Brian Labude

There was no shortage of offense on display in the Blue Jays' minor league system over the past two days, but unfortunately, victories were still in short supply. CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 13-20 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 12-17 Vancouver Canadians: 13-16 Dunedin Blue Jays: 16-13 FCL Blue Jays: 1-2 DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS 05/07/25: Buffalo Bisons placed RHP Hayden Juenger on the 7-day injured list. 05/07/25: Buffalo Bisons activated 3B Damiano Palmegiani. 05/07/25: Buffalo Bisons activated RHP Dillon Tate. 05/07/25: Buffalo Bisons placed RHP Connor Overton on the 7-day injured list. 05/07/25: Toronto Blue Jays optioned RHP Dillon Tate to Buffalo Bisons. 05/07/25: Toronto Blue Jays optioned LF Alan Roden to Buffalo Bisons. 05/07/25: Toronto Blue Jays selected the contract of RHP Braydon Fisher from Buffalo Bisons. 05/07/25: Toronto Blue Jays recalled LF Jonatan Clase from Buffalo Bisons. 05/07/25: LHP Jimmy Burnette assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 05/07/25: New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated C Nicolas Deschamps. 05/07/25: LHP Jimmy Burnette assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 05/06/25: Buffalo Bisons placed RHP Jake Bloss on the 7-day injured list. 05/06/25: Buffalo Bisons released SS Michael Turconi. 05/06/25: Buffalo Bisons sent LHP Adam Macko on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays. 05/06/25: OF Andres Arias assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/06/25: Dunedin Blue Jays transferred OF Yeuni Munoz from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. 05/06/25: RHP Yondrei Rojas assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. 05/06/25: OF Devonte Brown assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 05/06/25: Buffalo Bisons sent LHP Adam Macko on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays. 05/06/25: RHP Ryan Burr assigned to FCL Blue Jays. 05/06/25: OF Andres Arias assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/06/25: New Hampshire Fisher Cats released RHP Ryan Boyer. 05/06/25: OF Devonte Brown assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 05/06/25: Vancouver Canadians transferred RHP Irv Carter to the Development List. 05/06/25: RHP Yondrei Rojas assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (2), St. Paul (6) - 5/6 Box Score The opening game of the series with the St. Paul Saints, like many games for Buffalo, started with the Bisons in a hole. In the bottom of the first inning, former Blue Jays prospect Austin Martin gave the lead to St. Paul by stealing home on a double steal with Carson McCusker. Buffalo would even things up at one run in the sixth inning on a Joey Loperfido RBI single to left field. McCusker would play villain again, hitting a home run in the bottom half of the inning to put Buffalo down two runs. In the eighth inning, St. Paul continued hitting home runs to score three more, putting Buffalo down by five. McCusker hit his second of the ballgame, putting things out of reach for Buffalo. The Bisons got a small threat going in the ninth inning, but a Jonatan Clase groundout would strand the bases loaded to end the game. Buffalo loses this one 6-2. Orelvis Martinez: 2-4, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 2B Easton Lucas: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Buffalo (7), St. Paul (8) - 5/7 Box Score Buffalo took the lead early in this one with an RBI single to left field from Will Wagner. The starter for Buffalo wasn't able to keep the lead, as St. Paul scored runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Anders Tolhurst would go four innings in the game and give up six hits and three runs, while striking out five batters. The Bisons would tie the score up in their half of the sixth inning on a Loperfido single, which added two runs. St. Paul would take the lead right back, though, with two runs of their own. With Buffalo down 5-4 in the top of the eighth inning, Loperfido would come back up to the plate and hit a clutch rocket home run that scored three, giving Buffalo the lead by two runs. Josh Walker came on to close the game for Buffalo, but Mike Ford stepped up to the plate and sent everyone home on a three-run blast to walk off the game, giving Buffalo the loss. Joey Loperfido: 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 SB Loperfido had probably his best two-game stretch at Buffalo this year to start the week. Some more good games like this one and a call back up to Toronto might be possible. Tommy Nance: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire/Hartford - 5/6 PPD New Hampshire (2), Hartford (1) F/7 - 5/7 Game 1 Box Score Wednesday was yet another doubleheader for New Hampshire, after the rainout on Tuesday. CJ Van Eyk took the mound for the Fisher Cats and put together arguably his best start of the 2025 season. After giving up a single to open the game to Cole Carrigg, he would strike out the next two batters with a caught stealing sandwiched between them. In the second inning, Hartford would draw a walk, but Van Eyk got a ground ball to end the inning on a double play. The New Hampshire bats got a threat going in the bottom of the third inning after Jay Harry walked and Jacob Sharp was hit by a pitch. RJ Schreck would cash the two runners in on a triple. Van Eyk had a shutdown inning to follow that up by striking out two more in the top of the fourth. The only blemish from Van Eyk came in the top of the seventh inning, when he walked Jose Torres. From there, Torres would advance to third on a wild pitch and score on a groundout by Dyan Jorge. It was a masterful seven-inning, complete game for Van Eyk, with the cherry on top being a win for New Hampshire, 2-1. RJ Schreck: 1-2, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 3B Schreck provided the game-winning hit in game one of the doubleheader. The triple marked his fifth extra-base hit in May and brought his average for the month to over .400. CJ Van Eyk: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Van Eyk has had a rough go of it to begin the season, having very inconsistent outings. He racked up nine swings and misses on the day, en route to six strikeouts. This game should propel him into the summer with a high bar to reach and surpass in his upcoming starts. New Hampshire (2), Hartford (4) F/7 - 5/7 - Game 2 Box Score Game two of the doubleheader on Wednesday was eerily similar to game one for the offense. The only scoring they could muster over the seven-inning shortened game was a double in the bottom of the third inning by Jace Bohrofen. His double would score Robert Brooks and Schreck and mark the end of any real threat during the game by New Hampshire. On the mound, Rafael Sanchez would get chased from the game after giving up three runs to Hartford in the top of the second inning and amassing 55 pitches. Hartford would add an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, on a single from Juan Guerrero that scored Cole Carrigg. New Hampshire mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh, with Alex De Jesus and Yohendrick Pinango getting on base by way of a single and a walk, respectively. Bohrofen tried to play hero, but struck out swinging to end the game, and Hartford won 4-2. Jace Bohrofen: 2-3, 2 RBI, 1 3B Bohrofen has had a slow start to May, hitting .091 for the month coming into Wednesday's doubleheader. With a couple of hits in game two, he might be back on track. Hunter Gregory: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K Gregory continues to be one of the best arms in the New Hampshire bullpen. With another scoreless outing, he brings his ERA down to 0.69 on the season. Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (2), Spokane (9) - 05/06 Box Score In their second series against Spokane, the Canadians took the first loss, as they couldn’t get anything going, and the pitching wasn’t sharp. Juaron Watts-Brown took his second loss of the season, only going 3.2 IP and giving up five earned runs, although he did strike out seven. Adrian Pinto started off the game with a lead-off homer, but Spokane hit a bunch of extra base hits off of Vancouver’s pitching, with Aidan Longwell hitting a double in the bottom of the first to tie it up. Jackson Hornung hit a triple to score the second and last run for the Canadians in the second, but Longwell struck again with a homer to tie it up. The bottom of the fourth was a disaster for Watts-Brown, as he allowed an RBI groundout to Tevin Tucker, and Caleb Hobson was a menace on the basepaths, stealing second and causing Watts-Brown to throw a wild pitch to allow a runner to score, and then stealing home himself to make it 5-2. Braylen Wimmer hit a two-RBI double against Julio Ortiz in the bottom of the sixth before Longwell made his mark with a third extra base hit, crushing a two-run homer to score Wimmer. Adrian Pinto: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR Pinto hit his fifth homer of the year and showed that heart matters more than height. Jonathan Todd: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Vancouver (7), Spokane (9) - 05/07 Box Score The game started off remarkably similarly to the previous one, as Pinto led off the game with another homer. Also similarly, Longwell continued to terrorize Vancouver pitching, with another extra-base hit in the series, this time an RBI double to tie the game up in the bottom of the same inning. Vancouver starter Kevin Miranda allowed two more runs to score in the bottom of the second before Sean Keys answered back in the third with an RBI single to make it 2-3. Miranda allowed another hard hit ball with Skyler Messinger hitting a homer in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead for Spokane. In the fifth, Keys came back, this time with a two-RBI double to tie it up, and Cutter Coffey had a double of his own to score Keys. Miranda let up another homer, this time allowing two runs to score in the fifth. Pinto hit his second homer of the night to answer back, scoring Je’Von Ward to give the Canadians the lead back before Aaron Munson and Chay Yeager lost the game with some walks and balks. Adrian Pinto: 3-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 HR, 1 2B Pinto continued his power surge with three extra-base hits on the night, taking the Canadians' homer lead and raising his OPS to .996. He’s been great as the leadoff hitter for the Canadians, and if his health holds, he could easily earn a promotion to New Hampshire sooner rather than later. Yondrei Rojas: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Rojas made his season debut and struck out two batters in an inning of work for the Canadians. Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (12), Fort Myers (13) - 05/06 Box Score This game was the definition of a slobberknocker, as Dunedin and Fort Myers traded runs. Fort Myers got out of the gate running, with starter Austin Cates not being able to get out of the first inning and allowing three runs. Juanmi Vazquez allowed three runs himself the next inning, putting the D-Jays down 6-0 early on. However, the Jays chipped away slowly at that lead, with Chirinos scoring on a wild pitch in the third, and Toman driving in Shaw in the fourth. In the fifth inning, Manuel Beltre and Sam Shaw went back-to-back to put the Jays within one. The two teams continued to trade runs as the Mighty Mussels scored again in the bottom of the fifth to add to their lead. Chirinos hit a homer to bring it back within one, before the Mighty Mussels answered back again with a double from Poncho Ruiz to score two. In the seventh, the Jays tied it with Edward Duran knocking in Shaw, and Tucker Toman knocking in two runners himself with a double. The runs dripped up for a bit, and then it went to extras, where Devonte Brown scored the ghost runner with an RBI double in the 10th, but Yohander Martinez scored for the Mighty Mussels in the bottom of that frame to send it to inning 11. Bryce Arnold hit his fifth homer on the year to put the Jays up 12-10, but the Mussels stole it in the bottom of the inning thanks to an error from Kendry Chirinos and a passed ball from Peyton Powell, as well as some poor command from Christian Mracna, which allowed three runs to score. Sam Shaw: 1-2, 4 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2 K Shaw has been showing some power this season, after only hitting two homers in his career prior to this season, he’s now surpassed that total with three on the season. He hasn’t had the same contact rates as he did last season in Rookie Ball, but if he’s trading contact for power and still getting on base at a good clip, it might not be necessary. Javen Coleman: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Coleman continues his early-season excellence, this time with an immaculate inning sprinkled in, as he struck out six batters in two innings of work, only allowing the ghost runner to score once. Dunedin (7), Fort Myers (3) - 05/07 Box Score The