Simon Li

Right-hand reliever Ryan Burr pitched just two innings for the Jays' major league team before going back on the injured list. The righty didn't allow a run, struck out three batters, and sat 93.9 mph on his fastball during his short stint this season. Burr was projected to be one of the Jays' best relievers during preseason projections, and he also pitched to a 4.13 ERA/3.07 FIP in 2024 while accumulating 0.5 fWAR in 32 1/3 IP, so this is a blow to the depth charts for the Jays. Burr already went on the IL for a shoulder issue during spring training with shoulder tendinitis, so his going back on the IL for a right shoulder rotator cuff strain is also concerning. To replace him is 34-year-old right-hander Tommy Nance, who also pitched in the Jays' bullpen during the end of the season after being traded from the Padres for cash in a minor league trade. Nance pitched well enough, with a 4.09 ERA/3.98 FIP in 22 innings pitched, but was designated for assignment in spring training after not making the opening day roster. Nance has pitched 31 1/3 innings in Buffalo, where he has a 4.60 ERA, but a 2.63 FIP, striking out 31.3% of the batters he faced and only walking 5.2%. Nance will help shore up a bullpen that has had little rest recently, and with his two strong breaking balls, should be effective enough in middle relief. View full rumor

Current W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 35-52 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 34-49 Vancouver Canadians: 46-36 Dunedin Blue Jays: 37-42 FCL Blue Jays: 27-20 DSL Blue Jays Blue: 11-15 DSL Blue Jays Red: 11-15 Transactions 07/09/25 - Buffalo Bisons sent LF RJ Schreck on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 07/08/25 - Buffalo Bisons sent RHP Eric Pardinho on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays. 07/08/25 - Toronto Blue Jays recalled LHP Justin Bruihl from Buffalo Bisons. 07/08/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays sent OF Yeuni Munoz on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays. 07/08/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays activated OF Braden Barry from the 7-day injured list. 07/08/25 - LHP Johan Simon assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. 07/08/25 - RHP Holden Wilkerson assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 07/08/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats placed OF Jace Bohrofen on the 7-day injured list. 07/08/25 - RHP Chay Yeager assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians. 07/08/25 - LHP Johan Simon assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (2), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (5) - 7/8 Box Score Buffalo hit the ground running in the opening game of the series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Tuesday. Rainer Nunez's groundout drove in Alan Roden in the top of the fourth to get things started. Ali Sánchez singled home another run to give Buffalo the two-run lead. Immediately, though, the RailRiders responded with three runs of their own on an RBI groundout and two RBI singles. In the sixth inning, Jorbit Vivas added an RBI single to left field, and Ismael Munguia singled home a run in the eighth to put the RailRiders up three. In the ninth, Joel Kuhnel came on and got the save for the RailRiders, only surrendering a double to Christian Bethancourt. Buffalo would lose this one 5-2. Alan Roden - 2-4, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Hunter Gregory - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Buffalo (2), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (7) - 7/9 Box Score Wednesday's day game between Buffalo and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre wasn't a good one for the Bisons. The RailRiders got the scoring started in the bottom of the first via an error by the Bisons' starting pitcher CJ Van Eyk. Then they added a run on a T.J. Rumfield RBI single. In the third, they added three more runs, this time from a Jesus Rodriguez two-run home run and a Nicky Lopez RBI single. Buffalo finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth, when Michael Stefanic launched his fifth home run of the season. Yohendrick Pinango would add an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to three. That would be the extent of the Buffalo offense again in this game, as Spencer Jones tacked on a mammoth 418-foot home run and Lopez added another RBI single to give the Bisons a 7-2 loss. Michael Stefanic - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR Bobby Milacki - 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (1), Somerset (5) - 7/8 Box Score Tuesday saw a series begin between New Hampshire and Somerset. The Fisher Cats would again have to face off against the ace of the Patriots staff, Carlos Lagrange. Facing the daunting task of opposing him was Grant Rogers for New Hampshire. Through the first five innings, the game was locked in a pitchers duel. Omar Martinez knocked in a run for Somerset with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second inning, and Jacob Sharp squared it back up with a solo shot in the top of the fifth inning. Unfortunately for New Hampshire, Rogers would be the first starting pitcher to crack, coughing up three more runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single and a two-RBI ground-rule double. Somerset added another run in the eighth inning from a Rafael Flores home run to left field. Down four runs, New Hampshire made an attempt to rally in the ninth, with Cade Doughty getting on second base with a double. Devonte Brown came up to the plate and struck out swinging, ending the game. New Hampshire fell 5-1, only managing three hits in the game. Jacob