias did launch a home run in the second inning. Jace Bohrofen added a two-run home run in the sixth, and Jorge Burgos brought in a run with a groundout in the seventh. Franklin Arias and Brooks Brannon carried the Portland offense to a big day, as the Fisher Cats lost 12-4. High-A Vancouver Season Record: 13-20 Series vs Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants) May 9, Game 1: The Canadians had a doubleheader against the Emeralds, and Dub Gleed got them on the board in the first at-bat of the game with a homer off of Yunior Marte. Landen Maroudis was the starter for this game and dealt with shaky command, walking four batters in four innings. He allowed the Emeralds to tie it up in the second inning, but in the fourth inning, the Canadians pulled ahead with a J.R. Freethy two-RBI single. Maroudis had a scoreless fourth inning, but in the fifth inning walked the leadoff batter and was pulled for Eminen Flores. Flores walked the next batter, then gave up a three-run homer to give the lead back to the Emeralds. Trace Baker struggled as well, as after a Maddox Latta error, he allowed three more runs to score, putting the Canadians down four. In the seventh inning, Peyton Williams walked and Alexis Hernandez hit his first homer of the season to bring it back within two runs, but the Canadians couldn’t capitalize, losing the first game of the doubleheader. May 9, Game 2: The offense sputtered for the Canadians after a relatively high-scoring first game, as Vancouver only had four hits against the Emeralds. On the other hand, Gilberto Batista gave up five runs, with four of them coming in the second inning, as his ERA climbed to 8.46 on the season and he earned his second loss of the season. The Canadians got one run after Carter Cunningham tripled and Manuel Beltre then drove him in with a single, but that was all they could do against the domineering Emeralds. May 10: The Canadians put up a fight in the last game of the series. Although Daniel Guerra struggled for the first time this season, giving up seven runs in just over three innings, Vancouver didn’t give up. The Canadians were able to get a couple of runs in on a Hayden Gilliland double, but were down 12-2 after Juanmi Vasquez gave up five more runs once Guerra was taken out. Carter Cunningham started the comeback with his seventh homer of the year, scoring Williams and himself, and after a Gleed sac fly in the ninth, Alexis Hernandez hit his second homer in two games to bring it within four runs. Sadly, the lead was insurmountable, and the Canadians fell short once again against Eugene. Single-A Dunedin Season Record: 13-20 Series vs Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh Pirates) May 9: After a dominating start in his first rehab game, Silvano Hechavarria could not get out of the first inning. He got two quick outs immediately, but then allowed a hit, walk and another hit for the first run of the game. Juan Sanchez then committed a fielding error, and Hechavarria lost all control, with three wild pitches in a row leading to four runs scored in the first. Diego Dominguez replaced him and got out of the first inning, but in the second inning, disaster struck once again for Dunedin. Dominguez allowed the first four hitters on base, and after an RBI groundout, allowed a three-run homer for another big inning for Bradenton. The Jays got on board with a Dariel Ramon double leading to a JoJo Parker RBI single, but the Marauders got that run back the inning after. Yorman Licourt hit a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth, but it was much too little and too late. May 10: Dylan Watts took the bump for the last game of the series and didn’t have his best stuff or command. He allowed two hits and a walk right away in the first inning, with the Jays going down early. Yorman Licourt answered back in the second inning, however, as the Cuban outfielder hit a 102.1 mph homer to left center to take the lead. Watts allowed his second run of the game right after in the third inning, as he walked three more batters and allowed a game-tying single. Once again, the Jays got the run back; this time, Owen Gregg and Blaine Bullard got on base, and after Eric Snow moved the runners over, JoJo Parker hit a sac fly. Franly Urena and Carson Myers pitched well in relief for the Jays after the lead was taken back, as they combined for five scoreless innings while striking out five batters. The Jays also got some insurance runs, as they hit three doubles in a row from Bullard, Snow, and Parker to make it 5-2. Jack Eshleman got his fifth save of the season despite allowing another run, but the Jays ended the series on a high note after struggling against Bradenton. FCL Blue Jays Season Record: 7-0 May 9: The FCL Blue Jays faced off against the FCL Yankees on Saturday. It was the minor league debut on the mound for Toronto Blue Jays prospect Seojun Moon. He had a shaky first inning, giving up a single and a walk, but gathered himself and finished the inning with three groundouts between the baserunners. In the second inning, Moon started strong, getting two strikeouts, one swinging and one looking, before a popout ended the inning and his debut. Next up was Miguel Pantoja, who fired off four innings and struck out six, only allowing two hits. On the offensive side of the ball, the Blue Jays took an early lead in the second inning on a Pascual Archila two-run single. A sacrifice fly from Sam White, a wild pitch, and a bases-loaded walk scored three more the next inning. A groundout and an error allowed two more to score for the Blue Jays in the seventh, as they went on to win 7-4. They had only managed four hits, but 10 walks (three by Tim Piasentin) carried them to victory. May 11: It was another banner day for the Toronto Blue Jays' FCL pitching on Monday. Four pitchers combined for nine innings of one-run ball, which was unearned. Giacomo Taschin went three innings with five strikeouts, and Deiker Pineda matched the five strikeouts and went two innings. On offense, the second innings saw the Blue Jays score three runs: one on a Kennew Blanco groundout, and then one each on RBI singles from Rafael Flores and Angel Guzman. Later in the game, Tim Piasentin added an RBI single, and so did Pascual Archila. The FCL Blue Jays would beat the FCL Phillies 7-1. View full article

Trey YesavageJohnny KingJoJo ParkerRicky TiedemannJuan SanchezGage StaniferArjun NimmalaYohendrick PinangoSean KeysBlaine BullardTim PiasentinDaniel GuerraDylan WattsNolan PerryLanden MaroudisBrandon BarrieraCharles McAdooSilvano HechavarriaJake CookAdrian Pinto