Dunedin Blue Jays took revenge with some extremely strong pitching after losing a heartbreaker in extras the night before. Trey Yesavage took the bump again and looked strong, but gave up a double in the first to allow the first run of the game. In the top of the third, Jean Joseph and Shaw both homered, giving the Dunedin Blue Jays a 3-1 lead, but after a throwing error from Beltre, Yasser Mercedes answered with a bomb of his own, tying the game at three apiece. Joseph continued a strong game, driving in another run in the top of the fourth, giving the Jays a lead they never looked back from. Yesavage came out after five strong innings, and Gage Stanifer was arguably even more dominant, striking out seven batters himself in four no-hit innings and earning the save. The Jays tacked on three insurance runs in the eighth from a bunch of RBI knocks from Duran, Arnold and Yhoangel Aponte, to end the game off 7-3. Sam Shaw: 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Shaw went deep for the second game in a row, doubling his previous career high. The Victoria, BC native now has a .946 OPS on the season. Trey Yesavage: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K Yesavage continues his early-season dominance in Low-A, with another strong start to earn the win for the D-Jays. His stuff did start to falter a bit as the game went on, but he’s been as good as advertised. FCL Blue Jays F-Blu (1), F-Det (2) - 5/6 Box Score In the third game of the year for the Blue Jays' rookie ball team, offense continued to be a struggle following a great first inning of the season. The Blue Jays' team managed just one hit in the seven-inning game. The one hit was a single by Dariel Ramon. On the pitching side, two rehabbing pitchers, Ryan Burr and Adam Macko were on the mound. Macko went 3.1 innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs. He walked two batters and struck out six. Dariel Ramon: 1-2, 0 BB, 0 K Adam Macko: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Gage Stanifer (Dunedin) - 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Period: 2B Adrian Pinto (Vancouver) - 4-7, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 3 HR Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 1-8, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 2B 2. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 3. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 7 K 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 2-9, 2 K, 1 2B 5. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - DNP 6. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP 7. Alan Roden (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Landen Maroudis (FCL Jays) - DNP 9. Jonatan Clase (Toronto) - 2-9, 2 K 10. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 11. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 13. Gage Stanifer (Dunedin) - 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K 14. Adam Macko (FCL Jays) - 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K 15. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 1-5, 1 BB, 3 K 16. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - 17. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 18. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - 0-3, 1 K 19. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - 3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 K 20. Jace Bohrofen - 2-6, 2 RBI, 2 K View full article

We are wrapping up the first month of games in the minor leagues, and it's time to hand out the starting pitcher awards. This includes the top five, as well as some honorable mentions to reveal. It was quite difficult to come to a conclusion as to who would be an honorable mention and who would take the mythical and coveted top spot as the best starting pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system. (which is a good thing for the Jays and their fans) The pitching across the first month has been spectacular. Eleven pitchers that can be classified as starters have an ERA below 4.00. There are even 10 starting pitchers that have a WHIP below 1.25. It's been a breath of fresh air seeing so many starting pitchers having a great start to the season. Let's get into the honorable mentions before we reveal the top five. Honorable Mentions Eric Lauer, Triple-A Buffalo - 24 IP, 24 H, 12 ER, 5.9% BB Rate, 20.6% K Rate Lauer has been one of the more consistent starting pitchers in Triple-A Buffalo's rotation. He started out a little shaky in his first few starts, but in his last two, he has gotten it going. In those two games, he pitched 10 innings, gave up 10 hits, and struck out 10, while only giving up two runs. On April 30, he earned a promotion to the majors, where he came out of the bullpen and tossed four solid innings, keeping the Blue Jays in the game. Rafael Sanchez, Double-A New Hampshire - 21 IP, 0.95 WHIP, 1.29 ERA, 8.4% BB Rate, 25.3% K Rate Sanchez has been an innings-eater for New Hampshire this year. In his four starts, he has gone at least five innings in each, with his last start being his longest outing at six innings. His calling card, so to speak, is keeping runners off base, with a WHIP under 1.00 so far this season. Gilberto Batista, Low-A Dunedin - 22 IP, 0.86 WHIP, 2.05 ERA, 3.5% BB Rate, 21.2% K Rate Batista has been one of the starting pitcher breakouts in the Blue Jays farm system in 2025. About the only thing keeping him from joining the top five is his lower strikeout rate. Being only 20 years old, though, he has plenty of time to improve his strikeout numbers and become more prospect-relevant with each solid game he can put under his belt. Top Five Starting Pitchers of the Month 5. Juaron Watts-Brown, High-A Vancouver - 18 IP, 1.34 WHIP, 3.38 ERA, 8.6% BB Rate, 33.3% K Rate Watts-Brown started the season off hotter than any other pitcher in the organization. He went 4 2/3 strong innings, striking out 10, and not giving up a run. His last two starts haven't been as good, but when considering he was up against lineups that included the likes of James Tibbs III and Lazaro Montes, his performance for the month gave him a slight nod over Batista. Watts-Brown has been well above average in striking hitters out and in getting swinging strikes (SwStr%). His percentile ranks in those metrics put him in the 86th and 90th percentiles, respectively. His strike-throwing across the first month was only average, which is one thing he will need to focus on in month two. 4. Ryan Watson, Double-A New Hampshire - 22 IP, 0.73 WHIP, 1.64 ERA, 2.5% BB Rate, 22.2% K Rate Watson has the story for fans to get behind him, but his performance over the first month of the season has to be making the front office raise an eyebrow as well. In three of his four starts, he went six innings, and all of those were quality starts. What Watson has done well so far this season is throw strikes and throw a lot of them. He is in the 98th percentile in strike rate and 97th percentile in walk rate. He has also been near elite in BABIP, showing that when he does get hit, it's usually been at a fielder. 3. Jackson Wentworth, High-A Vancouver - 21.2 IP, 1.29 WHIP, 4.15 ERA, 12.9% BB Rate, 29% K Rate Wentworth had two really good starts in the middle of the month, where he went 9 1/3 innings, struck out 16 and walked only two batters. It's those two games against the Tibbs and Montes-led teams that give him the edge in the monthly rankings and see him take the number three spot. Wentworth has been well above average in striking out hitters and near elite in line drive rate. Another month like the one he just had, and he will be making a push for the top spot on the pitchers of the month. 2. Khal Stephen, Low-A Dunedin - 24.2 IP, 0.973 WHIP, 2.19 ERA, 6.2% BB Rate, 28.9% K Rate Stephen's professional career started this month, and it could not have gone any better for him. In his first two starts, he went 11 innings, giving up three hits, only one run, and striking out 15. He had a little hiccup in his last start, giving up four walks, but other than that game, he hasn't surrendered more than one in a contest. Stephen has been above average or elite so far in most statistical categories. What has been most impressive is his strike-throwing ability and command of his pitches. For someone out of a Big Ten college, he has been a massive breakout and a win for the front office. Starting Pitcher of the Month 1. Trey Yesavage, Low-A Dunedin - 17 1/3 IP, 0.98 WHIP, 3.12 ERA, 11.8% BB-Rate, 41.2% K-Rate The MVP of the starting pitchers down on the Toronto Blue Jays farm system is none other than Trey Yesavage. His first game started out somewhat rough. He went 3 2/3 innings, giving up one hit and two unearned runs. He would strike out four hitters, but struggled mightily with his command and ended up walking six. From there, the Blue Jays first-round pick would get his bearings and be as dominant as a pitcher can be. In his next three starts, he would only walk two batters over 13 2/3 innings, while giving up just six runs. The impressive feat in that span was his ability to strike hitters out, recording 24 strikeouts (including two 10-strikeout games). Looking into Yesavage's percentile ranks, he is in the elite category in strikeout rate, swinging strike rate, and batting average against. Another month like April and he will wind up with a promotion to High-A Vancouver. View full article

CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 11-16 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 9-13 Vancouver Canadians: 12-11 Dunedin Blue Jays: 12-11 FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS 04/30/25 - Toronto Blue Jays selected the contract of LHP Eric Lauer from Buffalo Bisons. 04/30/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays placed OF Braden Barry on the 7-day injured list 04/30/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays placed C Brock Tibbitts on the 7-day injured list 04/30/25 - Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent LHP Giacomo Taschin to a minor league contract 04/29/25 - LHP Jimmy Burnette assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Buffalo Bisons. 04/29/25 - Toronto Blue Jays optioned 3B Will Wagner to Buffalo Bisons 04/29/25 - Toronto Blue Jays optioned RHP Paxton Schultz to Buffalo Bisons 04/29/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays placed OF Yeuni Munoz on the 7-day injured list 04/29/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated CF Dasan Brown from the 7-day injured list. 04/29/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated 2B Cade Doughty from the 7-day injured list 04/29/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats transferred OF Devonte Brown to the Development List. 04/29/25 - LHP Jimmy Burnette assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Buffalo Bisons. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (1), Iowa (9) - 4/29 Box Score The Buffalo Bisons kicked off a series against the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday, and it was jam-packed with top-end prospects. Cade Horton took the mound for Iowa and looked very much like a legit, future major league starting pitcher. He shut down Buffalo from the start of the game and went through six innings. Joey Loperfido got things started in the first inning though, with a 377-foot home run to right field. The Bisons would tack on two more hits versus Horton, but nothing else, even after he came out of the game. The offense was just nonexistent again, with just three total hits. On the pitching side for the Bisons, Lazaro Estrada got the start and pitched solidly over four innings. He gave up eight hits, but managed to limit the damage to just three earned runs, helped by his five strikeouts on the day. Connor Overton took over for Estrada, and the game went sideways, with Iowa adding six more runs over two innings to push the game well out of reach. Joey Loperfido: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR Loperfido launched his third home run of the season off of Horton in the first inning. Loperfido has been slowly finding his swing in the last week or so, going 7-for-26 with two home runs over his last seven games. Lazaro Estrada: 4 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Buffalo (10), Iowa (8) - 4/30 Box Score The Wednesday game between the Bisons and Cubs turned into a shootout, with the first team to 10 runs taking the game. Buffalo scored first and put up a lot of runs in the second inning. Christian Bethancourt got things started with a three-run home run, after Rainer Nunez and Will Robertson got on base. Two walks would again put runners on base, and Buffalo capitalized with a two-RBI single from Loperfido. Davis Schneider would put a bow on the inning with an RBI triple. In the bottom of the third inning, Bisons starter Anders Tolhurst gave three of those runs back, on a Matt Shaw double and a Moises Ballesteros home run. Buffalo and Iowa would trade runs in the fourth inning, making the score 7-4 with Buffalo leading. In the fifth, a Josh Rivera double put Buffalo up four runs. That lead was short-lived, as Ballesteros homered a second time and Jonathon Long went deep as well to make it 8-7. A Bethancourt sacrifice fly and a Schneider double would jump Buffalo's lead to three, at 10-7. Iowa would add a run in the bottom of the ninth, but Buffalo would shut the door, finishing this barn burner with a 10-8 victory. Joey Loperfido: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 1Bs, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 SB Andrew Bash: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (5), Portland (9) - 4/29 Box Score New Hampshire opened a new series Tuesday against the Portland Sea Dogs. The weather was a wonderful 83 degrees, and the bats for both teams were alive in this game. Devereaux Harrison was touched up a lot, starting with three runs on two home runs in the second inning by Portland. Then another three runs on a walk and three singles in the third inning. New Hampshire tried to stay within striking distance, scoring two runs in the second inning on a groundout and a walk. Back-to-back doubles in the third inning by Dasan Brown and Cade Doughty would score a run. The Fisher Cats would add two more in the fourth inning on a double by Charles McAdoo, bringing them to within one run at 6-5. Unfortunately, that is where the scoring would end for New Hampshire, as they only managed three more hits the rest of the game and would lose by a final score of 9-5. Charles McAdoo: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 2B McAdoo has been struggling for most of the season so far, but on Tuesday, he was dialed in with a couple of doubles. It might just have been the horrible weather early in the season that had taken the bite out of his bat. A turnaround in May might just be what he needs to salvage his season. Ryan Jennings: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K New Hampshire (3), Portland (2) - 4/30 - Game 1 Box Score In the first game of the doubleheader on Wednesday, New Hampshire sent CJ Van Eyk to the mound with the hopes that he could eat some innings and not tax the bullpen. He did just that, as he went six innings after a rough beginning in the first where he gave up a run. Jace Bohrofen would even the game up in the bottom of the first inning on his fifth home run of the season. Portland would take the lead back on a home run by Mikey Romero. The game would sit there until the bottom of the sixth inning, when a bases-loaded single would score two runs and give New Hampshire the lead in the shortened game. Hunter Gregory would come into the game in the top of the seventh inning for Van Eyk and close it out for the win, 3-2. Ryan McCarty: 2-3, 2 RBI, 1 K It was McCarty's second multi-hit game of the year and his first multi-RBI game. CJ Van Eyk: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K Van Eyk has struggled a lot this season, but with this nice performance, he brings his ERA down to 6.46. It also gives him something to build on as the calendar turns over to May. New Hampshire (2), Portland (3) - 4/30 - Game 2 Box Score In game two of the doubleheader, New Hampshire would flip to the away team. Portland would strike first in the bottom of the first inning on a Blaze Jordan single and a Tyler Miller double. New Hampshire would rally for a run in the next half inning via a Yohendrick Pinango double that scored Gabriel Martinez. Bobby Milacki would give up a run for New Hampshire when Portland's Jhostynxon Garcia tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third inning. Pinango got New Hampshire one run closer in the top of the sixth inning by way of a solo shot to center field. The bats fell silent from there, as the Fisher Cats lost game two of the doubleheader 3-2. Yohendrick Pinango: 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 2B, 1 HR Pinango ends the month of April as the hottest hitter on the team. Geison Urbaez: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (15), Hillsboro (9) - 04/29 Box Score Vancouver faces the Northwest League-leading Hillsboro for the first time this season. The Canadians came out swinging, with a 3-0 bottom of the inning with Sean Keys scoring two off of a two-RBI double and Hornung knocking in Aaron Parker on a sac-fly. Jackson Wentworth wasn’t at his best, giving up five walks on the night, but still managed to only allow two runs to score in 3 2/3 innings of work. Walks were contagious this game, as although Wentworth let in a couple of runs on two sacrifice flies by the top of the third, the Canadians scored a few of their own through a double steal from Nick Goodwin and Jackson Hornung in one of the greatest baserunning sequences you could see. It seems like the pitcher Liam Norris was rattled after that, as he gave up three walks, including a bases-loaded one to Parker. Cutter Coffey drove in two more on a single, and Keys singled right after to bring the lead to 9-2. The Hops chipped a bit away on the lead in the sixth, but the Canadians scored five more in the bottom of the eighth to make it 15-5. Hillsboro fought back a bit in the ninth, but at that point it was too late, as Julio Ortiz gave up four runs, but JJ Sanchez ultimately closed the game out. Victor Arias - 4-6, 3 R, 1 RBI , 2 K Arias had himself a four-hit night, scoring three times. Arias has now pushed his batting average over .300 again, and he’s been a staple at the top of the lineup for the Canadians. Pat Gallagher - 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, W Vancouver (9), Hillsboro (6) - 04/30 Box Score Vancouver continues to out-hit the Hops, this time with Arjun Nimmala leading the way with his seventh multi-hit game. The Canadians scored seven runs in the first three innings to make it really hard for the Hops to come back from. Chay Yeager, who has been excellent all season, finally hit a speed bump after a scoreless inning, where he let in three runs on two hits and two walks in his second inning of work on the night. Bo Bonds was excellent though, pitching two innings and getting the save to give the Canadians a 2-0 series lead. Arjun Nimmala - 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B Nimmala has absolutely taken to High-A, pushing his OPS up above .900 with 2 extra base hits on the night. He’s continuing to hit for power, but he’s cut his K rate down to 21.3% while walking 8.5% of the time. The talented shortstop had a slight setback with a shoulder injury midway through the month, but other than that has looked like the best player on the Canadians, and he’s only 19 years old! Juaron Watts-Brown - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K Watts-Brown is a stuff monster; his fastball-slider combo is incredibly hard for batters to hit, and his first five outs on the night were all strikeouts. Watts-Brown ended his outing with five more strikeouts and generated 15 whiffs on the night. Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (4), Clearwater (5) - 04/29 Box Score This was the first series rematch for the Dunedin Blue Jays, who lost the opening series to Clearwater one game to two. Gilberto Batista didn’t have his best start, allowing four runs in five innings of work. Still, the Jays were able to score four runs on the Threshers thanks to the middle of the lineup, with Duran, Aponte and Toman all with some early clutch hits. Johan Simon came into the sixth and allowed a run, but Dunedin couldn’t muster any other runs, even when loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth. Tucker Toman - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 2B Toman has struggled recently, so having a solid game like this one could hopefully boost his confidence and help him find the production he had early in the season. Bennett Flynn - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Dunedin (0), Clearwater (4) - 04/30 Box Score Dunedin was silenced against Clearwater, as no one was able to threaten with only five hits and one walk. In fact, the Jays only got one at-bat above the minimum, as both Arnold and Jean Joseph hit into double plays. Cates pitched decently, but gave up three solo shots by the fourth inning. The bullpen made its best attempt to claw its way back, and even the catcher-turned-pitcher Nate LaRue made an appearance, though he gave up the fourth and final run of the game. Yhoangel Aponte - 1-2, 1 BB, 1 K Aponte was the only Dunedin Blue Jay to get on base multiple times this game. Eminen Flores - 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K FCL Blue Jays No games DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K Hitter of the Period: OF Victor Arias (Vancouver) - 6-11, 6 R, 1 RBI, 2 K, Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 3-9, 4 R, 1 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 2B 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - DNP 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 0-3, 0 BB, 1 K 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - DNP 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - DNP 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 4-11, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 2B 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - DNP 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - Graduated 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - DNP 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

Orelvis MartinezRicky TiedemannTrey YesavageArjun NimmalaAlan RodenJonatan ClaseLanden MaroudisKhal StephenGage StaniferJake BlossBrandon BarrieraJace BohrofenYohendrick PinangoYeuni MunozEnmanuel BonillaVictor AriasJuaron Watts-BrownJosh KasevichKendry RojasAdrian Pinto

Orelvis MartinezRicky TiedemannTrey YesavageArjun NimmalaAlan RodenJonatan ClaseLanden MaroudisKhal StephenGage StaniferJake BlossBrandon BarrieraJace BohrofenYohendrick PinangoYeuni MunozEnmanuel BonillaVictor AriasJuaron Watts-BrownJosh KasevichKendry RojasAdrian Pinto

It was a strong weekend for the teams in the Blue Jays' minor league system, featuring standout performances from Jake Bloss and Arjun Nimmala. CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 10-15 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 8-11 Vancouver Canadians: 10-11 Dunedin Blue Jays: 12-9 FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) RECENT TRANSACTIONS 04/28/25 - Toronto Blue Jays optioned LF Jonatan Clase to Buffalo Bisons 04/27/25 - Buffalo Bisons activated LHP Jimmy Burnette 04/27/25 - Toronto Blue Jays recalled LF Jonatan Clase from Buffalo Bisons 04/27/25 - LHP Jimmy Burnette assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats 04/27/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats transferred C Nicolas Deschamps to the Development List 04/27/25 - LHP Jimmy Burnette assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (4), Rochester (3) - 4/26 Box Score This game between Buffalo and Rochester was a nail-biter from the beginning to the end. The Bisons would take a first crack at getting on the scoreboard when they loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning. Joey Loperfido singled, Davis Schneider doubled, and Will Robertson was intentionally walked to load them up. Orelvis Martinez would fly out to right field to end the threat. The Red Wings took charge in the third inning, taking a two-run lead and adding a run in the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth though, the Bisons would flip the script after the starting pitcher for the Red Wings was removed for a reliever. The Bisons again loaded the bases, but this time they cashed in the runs on a walk, a double play ground out, an error, and a Michael Stefanic double. They would plate four runs and take a one-run lead. Tommy Nance would come on in the ninth inning and close the door, notching the save for the Bisons. Orelvis Martinez: 2-4, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Trenton Wallace: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Buffalo (2), Rochester (0) - 4/27 Box Score The Buffalo Bisons took their second straight victory of the weekend with this one. Jake Bloss had probably his most complete game as a Bison. He mixed strikeouts and groundouts to keep Rochester in check. They never really threatened to score with him on the mound. He pitched 4.1 innings, gave up three hits, zero earned runs, walked just one batter, and struck out five. The rest of the Bisons’ relievers matched his performance with a clean 4.2 innings pitched, allowing just five hits and zero earned runs. A throwing error in the fourth inning would plate the decisive run for Buffalo, and Daulton Varsho added an RBI single in the seventh. Riley Tirotta: 1-3, 1 R, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K Jake Bloss: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (1), Binghamton (0) - 4/26 Box Score New Hampshire sent Ryan Watson to the mound on Saturday to try to stifle the bats of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. He did that and more across his six innings of work. He struck out six, walked none, and only gave up two hits. Unfortunately for New Hampshire, the bats did not properly take advantage of the stellar pitching performance and put up a goose egg themselves against Binghamton's starting pitcher, Jonathan Pintaro. After a rain delay in the bottom of the seventh inning, New Hampshire got on the board when Yohendrick Pinango doubled home Ryan McCarty. It would be the lone run of the game, as Ryan Jennings and Hunter Gregory would combine to pitch three shutout innings out of the bullpen. New Hampshire would take this game 1-0 and surprisingly not commit an error in doing so. Yohendrick Pinango: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 2B Pinango just keeps chugging along and continues to shine above the rest of the hitters at Double-A. Ryan Watson: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K A fan favorite with three straight quality starts – we want more of that. Watson really worked the fastball up in the zone today and got some swings and misses for strikeouts. He was then able to effectively use the slider away as well to finish a couple of at-bats. He lowers his ERA to 1.64 on the season and has firmly placed himself on the prospect map as someone to keep an eye on. New Hampshire (1), Binghamton (2) - 4/27 Box Score Sunday afternoon saw the final game of the week's long series with Binghamton come to an end. Jonah Tong would be on the mound for the second time this week, and he wouldn't disappoint. In fact, he was masterful in his pure dominance of the New Hampshire lineup. He struck out 10 hitters over the four innings he pitched, only giving up one hit and one walk along the way. For the Fisher Cats, Michael Dominguez was tasked with matching Tong and did so for most of his outing, although it was under duress. He allowed a runner to reach second base in each of the first two innings but closed them out, stranding the runners there. In the bottom of the third inning, he gave up two doubles, scoring a run and giving the lead to Binghamton, 1-0. In the fifth inning, a wild pitch moved Ryan McCarty into scoring position, and a single by Jacob Sharp brought him home. In the bottom of the sixth inning, an Omar De Los Santos triple would score a runner and give Binghamton the lead back. New Hampshire mounted a late rally in the top of the eighth inning, when a double steal by Charles McAdoo and Jay Harry put runners on second and third with one out in the inning. Unfortunately, McCarty and Alex De Jesus would strike out to end the threat. In the top of the ninth inning, a balk moved Devonte Brown to second base, where he would be stranded to end the game following strikeouts from Pinango and Jace Bohrofen. The Fisher Cats moved to 8-11 following the 2-1 loss. Jay Harry: 1-3, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB Harry has been a bright spark in his first couple of games at Double-A, hitting .400 with an RBI and a couple of stolen bases. Connor Larkin: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (10), Everett (1) - 04/26 Box Score After some lackluster offensive performances from the Canadians in the first four games of the series, they put up double digits on the AquaSox, with big contributions from Arjun Nimmala, Cutter Coffey, Sean Keys and Carter Cunningham. Switch pitcher and Khal Stephen’s former teammate Jurrangelo Cijntje got beat up by the Jays prospects, with Keys hitting a three-run homer in the top of the third, and Coffey hitting his second double of the year. Cijntje was replaced in the fifth, and Coffey recorded his second extra-base hit of the night, hitting a two-run homer to score Keys. Nimmala hit his second homer in two games to push the lead to seven in the fifth, and Cunningham capped off the homerfest with a two-run homer in the seventh. The pitching was almost as good, with Fernando Perez putting up his best start of the season, Chay Yeager pitching two scoreless innings with four strikeouts, and Nate Garkow earning a save with three innings of scoreless ball. Sean Keys - 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 0 K, 1 HR Keys showed some of the pop that got him drafted by the Jays, off of a really talented pitcher in the Mariners' 2024 first-round selection. His batting average is still under the Mendoza line, but Keys has gotten on-base at a reasonable clip (.365), and his walk rate equals his strikeout rate at 17.6%. Fernando Perez - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Perez had a really nice bounce-back start after not getting a single out in his last appearance. He matched his strikeout total from his past three starts. He still hasn’t pitched up to five innings in a game as of yet, which will need to be the next step. Vancouver (9), Everett (8) - 04/27 Box Score This was a high-scoring affair that started off with the Jays' No. 1 prospect going deep in the top of the first. Coffey and Cunningham both drove in a run in the third to give the Canadians an early 3-0 lead, but in the bottom of the third, Grant Rogers finally looked human and gave up a two-run double to Tai Peete. In the bottom of the fourth, Rogers let in another three runs, struggling with keeping runners off the basepaths. In the half-inning after, the Canadians threatened again, with Nimmala getting on from a throwing error, and the bases were loaded after a Cunningham single and an HBP, which led to a scored run on a sac fly from Alex Stone. The game remained 5-4 for the AquaSox until the bottom of the eighth, when they extended their lead against Bo Bonds, who gave up a homer. Immediately after, the Canadians came roaring back with Nick Goodwin, Victor Arias, and Nimmala all singling to load the bases again, and a bases-loaded walk from Cunningham and a Brennan Orf bases-clearing double put the Canadians up 8-6. The AquaSox came back again, though, as Peete scored Colt Emerson on a double and Kai Peterson let Peete score off a triple from Lazaro Montes to send the game to extras. Eddie Micheletti Jr. scored the ghost runner on an RBI double, and Peterson shut the door in the 10th to secure the win and the series split. Arjun Nimmala - 2-5, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HR Nimmala continued to establish himself at only 19 years old, hitting his third homer in three straight days, all while cutting his strikeout rate significantly compared to last season. He’s progressed much faster than people expected and has really taken to the challenge of Vancouver. If all goes well, we could even see him in New Hampshire this season. Kai Peterson - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K, 0 ER The lefty reliever continues to be excellent for the Canadians, dropping his ERA to 1.08 on the season. He did blow the save in the ninth but still got the win in extra innings, stranding the ghost runner. Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (5), Tampa (1) - 04/26 Box Score The Tarpons stood no chance against starter Colby Holcombe, who went five innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts, only allowing four hits and a walk. Daniel Guerra pitched well in relief as well, allowing a single run in three innings of work with two strikeouts. Although he lost his starting job to Gilberto Batista, he is still showing some promise as a big-bodied pitcher. The offense did its thing, with J.R. Freethy scoring on a wild pitch in the top of the first and Edward Duran driving in a run on a fielder’s choice. Sam Shaw homered for the second time in the top of the third to give the Jays a 3-0 lead, and in the fifth, Duran capitalized again with a two-RBI single to give him three on the night. The Jays couldn’t get anything going against the Tarpons' pen, headlined by a rehabbing Jonathan Loáisiga, but nothing was necessary as the Tarpons only scored one all night. Sam Shaw - 2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR The 20-year-old Vancouver native pushed his OPS above 1.000 with his second homer of the season, matching his previous career high in homers in just eight games played. The young second baseman has been previously touted for his hit tool, but has displayed some power this season that he wasn't able to get to previously. Shaw is also walking at an absurd rate, nearly 30% of the time, and he’s been getting on-base over 50% of the time at a .514 clip. He’s most likely not going to run that high of a walk rate, or BABIP, or ISO, but these 37 plate appearances have been very promising for the former ninth-round pick. Colby Holcombe - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Holcombe made the third great start for a Dunedin pitcher in a row, allowing no runs in five innings of work. He was reliant on his fastball-cutter combo, allowing only weak contact and generating 11 whiffs. Holcombe showcased his changeup a bit as well, showing a good ability to put it in the zone, but no one chased it when it was out of the zone, and it only led to a pair of whiffs all game. Still, Holcombe won his first game of the season and joined Sam Shaw as another ninth-round pick who greatly contributed to this win. Dunedin (8), Tampa (5) - 04/27 Box Score Khal Stephen did not look his sharpest in this game, walking four batters and allowing five hits and three earned runs in only 3.2 innings of work, while only striking out three. The stuff still looked solid, with his fastball sitting 93 mph with nearly 20 inches of induced vertical break, but he struggled to land the zone with any of his secondaries. Luckily for him, the offense picked him up, with Yhoangel Aponte, Manuel Beltre, and Tucker Toman driving in four runs against the Tarpons starter, 2024 fourth-round pick Gage Ziehl. Brock Tibbitts and Yeuni Munoz joined in on the fun, both with an extra base hit each, a double and a homer, respectively, to make it 6-3 in the seventh. Eminen Flores made it interesting, allowing the Tarpons to score two runs with a couple of walks and some shaky defense from Tibbitts, but Braden Barry and Beltre scored two insurance runs in the eighth. Javen Coleman and Christian Mracna pitched three scoreless innings to end the game for the Jays and win five out of six against the Yankees' Single-A team. Yeuni Munoz - 2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR Munoz again showed off his pop, with two extra base hits on the night after a slower past couple of games, pushing his slugging percentage back over .600. For reference, his OPS was just .599 across two minor league levels last season, showing how big of an improvement both his health and hitting ability have brought about. Jevan Coleman - 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K FCL Blue Jays No games DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Period: SS Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 3-9, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR Prospect Summary (4/26-4/27) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 3-9, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - DNP 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 3-7, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 2B 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 0-5, 1 K 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 1-8, 4 K 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - Graduated 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - DNP 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - 0-1 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

Catch up with the latest on the Jays' farm in the latest. CURRENT W-L Records -Buffalo Bisons: 4-8 -New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 3-3 -Vancouver Canadians: 5-4 -Dunedin Blue Jays: 4-5 -FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) -DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS -04/11/25 - Buffalo Bisons activated RHP Tommy Nance from the temporarily inactive list. -04/11/25 - RHP Ryan Boyer assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Buffalo Bisons. -04/11/25 - RHP Bryan Borbon assigned to DSL Blue Jays 2 from DSL Blue Jays 2. -04/11/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated RHP Ryan Boyer. -04/11/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats transferred C Nicolas Deschamps to the Development List. -04/11/25 - RHP Ryan Boyer assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Buffalo Bisons. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (8), Durham (5) - 4/11 Box Score The Buffalo Bisons came out swinging in this one and crushed the baseball on their way to beating the Durham Bulls. Lazaro Estrada started the game for the Bisons and gave up three quick runs to the Bulls in the first and second innings. Carson Williams for the Bulls did the damage on a triple that drove in two runs. The Bisons got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the 2nd inning, when Riley Tirotta hit his first home run of the season, a 389 FT shot to left field. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Orelvis Martinez got a hold of an 83 MPH cutter and launched it over the left field fence. A classic Martinez home run with an exit velocity of 112.1 MPH, a launch angle of 29 degrees, and traveled 427 FT. Rainer Nunez followed right after, by taking a pitch over the right field wall, going 362 FT for an opposite field home run. The Bisons would take the game over with RBI singles in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings by Ali Sanchez, Michael Stefanic, and Ali Sanchez again. Addison Barger and Orelvis Martinez capped off the scoring with RBI walks. Orelvis Martinez: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR Orelvis Martinez has had a rough start to the minor league season, but got all of his home run in this game. He seems to be in Spring Training mode after he missed the first weekend of games due to a viral illness. It has caused his timing to be off at the plate and he is working to find it again. Paxton Schultz: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Schultz has made a habit of coming in after bad starts for the Bisons starting pitchers. He hasn't given up an earned run this season and looks to be finding his groove striking out hitters. Buffalo (1), Durham (4) - 4/12 - Game 1 Box Score In game one of the double header, the Bisons were shut down by the Bulls’ starter Logan Workman. Addison Barger got the Bisons on the board with a first inning home run that went 407 FT and left the bat at 113.6 MPH. They would only add two more singles for the rest of the seven inning game. Eric Lauer started for the Bisons and gave up four runs over five innings. Eric Pardino finished the last two innings, while allowing just one hit. Addison Barger: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR Eric Pardinho: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Buffalo (1), Durham (2) - 4/12 - Game 2 Box Score In game two of the double header, things got worse offensively for the Bisons. They only managed two hits all game over the seven innings. After Durham took the lead in the fourth inning on a Carson Williams home run, Michael Stefanic hit an RBI single to inch the Bisons within one run. That would be it though, as the Bisons would lose their second game on the day. Jonatan Clase continued to add to his early season success, going 1-2 with a single and a walk. Bobby Milacki started the game for the Bisons and did well, pitching three innings while only allowing two hits, a walk, and no runs. Michael Stefanic: 1-3, 0 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Bobby Milacki: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K Buffalo (5), Durham (3) - 4/13 Box Score The Buffalo Bisons prevented a three game losing streak by taking this game with a late inning barrage of runs. Trenton Wallace and Andrew Bash each pitched three innings for the Bisons and combined held the Bulls to just four hits and two runs, while striking out nine batters. In the third inning, catcher Christian Bethancourt got the Bisons a run on a 435 FT massive home run. The bats stayed quiet until the sixth inning for the Bisons. Joey Loperfido plated a run on a double and Rainer Nunez cashed him in to tie the game on a line drive to center field. Addison Barger added a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning and Will Robertson hit a home run in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. Michael Stefanic: 3-4, 1 R, 0 RBI, 1 2B Andrew Bash: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (4), Portland (3) - 4/11 Box Score New Hampshire came to play Friday night and it took a team effort to pull out the come from behind win against Portland on another cold night in Maine. After Portland got a run from a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning, New Hampshire would answer with an RBI single from Yohendrick Pinango that scored RJ Schreck. Down 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning, Robert Brooks cleared the Maine Monster in left field to bring New Hampshire to within one run of Portland. It was followed shortly by a Yohendrick Pinango RBI single, scoring Charles McAdoo. The bullpen would keep the Portland hitters in check, combining for five innings, allowing zero hits, zero walks, and striking out six. The game would head to extra innings, but not last long, as McAdoo led off the tenth inning with a blast off of the Maine Monster for an RBI double. Charles McAdoo: 2-4, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB McAdoo is starting to show the Blue Jays what he can do after a rough debut for them following being traded in 2024. He has nice power/speed tools, which were on full display Friday night. Johnathan Lavallee: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Lavallee has now pitched 3.2 innings on the season and has only given up one hit, while striking out four. New Hampshire/Portland - 4/12 - PPD New Hampshire/Portland - 4/13 - Game 1 - PPD New Hampshire/Portland - 4/13 - Game 2 - PPD Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (6), Spokane (8) - 4/11 Box Score Vancouver got to Jordy Vargas early, with Keys hitting a 2-run homer, Victor Arias hitting a double and Eddie Michelleti Jr. taking a walk, which resulted in Vargas getting taken out before finishing the inning. However, Perdomo got out of the jam and Jackson Wentworth gave up a 2 out 3-run homer after a bloop single and a walk. Wentworth continued to struggle, giving up another 2 more runs before being taken out after 3.2 IP. Vancouver kept it close with Arias driving in a run, and another scoring after Coffey grounded into a double play. Jay Harry also got his 2nd homer of the season, to even it out at 5. Canadians reliever Julio Ortiz gave up another 3 runs himself, and the offense could not catch up after that, only scoring 1 run as an answer, leading to Spokane winning the game. Sean Keys - 1-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1HR, 1HBP Keys blasted this homer off the scoreboard on a pitch from MLB Pipeline’s 14th ranked Rockies Prospect Jordy Vargas for his first of the season and for Vancouver. Keys has been looked at as a breakout candidate so it’s nice to see him display some of the thump he’s been touted for. Pat Gallagher - 1.2 IP, 1 H , 0 ER, 2 K Vancouver (9), Spokane (3) - 4/12 Box Score A strong start for the Canadians as they tacked on 7 runs against Aberto Pacheco, including 3 separate extra base hits in the 2nd. Watts-Brown had another strong start for the first 4.2 IP, and Irv Carter had a decent relief performance after a rough first appearance on April 8th, going 2.1 IP with 3 strikeouts. Aaron Munson finished off the game and the Canadians offense has been clicking, leading the Northwest league in homers. Adrian Pinto - 3-4, 2, R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 K, 1 SB Pinto has been off to a roaring start, this being his 3rd multi-hit night on the season with a season high of 3. Although his homer looked like a flyout that kept carrying, Pinto’s been hitting the ball hard and showing that his approach can lead to hard contact. He also showed off the wheels today, stealing his first on the season, and he’s been an excellent lead off guy for the Canadians this season. Pinto just needs to show that he can stay on the field, and he easily get promoted to New Hampshire if he continues to hit like this. Arjun Nimmala - 1-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 SB Nimmala also homered today, showing off his ability to pull flyballs. Nimmala again DH’d, so it seems like the Jays are taking it a bit slow to keep him healthier and to get him more at-bats, but it’d be great for him to get more experience out in the field. Juaron Watts-Brown - 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Juaron Watts-Brown had his second strong start in a row, and he’s been showing much improved command early on walking only 2 batters on the season after walking batters over 13 percent of the time last season. He’s been striking out batters 41% of the time and his slider has been excellent, generating a ton of whiffs. Brown’s frame and history of poor control makes it more likely that he’ll be a reliever, but if he’s found out how to command his pitches he’ll have a shot of making it as a back-end starter for the Jays. Vancouver (7), Spokane (1) - 4/13 Box Score Connor O’Halloran hoped to continue his strong start to the season, but only went 2.2 IPl, with 1 ER and 3 Ks, before being taken out after 37 pitches. The bullpen however didn’t allow a single run after O’Halloran was taken off the bump. The offense continued to have success, with Nimmala, Harry and Ward with 2 hits, and the bottom of the order knocking in 6 runs. Eddie Micheletti Jr. - 1-2, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR Micheletti Jr. had strong plate discipline metrics in college, but there were concerns about his ability to hit for power with wood bats. Micheletti Jr. has shown the advanced plate skills, but he’s also been showing a little bit of his power stroke so far. Chay Yeager - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (4), Jupiter (5) - 4/11 Box Score The Hammerheads got off to an early lead, scoring 4 runs off of starter Daniel Guerra by the 4th inning, and the Jays were blanked for the first 7 innings. Both recently acquired Batistas, Edinson and Gilberto pitched 4 solid innings combined to prevent the lead from getting out of control, with the only run given up resulting from an error from third baseman Tucker Toman. The Jays roared back in the top of the 8th with Bryce Arnold breaking the shutout with a 2-run, 100.2 mph homer to left field and then in the 9th, the Jays threatened with the bases loaded and no outs after scoring 2 runs with a large chance of taking the lead back before a flyout and a double play ruined their chances. Bryce Arnold - 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP Arnold has been one of the more interesting hitters for the Dunedin Jays, where he’s carried a high K rate along with an elevated walk rate and the ability to hit the ball hard. He’s shown all of it in this game, getting on base 3 times including his homer, and also striking out a couple of times. The Jays farm system has a lot of talented infield prospects so it may require some injuries to let Arnold get another crack at High-A like he did last season, but Arnold has been a stellar part of Dunedin’s offense so far. Gilberto Batista - 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 K Batista had another solid outing in relief mixing up his 3 fastball types and making it hard for hitters to time up. Batista isn’t an overpowering arm sitting in the low 90s with his fastballs, but he’s been effective at getting outs since joining the Jays organization. Dunedin (6), Jupiter (13) - 4/12 Box Score Austin Cates’ second start did not go nearly as well, as he gave up 5 runs in only 2.2 innings pitched while only striking out 1 batter. The rest of the Jays’ pitching did not pitch well either with Flores giving up 2 runs himself in only 1 inning and Christian Mracna only getting 1 out and walking 6 batters and allowing 5 runs. The batters did their best to keep them in the game, but struggled with runners in scoring position going only 2-for-16. Walks were a problem for the Hammerheads again, as they walked 10 batters, but the Jays also walked 13 themselves. Manuel Beltre - 3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Beltre has had a great start to the season, and he’s continued that with a 3 hit night. He’s been consistently hitting the ball hard with an average exit velocity of over 88 mph and he’s had a 42.1% hard hit rate on the season. He still doesn’t have the above average raw power so he’ll never be a real big home run hitter, but he’s been hitting the ball across the field with authority and should do well in maximizing the contact he’s making so far. He’s been whiffing pretty consistently and his zone contact rate has been below average which is concerning, but maybe he’s been sacrificing contact ability to hit the ball harder. Javen Coleman - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K The crafty lefty has been excellent for the Dunedin Jays, earning Florida State League pitcher of the week. After a shaky first appearance, Coleman hasn’t allowed a run, and struck out 9 batters in only 4.1 innings pitched. He is a little old for the level, being 23 years old and pitching to some teenagers, but as an undrafted free agent he’s been a nice find for the Jays so far. Dunedin (10), Jupiter (2) - 4/13 Box Score The Dunedin offense scored early and often, with 5 runs off starter Luke Lashutka in the 2nd, and 4 runs off the next reliever in the top of the 5th. JR Freethy was great at the top of the order, as he drove 5 runs, and the Dunedin Jays got on base 22 times with 12 hits and 10 walks in total, with solid contributions from Manuel Beltre, Bryce Arnold, and Kendry Chirinos, Jaden Rudd, and Braden Barry. The pitching was also excellent, headlined by starter Trey Yesavage, and Gage Stanifer had his best outing of his young career with a career best 7 strikeouts in relief. Peyton Powell - 2-3, 1, R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K Powell got his first hit of his professional career today as well as his first RBI, getting on base 4 times. Although he played first this game, Powell is listed as a catcher and could see time behind the dish. Gage Stanifer - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Stanifer achieved a career high in strikeouts, off the back of his high powered sinker, which sat 96 mph. He also showed flashes of a strong power change at around 88 mph, which showed gaudy whiff rates and when hitters did make contact, could not do anything to it. He might be someone to watch rise up the rankings for the Jays farm system. Trey Yesavage - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Yesavage had a much better second start being much more efficient and in control, walking zero batters and completing 4 innings of work with only 55 pitches. His stuff looked solid as per usual, with his splitter generating a 66.7% whiff rate, while also sitting 94 mph with the fastball with good ride again. He should not be long for Dunedin as the weather begins to warm up. FCL Blue Jays No games DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Gage Stanifer (Dunedin): 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Period: SS Michael Stefanic (Buffalo): 6-14, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B Prospect Summary (Last 3 Days) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 3-10, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 2B 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 1-10, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 2-5, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - DNP 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 2B, 1 SB 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - DNP 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - 0-6, 0 BB, 1 K 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - 0-5, 0 BB, 2 K 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

The upper-level affiliates have begun their 2025 season, let's dive in! CURRENT W-L Records -Buffalo Bisons: 1-5 -New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 1-1 -Vancouver Canadians: 2-1 -Dunedin Blue Jays: 1-2 -FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) -DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS LHP Richard Lovelady elected free agency Vancouver Canadians transferred C Jackson Hornung to the Development List. Vancouver Canadians transferred C Hayden Gilliland to the Development List. RHP Edinson Batista assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from Vancouver Canadians. RHP Eliander Alcalde assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from Vancouver Canadians. RHP Yondrei Rojas assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from Vancouver Canadians. RHP Ryan Boyer assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (1), Memphis (4) - April 4th (Game 1) Box Score Eric Lauer took the mound and was roughed up a little in the first game of the day for the doubleheader. He went five innings while giving up five hits, four earned runs, zero walks, and four strikeouts. Will Robertson got the Bisons on the board with an RBI single in the 6th inning. Unfortunately, that was all the scoring they could push across the plate. On a few positive notes, Orelvis Martinez got into his second game of the season following a viral infection delaying his debut. He went 1-3, getting his first hit of the season, a single up the middle on a high sinker. Jonatan Clase continued his hot start, leading the Bisons in hits, going 3-4, and stealing his 5th base in the young season. Jonatan Clase: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 SB Clase had a double, infield single, and a line drive single. He has shown a great feel for making contact early this season compared to his previous minor league years. Eric Lauer: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Buffalo (1), Memphis (3) - April 4th (Game 2) Box Score In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bisons did not fare any better. Trenton Wallace started the game for the Bisons and went three innings and gave up a single run on a ground out. Addison Barger pushed across the Bisons’ only run on a ground ball single to right field. Overall the Bisons were shut down by St. Louis Cardinals’ star pitching prospect Quinn Mathews. He only allowed two hits and one earned run across 3.2 innings pitched. He was wild though, walking six batters. The Bisons just couldn't get any hits to bring in the runners. In the game overall, they only managed three hits in the shortened seven inning game. On the pitching side for the Bisons, Eric Pardinho surrendered the game deciding runs on a double and single in the fourth inning. Jonatan Clase pinch hit late, adding another hit to his already growing total on the minor league season. The Bisons next take on the Durham Bulls on Tuesday night. Riley Tirotta: 1-1, 2 BB Paxton Schultz: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K Buffalo, Memphis - April 5th - PPD Buffalo, Memphis - April 6th - PPD New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (1), Binghamton (3) - April 4th Box Score The New Hampshire Fisher Cats opened up the season with a series against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Friday night. CJ Van Eyk looked to get back on track from his poor 2024 season and Charles McAdoo was ready to put his dismal play behind him as well. This game turned into a pitchers duel from the get go, with both starting pitchers (Van Eyk and Wenninger for Binghamton), confounding the opposing team until the fourth inning. In the fourth, Binghamton was finally able to get to Van Eyk after he walked two and gave up a double that scored a pair of runs. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Fisher Cats were poised to retake the lead, as they loaded the bases for Charles McAdoo. He hit the ball hard, but right at the third baseman for a sharp line out to end the inning and the threat. The following half inning saw Binghamton add to their lead with a walk and stolen base by Ryan Clifford, leading to a RBI double by Alex Ramirez. New Hampshire would again threaten Binghamton's lead in the bottom of the ninth with a walk by Yohendrick Pinango, followed by a single from Eddinson Paulino. After a throwing error scored Pinango, Jacob Sharp went down swinging to end the game. Dasan Brown: 1-3, 1 BB, 0 K Brown made the opposing pitchers work, as he saw 19 pitches on the night, across his four at-bats. His lone single was the start of the failed rally in the fifth inning. Unfortunately, he was not able to utilize his speed on the basepaths this game, he will have to show off his stolen base prowess in future games. CJ Van Eyk: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Van Eyk came into this game with very much a need to shake off last season's disappointing year. It was a hard task to do so against a tough Binghamton lineup that featured notable prospects like Ryan Clifford, Jett Williams, and Alex Ramirez. He was up for the challenge though and held his own for the most part against the Rumble Ponies’ lineup. He was able to garner 10 swing and misses against them, as well as six strikeouts. It was very encouraging for him to get so many ground balls in the game (8), as he was able to avoid the barrel of the Rumble Ponies for much of the night. New Hampshire, Binghamton - April 5th - PPD New Hampshire (1), Binghamton (0) - April 6th (Game 1) Box Score This game saw the tables turned and flipped upside down, as New Hampshire finally got into the win column. Rafael Sanchez was the starting pitcher and was near perfection on the mound. He baffled Binghamton hitters all night, throwing five innings and only allowing two singles, and a walk. He would end his outing by finishing the fifth inning with his eighth strikeout of the night, to go along with 12 swing and misses on his pitches. Ryan Watson would piggyback Sanchez in the game and virtually match him in every way. Watson finished the game holding Binghamton to just one hit, over four innings of work, while racking up seven swing and misses himself, and five strikeouts. For New Hampshire, the bats were just as quiet as Binghamton, Nolan McLean was masterful for the Rumble Ponies, striking out eight over four innings and only giving up three hits. It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth inning that the Fisher Cats finally scratched out a run with back to back singles by Jace Bohrofen and Peyton Williams, followed by an error by the right fielder on the Williams knock. That was all of the scoring either team could muster, as the game ended 1-0. Peyton Williams: 2-4, 1 2B, 0 BB, 2 K Williams had the only real damage off of a really good pitching prospect, Nolan McLean, and managed to have the game winning base hit (with the help of a throwing error by the right fielder). Ryan Watson: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K Is there any better storyline than Watson going from independent baseball to Double-A and shutting down a good lineup, I don’t think so, he's going to be fun to watch this year. New Hampshire, Binghamton- April 6th (Game 2) - PPD Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (4), Tri-City (5) - April 4th Box Score Vancouver got out to an early lead, with a couple of walks from Nimmala and Coffey before Carter Cunningham drove them both in. The Dust Devils answered with a sac-fly in the bottom of the inning, but Adrian Pinto went deep to make it 3-1. After a double from Eddie Micheletti Jr., and a grounder that moved Micheletti Jr. to 3rd, Adrian Pinto grounded one to 3rd but 3rd baseman Caleb Ketchup airmailed a throw to make it 4-1 Canadians. Rogers was replaced in the 5th by Nate Garkow who had a scoreless inning, but gave up 3 runs in the subsequent inning and then Aaron Munson let in another run because of an error by Sean Keys to give Tri-City the lead in the 7th that they never relinquished. Adrian Pinto - 1-4, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 K The diminutive utility player Adrian Pinto showed that he could generate some power despite his slight size, blasting a homer in the 2nd inning against RHP Austin Gordon. He also used his speed to force an error at 3rd to help another run come in. Grant Rogers - 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K RHP Grant Rogers looked sharp today in 4 IP for Vancouver, with the only blemish coming from a throwing error from catcher Aaron Parker. The command was decent and Rogers made use of his full arsenal to prevent hitters from timing him up. Vancouver (3), Tri-City (0) - April 5th Box Score The strong starting pitching continued for the Canadians with 5th rounder Jackson Wentworth going 5 innings in his first professional start. Victor Arias started off the scoring with a double to score Adrian Pinto, and then in the top of the 6th Cutter Coffey hit his first homer of the season and Jay Harry, who was acquired for Trevor Richards, lined a single to left field to score Je’Von Ward to give the Canadians a 3-0 lead. The bullpen did a solid job to finish off the shutout, with Pat Gallagher getting 3 Ks in 2.0 IP. Arjun Nimmala - 3-5 The Jays #1 prospect got his first hit in High-A with a single in the third, and then tacked on 2 more in the 5th and the 7th. Although he made a baserunning mistake getting picked off at 2nd showing his inexperience, he showed a strong defensive performance and even turned 2 double plays. Jackson Wentworth - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K In Wentworth’s professional debut, he was excellent, going 5 shutout innings and striking out 6 batters while generating 22 whiffs. He did a great job of keeping hitters from getting on base and showed his feel for the zone and his advanced feel for pitching out of college and earned his first W of the season. Vancouver (10), Tri-City (2) - April 6th Box Score Vancouver won their 2nd game in a row off the back of a strong pitching performance from Juaron Watts-Brown, who carried his strong performance in the playoffs for the Canadians into this game, striking out 10 batters in only 4.2 IP. The offense exploded in the meantime, with the Canadians scoring 10 runs off of 10 hits and 11 walks, and Goodwin, Harry, and Nimmala all homering as well. Arjun Nimmala - 1-4. 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K Nimmala came right back where he left off yesterday, smashing this homer into the soccer fields outside of the ballpark for his first one with the Canadians. He also walked a couple of times and scored another run on a DH day to keep him off of his feet. He’s been scorching hot to start the season showing strong plate discipline. Juaron Watts-Brown - 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (4), Clearwater (8) - April 4th Box Score What started off as a pitching duel between 2024 Blue Jays 2nd Rounder Khal Stephen and undrafted free agent Sam Highfill turned very quickly. Manuel Beltre drove in the first run in the 4th, and Victoria, BC’s Sam Shaw homered an inning after, giving the Jays an early 2-0 lead. The Thrashers needed to wait until Stephen left the game to score their runs, with reliever Bennett Flynn giving up 5 ERs and lefty Javen Coleman giving up another. The Jays answered back with a 2-RBI single from Sam Shaw after Braden Barry walked and JR Freethy hit a double. The Dunedin Blue Jays could not claw it back though, as Clearwater scored 2 more runs off of the Dunedin pen, spoiling an excellent debut for Khal Stephen. Sam Shaw - 2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Shaw is known for his strong hit tool, but he showed a little bit of pop, pulling a sinker 105.6mph and 367 ft into right field for a solo homer, and then tacking on 2 more RBIs with a 101.2 mph line drive single in the bottom of the 7th. Khal Stephen - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Khal Stephen opened up his official minor league baseball debut by striking out the side, and then continued to keep hitters off balance with his deep pitch mix. His fastball sat around 94 mph and had elite ride, he also displayed a deep pitch mix, throwing a curveball, changeup, sinker, and cutter, leading to 14 whiffs on the night. Dunedin (4), Clearwater (1)- April 5th Box Score Dunedin’s pitching held Clearwater to only 1 run, which was only given up after an error from starter Daniel Guerra. Guerra pitched 4 solid innings with 4 strikeouts, and then Gilberto Batista, who was acquired for Danny Jansen, pitched another 4 solid innings in relief and was even more dominant, striking out 6 and not allowing a run. The bottom of the order produced for the Dunedin Blue Jays with shortstop Manuel Beltre and third baseman Tucker Toman setting the table for the 9th hitter and outfielder Jaden Rudd to drive them in. Jaden Rudd - 2-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K Rudd knocked in all 4 of the runs for the Dunedin Jays, with the one giving them the lead with an exit velocity of 101.1 mph off the bat for a double. Rudd was the 7th round pick for the Jays in the 2021 draft and he’s struggled so far offensively so getting a couple of extra base hits will hopefully give him so momentum to succeed in Low-A after repeating the level for the 3rd time. Gilberto Batista - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K Batista was acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for Danny Jansen, and the young pitcher has been awesome since joining the Jays. Batista made heavy use of his slider, throwing strikes and generating 10 whiffs on the day. It was a little bit interesting seeing him pitch out of relief, but with the Jays being cautious about the young arms in the system after being decimated by injury, Batista piggybacking off of other starters will seem to be how they’ll use him. Dunedin (2), Clearwater (4) - April 6th Box Score Another strong professional debut from one of the Jays prospects, as 2024 7th rounder Austin Cates went 5 strong scoreless innings only allowing 5 hits and notching 2 Ks. The offense however, failed to support Cates’ start, only scoring 2 runs despite walking a total of 12 times. Brock Tibbits - 2-4, 1 BB, 1, RBI The big bodied catcher from Naperville, IL did his job in the cleanup spot this game, getting on base 3 times and driving in one of the two runs that Dunedin scored this game. Tibbits was the 13th round pick for the Jays in 2024 and is hoping to continue his solid play from Low-A in 2024 where he had a .746 OPS. Austin Cates - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 KCates sat around 91 mph with his fastball, but had a good ride on it and he filled the strike zone with his fastball, allowing his changeup and slider to play off of it and generate weak contact. Cates was the 7th round pick for the Jays and showed off his solid changeup plus command in his first professional start. FCL Blue Jays No games DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver): 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K Hitter of the Period: SS Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver): 4-12, 3 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR Prospect Summary (Last 3 Days) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 4-12, 3 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - DNP 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 1-6, 1 BB, 4 K 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 2-6, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 0-8, 0 BB, 3 K 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - DNP 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - 0-6, 2 BB, 3 K 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - 1-4 1 K 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

There's plenty to be excited about in New Hampshire this season. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Blue Jays, began their 2025 season on Friday, April 4. Though Opening Day didn't go as planned, their roster is loaded with talent from top to bottom and will provide some exciting baseball from the start of the season through, hopefully, a playoff berth. Prospects to Know: Charles McAdoo leads the way on the hitting side. He brings some huge potential and excitement for Blue Jays fans after being ranked 10th on the Jays Centre Top 20 Prospect list. He smashed his way through the 2024 season, tallying 17 home runs, 27 doubles, and 21 stolen bases. However, after being traded from Pittsburgh to Toronto, his bat fell flat for in New Hampshire. He finished the season with a slash line of .186/.287/.323. He will look to shake off last season's mid-year trade blues and show the big league club what he can do for when he gets the call. Jace Bohrofen is in a similar mold to McAdoo and should provide plenty of fireworks after slugging 14 home runs and 27 doubles at High-A in 2024. He's not the baserunning threat that McAdoo is, but he does have decent speed, swiping 10 bases last year as well. Dasan Brown will join Bohrofen in the outfield, where he can show off his elite speed (when he's not swiping bags in bunches). He stole 35 bases last year and will look to up that number in 2025. He ran just a .285 on-base percentage after a promotion to Double-A. If he can figure out how to get on base more often, he will be looking at 40 or more stolen bases this year. The pitching staff is just as loaded as the lineup. CJ Van Eyk will lead the staff in 2025. He had a rocky time at Double-A in 2024 with a 5.68 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Repeating the level should bring a little more success for him. Hopefully he gets back on track and performs more like he did at Low-A in 2021, when he had a 28.3% strikeout rate. Joining him will be a feel-good story who goes by the name of Ryan Watson. After playing two seasons of independent baseball, he signed with Toronto in 2024 and didn't disappoint, running a sub-4.00 ERA at both Low-A and High-A. He will surely be a fan favorite in 2025 for Toronto and New Hampshire fans. Catchers: Robert Brooks, Nicolas Deschamps, Jacob Sharp Infielders: Alex De Jesus, Charles McAdoo, Ryan McCarty, Eddinson Paulino, Josh Rivera, Peyton Williams Outfielders: Jace Bohrofen, Dasan Brown, Devonte Brown, Gabriel Martinez, Yohendrick Piñango, RJ Schreck Pitchers: Alex Amalfi, Ryan Boyer, Jimmy Burnette, Michael Dominguez, Hunter Gregory, Devereaux Harrison, Ryan Jennings, Conor Larkin, Jonathan Lavallee, Bobby Milacki, Rafael Sánchez, Grayson Thurman, Anderson Tolhurst, Geison Urbaez, CJ Van Eyk, Ryan Watson View full article

The Blue Jays drafted some big-time college arms early in the 2024 draft, and they will begin their professional careers in the Florida State League with Dunedin. See who will join them on the Dunedin Blue Jays Opening Day roster. The Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays recently released their opening day roster, and we now know who will be playing for the team in 2025. Most of the players at the Low-A level are very raw and a long way from helping the big league club, but they can possess the most potential at times. The season kicks off Friday, April 4th. The roster has a few of these high potential prospects and even a few that made the Jays Centre Top 20 Prospect List. Prospects to Know On the hitting side, Manuel Beltre will be repeating the level but could make quick work of it if he can show improvement from last season. This will be his third season at Low-A Dunedin, in 2024 he hit .236/.334/.326, with five home runs, and 23 stolen bases. Kendry Chirinos is finally ready for a test at full-season ball. He displayed some potential in 2024, as he repeated Rookie-ball in the Florida Complex League. He hit .300/.402/.443 with 15 extra base hits in 43 games. He should be competing with Peyton Powell for at-bats at third base (Powell can also play catcher, so it will be interesting to see how they use him). For the pitchers, Trey Yesavage is the highest profile player on the roster. He looks to make quick work of the lower levels early in the season and force his way to the more intense upper levels of the Toronto system. He brings with him to the mound a natural ability to strikeout hitters, in his junior season in college his strikeout rate was an eye-popping 40.4%. He has high expectations after being drafted 20th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft by Toronto and he surely is the fan favorite on the Dunedin roster to begin the 2025 season. Khal Stephen will join him in the rotation, forming a formidable duo at the top, however, long it may last. He doesn't have as much fanfare as Yesavage, due to the less flashy numbers in his final year in college (27.9% strikeout rate). However, he was playing in the SEC, so those numbers should not be taken lightly. Brandon Barriera also makes the team, but will begin the season on the 60-day IL as he recovers from surgery. Catchers: Edward Duran, Brock Tibbitts Infielders: Bryce Arnold, Manuel Beltre, Kendry Chirinos, Peyton Powell, J.R. Freethy, Sam Shaw, Tucker Toman Outfielders: Yhoangel Aponte, Braden Barry, Alexis Hernandez, Yeuni Munoz, Jaden Rudd Pitchers: Austin Cates, Javen Coleman, Jack Eshleman, Eminen Flores, Bennett Flynn, Daniel Guerra, Colby Holcombe, Colby Martin, Christian Mracna, Jay Schueler, Johan Simon, Gage Stanifer, Khal Stephen, Trey Yesavage. View full article

The Triple-A Buffalo Bisons did not exactly get off to a hot start this week. CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 1-3 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 0-0 (Season not started) Vancouver Canadians: 0-0 (Season not started) Dunedin Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS The Blue Jays made the following minor league transactions on 4/3: Toronto Blue Jays sent LHP Richard Lovelady outright to Buffalo Bisons. RHP Eliander Alcalde assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. RHP Yondrei Rojas assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. Vancouver Canadians placed RHP Chris McElvain on the 7-day injured list. Vancouver Canadians placed LHP Kendry Rojas on the 7-day injured list. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo 7, Memphis 13 Game 1 Box Score This game was more reminiscent of a high-scoring Pacific Coast League game in the summer than an International League game in early April. Hits came in bunches for both teams, as all but Michael Turconi recorded base knocks for Buffalo. In all, there were 30 hits in the game (12 for Buffalo and 18 for Memphis). Damiano Palmegiani got the scoring started for the Bisons with an RBI single in the first inning, followed by an Addison Barger double, and an RBI ground out by Michael Stefanic. Jake Bloss would get touched up in the first inning as well, giving up a couple of RBI doubles himself. After a few turns of back-and-forth run-scoring, Ali Sánchez would tie the game up at six with a home run to left field that had an exit velocity of 97.5 mph in the top of the third inning. Unfortunately, the Bisons would lose the lead in bottom of the fourth on a Yohel Pozo home run and never threaten Memphis again. In hindsight, committing three errors was never going to help fuel a victory, only defeat. Jonatan Clase: 2-4, 1 R, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB Clase tried to will the Bisons to victory by doing a little bit of everything on the field Tuesday, good and bad, as he also had an error in the game. One of his singles was a rope, coming off the bat at 105.3 mph. Jake Bloss: 4 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K Jake Bloss began his quest to make it back to Toronto with his first start at Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday night. He featured six pitches, but leaned on four (fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup). The fastball averaged 93.9 mph and topped out at 95.5 mph. He was hit hard tonight, giving up seven balls in play with an exit velocity over 101 mph. Buffalo 3, Memphis 15 Game 2 Box Score This turned into a bullpen game for Buffalo after starter Lazaro Estrada was touched up for eight runs in the first inning. The errors continued to be a problem for the Bisons in the field. Addison Barger had two more errors, bringing his total to four on the season, and Michael Turconi had one, making two on the season for him. Orelvis Martinez made his season debut, recording a walk but nothing more. Barger had the hardest hit ball of the night, with an exit velocity of 115.5 mph. Even the bullpen didn't do much better than Estrada, they gave up seven more runs (three unearned), as Memphis steam rolled Buffalo. Jonatan Clase: 2-3, 1 R, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB Clase continued his blazing-hot start to the season, bringing his batting average up to .357 and his stolen base total up to four in just four games. Bobby Milacki: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Milacki came into the game in the second inning to relieve Andrew Bash. He registered the most swings-and-misses by a Buffalo pitcher on the night, with six. He generated four of those whiffs on his cutter that averaged 88 mph. Buffalo, Memphis Game 3 PPD New Hampshire Fisher Cats No Games Vancouver Canadians No Games Dunedin Blue Jays No Games FCL Blue Jays No Games DSL Blue Jays No Games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Hitter of the Period: OF, Jonatan Clase, Buffalo Bisons: 4-7, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 SB Pitcher of the Period: RHP, Jake Bloss, Buffalo Bisons: 4 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K Prospect Summary (Last Three Games) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - DNP 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - DNP 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 0-3, 1 BB, 2K 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - 4 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 3 for 6, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - DNP 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - DNP 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - DNP 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - 3 for 5, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - DNP 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - DNP 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

Welcome back to the Blue Jays Top 20 prospect breakdown. We are nearing the top of our list and are getting into the top tier prospects. Today, we will take an in depth look at the third-ranked prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system as voted on by the Jays Centre community. Ricky Tiedemann is the man of the hour, let's find out what he does well, what he needs to work on, and what's next for him. #3: Ricky Tiedemann, SP, 22, Triple-A, Buffalo Bisons Tiedemann has traveled a rocky, winding road to get to where he is today. The Blue Jays selected him in the third round of the 2021 draft out of Golden West College in California. Entering the draft, scouts thought he could have a potentially plus changeup to go along with a low-to-mid 90s fastball and a work-in-progress slider (which Statcast considers a sweeper). They loved his frame (6-foot-4) and projectability at the time of the draft. The Blue Jays would wait until the following season to get Tiedemann pitching in games, a common practice for pitchers. In 2022, he sprinted through the farm system, pitching at Low A, High A, and Double A. He showed a pure knack for striking hitters out at each of those levels, running strikeout rates of 44.5%, 36%, and 34.1%, respectively. Despite a walk rate of 9.6%, he ran a combined FIP of 2.51. The season put him squarely on the prospect map and made him a name to know. Unfortunately, injuries derailed Tiedemann’s push toward prospect royalty in 2023. He only tallied 44 innings between four levels: the Complex League, Low A, Double A, and Triple A. His ability to strikeout hitters was still on full display, as he ended the season with a 44.1% strikeout rate, but his walk rate rose all the way to 12.4%. His FIP of 1.68 on the season reflected the pure dominance he had against hitters and the type of star power he possesses. Injuries struck again in 2024, as elbow nerve inflammation led Tommy John surgery in late July. Tiedemann threw just 17 1/3 innings. What To Like Tiedemann will miss most of the 2025 season, but he is still just 22, and he may be ready to contribute in Toronto when he returns. The strikeout potential that he has in his left arm is unique to the extreme top tier of starting pitching prospects and major league pitchers. Tiedemann utilizes a unique lower arm slot to create deception, which makes his extremely flat fastball unhittable at the top of the zone. It is really reminiscent of how Chris Sale has w orked with his arm angles and pitch arsenal. At FanGraphs, Eric Longenhagen has put 60 grades (on the 20-80 scouting scale) on Tiedemann’s fastball and slider. This combination is extremely difficult for hitters coming out of the lower arm slot. He has already shown how devastating the pitch combo can be. Here he is absolutely handling top prospect James Wood just a few weeks before Wood got called up to Washington and ran a 120 wRC+ as a rookie: What To Work On Tiedemann has a lot to work on even though the stuff is more or less major-league ready. Over three seasons as a pro, he’s thrown just 140 innings, and he will need to have his innings managed. At this point, the Blue Jays may want to take a similar approach to the one the White Sox used with Garrett Crochet: just unleash Tiedemann at the major-league level. Tiedemann will also need to expand his pitch arsenal. Right now, depends mostly entirely on the fastball-slider combo. He throws a changeup about 15-20% of the time, and Longenhagen put a 45 grade on the pitch. If he can develop the changeup into a more serviceable offering, it will expand his strikeout ability by improving his whiff rates down and away to right-handed batters. He will also need to improve his pitchability to the inner half of the zone to right-handed hitters. Tiedemann’s biggest issue is control, as the walk rates he’s run so far will be untenable in the majors. According to Statcast, he’s ran a combined 44% zone rate in 2023 and 2024, which put him in just the 33rd percentile (among pitchers with at least 500 tracked pitches). Gaining better control and command of his pitches inside to right-handers, Tiedemann can let the ball go wild to his arm side at times due to inconsistent mechanics. These are usually refined and improved through repetition, something he has failed to gain due to lack of innings from injuries. What's Next Tiedemann can't do much right now but continue to get stronger and healthier during his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Assuming he doesn’t suffer any setbacks, he will be targeting a return to the mound in games late in the season. If everything comes up aces, Tiedemann should be competing for a rotation spot this time next year. View full article

Welcome back to the Blue Jays Top 20 prospect breakdown. This deep dive will focus on the number six prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system, as the Jays Centre community voted on. Get to know him now because he just might be wearing a Blue Jay uniform before you know it, Alan Roden. Top 20 Prospects: #16-20 Top 20 Prospects: #11-15 #10: Charles McAdoo #9: Khal Stephen #8: Kendry Rojas #7: John Kasevich #6: Alan Roden, OF, 25, Triple-A, Buffalo Bisons Homegrown talent isn't seen much anymore, but when it does happen, there is something a little more special in the air during their major league debut. It's a wave of emotions for the player, their friends, and family, as well as the organization. 2025 will see the Rogers Centre explode with excitement and pure joy for Roden, a welcome fitting for the “homegrown” moniker. Let's look at how he got to this point and what he provides to his team on the baseball field. The Toronto Blue Jays scooped up Roden in the 3rd round of the 2022 MLB draft out of Creighton University. He only played two seasons there, as he got into just three games his freshman year. He was a career .383 hitter in college, his calling card at the time of the draft. He hit 14 home runs until his pro debut, showing more gap-to-gap power via his 32 doubles. Much development would be in store for the minor league coaches and Roden. During his two years in the Blue Jays organization, he only missed out on playing in the Complex League. He has amassed a career .298 batting average, 27 home runs, and an OPS of .860. At each level, his wRC+ has never dipped below 133 (outside of his 25-game pro debut season). His walk and strikeout rates have followed suit in the consistency department, with his K/BB ratio never dropping below 0.85. That kind of ratio is rarely seen, especially at the higher levels. With Roden being a name to watch at spring training, let's look at what he does well and struggles with and where he can go from here. What's To Like? Roden is far from the typical hitter you see in today's game. He hits from the left side of the plate and does it extremely well. The tool is a plus, with room for even more improvement (more on this later). He can control the bat through the zone and make not just a lot of contact but a ton of optimal contact. His contact rate at Triple-A Buffalo was 81.9% (88th percentile), and his in-zone contact rate came in at an eye-popping 92.3% (95th percentile). When he decides to take a swing at a pitch, he's going to make contact. To add to his hit tool, he displayed great plate discipline, only chasing pitches at a 24.1% clip (67th percentile) and having a strikeout rate of 14.3% (89th percentile). Even the secondary offerings from opposing pitchers didn't give him much trouble; he had a whiff rate of 25.8% compared to theirs (81st percentile). Looking at the rest of Roden's profile, you can see he doubles down on the high contact rates by making a ton of good-quality contact. His hard-hit rate was 36.6% at Triple-A Buffalo last year, slightly above average for the level (55th percentile). Having such high contact rates dilutes some of his exit velocity (EV) numbers, but they show he can hit the ball hard with the best of his peers. His max EV was very exciting at 112.2 mph (91st percentile), while the 90th-percentile exit velocity was above average at 103.2 mph (62nd percentile). He uses a robust rate of pulled fly balls (42.1%) and high exit velocities to produce his power, 16 home runs in 2024. What To Work On? As good as Roden is with making contact, he has some aspects of his game that he needs to work on. If he can improve on some of these, he can take a giant leap forward in his profile and increase his potential major-league impact. The first is tackling his struggles with his swing and decision-making at the plate. Despite being a top-tier contact hitter, he can become an elite one if he can find a way to decrease his struggles with pitches down and out of the zone. Looking at his whiff rates by zone at Triple-A Buffalo, you can see the majority of his swings and misses come in those areas. Following this trail leads to his strikeout rates by zone and similar results. Down-and-in and down-and-away are the locations that resulted in his most strikeouts. Once he reaches the major league level, pitchers will relentlessly exploit these weaknesses until he can show he can handle those pitches better (whether it's laying off them more or making better contact). If Roden can adjust his approach or swing, it should also result in more favorable launch angles. In 2024, at Triple-A Buffalo, his average launch angle was eight degrees due to the larger rate of ground balls he put into play (48.5%). To take the next step towards being a legitimate major league contributor, he must decrease his ground ball rate to around 40%. This should increase his overall numbers and maybe even add extra power to his profile. What's Next? Roden is one of the players to watch at spring training. He brings a dual threat of power and speed, something the Blue Jays are sorely lacking this year. Several positions are open for him to win a spot on the opening-day roster. Lucky for him and the Blue Jays, he can play any outfield position. If he can't parlay his hot stretch at the end of last season into a roster spot (.377/.457/.623, seven home runs, 13 doubles, and five stolen bases in his final 45 games), he will start back at Triple-A Buffalo. He is biding his time until a roster spot opens up, or he forces the front office's hand. View full article

Welcome back to the most anticipated reveal of the Blue Jays Top 20 prospect breakdown, the top 10. Our first deep dive will be on the number 10 prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system. Without any further ado, as voted on by the Jays Centre community, it's really much ado about nothing at this point, Charles McAdoo. Catch up on the rest of the list at the links below: Top 20 Prospects: #16-20 Top 20 Prospects: #11-15 #10: Charles McAdoo, 3B, 22, Double-A, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 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. View full article