Sharp: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HR Grant Rogers: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K New Hampshire (1), Somerset (9) F/6 - 7/9 Box Score Wednesday's game saw New Hampshire threaten in the first inning against Somerset's pitcher Brock Selvidge. Charles McAdoo and Jackson Hornung both walked, and then a double steal moved them to second and third base. Brown walked to load the bases, but Alex De Jesus flew out to end the inning and the scoring chance. In the bottom half of the inning, Ryan Watson was not as lucky for the Fisher Cats. He gave up three runs, highlighted by an RBI triple off the bat of Brendan Jones. Jones then provided the dagger against New Hampshire when he launched a two-run home run in the third. It was followed up two batters later by another two-run home run, this one by Tyler Hardman. New Hampshire finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth with back-to-back singles by Ryan McCarty and McAdoo. Hornung then smacked a ball to second base for a force out, scoring McCarty. In the bottom half of the inning, Martinez blasted the third two-run home run of the game for Somerset. After a rain delay, the game was called, with New Hampshire on the wrong end of a beating, losing 9-1. Charles McAdoo: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB Michael Dominguez: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (1), Hillsboro (7) - 7/8 Box Score The Canadians had Gage Stanifer on the mound following his longest start of the season in his most recent outing, but he faced difficulty finding the zone all day, resulting in four hits, four walks, and five earned runs, for his worst appearance of the season. Edinson Batista did his job to keep the score from getting out of hand. In the top of the sixth with the bases loaded, Eddie Micheletti Jr. had a big chance to bring the Canadians back, but he grounded into a force out to only allow one run to score, which ended up being the only run for the Canadians. An Arjun Nimmala error led to two unearned runs scoring against Julio Ortiz, and that ended up being the final score of 7-1 for the Hops. Victor Arias - 1-3, 1 R, 2 BB Kai Peterson - 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 K Vancouver (7), Hillsboro (6) - 7/9 Box Score Vancouver was looking to bounce back after a rough loss the previous night, and they started off strongly, with a two-run first inning after Victor Arias hit a single, took third on a passed ball, and a throwing error led to him scoring. Nimmala then walked, and Micheletti scored him with a double. Bryce Arnold added to the lead with his first High-A double to score Carter Cunningham, but after a couple of errors from Nimmala and Arias, Slade Caldwell hit a sacrifice fly, and then Druw Jones hit a homer off McElvain to tie it up. In the sixth inning, Jay Harry hit a double, Cunningham got hit by a pitch, and Arnold reached on a fielder’s choice, which scored Harry and brought Cunningham to third after Ricardo Yan threw it away. Arias got an RBI from grounding out, as Cunningham came home to add a two-run lead for the Canadians. Jonathan Todd gave the lead back, allowing two runs to score in the bottom of the seventh. The Canadians took the lead back after they loaded the bases with good baserunning and some wild pitches before Cutter Coffey hit a sac fly to give them a two-run lead again. JJ Sanchez made it interesting, as he allowed a run to score after he loaded the bases and walked in a run, but Yondrei Rojas shut the door to barely squeak by the Hops. Jay Harry - 3-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 SB Chris McElvain - 4 IP, 3 H, 3 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (0), Palm Beach (7) - 7/8 Box Score The D-Jays continued their skid, losing their fifth game in a row, with the offense struggling to score again. As of Tuesday, they had only scored one run in their past four games. Braden Davis carved up the Blue Jays, striking out 11 and giving up only four hits with one walk. Maroudis bounced back from a poor previous outing, allowing no earned runs (one unearned) while giving up only one hit and one walk and striking out three. Gilberto Batista barely lasted more than an inning in relief, which was his shortest outing of the season. He gave up six hits and five earned runs to put the Jays in a big hole. At that point, the Jays' offense couldn’t come to life, and they suffered a tough loss against the Cardinals. Edward Duran - 3-4, 1 K Duran was the designated hitter and had his fifth three-hit game of the season. Landen Maroudis - 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 3 K Maroudis has now pitched three out of four appearances with zero earned runs after coming back to Dunedin. He did a good job of mixing his pitches and avoided hard contact all game. Dunedin (2), Palm Beach (3) - 7/9 - F/10 Box Score The Blue Jays tried to bounce back from another tough loss, but this time dropped a heartbreaker in extra innings. They struck first in the top of the second, with Kendry Chirinos knocking in the first run of the game on a single that scored Tucker Toman after he walked and stole second. Austin Cates kept the game scoreless before handing the pill to Daniel Guerra, who pitched 2.2 scoreless innings before he allowed two stolen bases after a single from Deniel Ortiz, and then threw a wild pitch that let the Cardinals tie it up. The Jays scored a run themselves on a wild pitch, but that’s all they got, and former Jays farmhand Sammy Hernandez scored after a single given up by Jay Schueler, who then gave up a walk-off hit for the Jays to lose their sixth straight. Edward Duran - 2-5 Austin Cates - 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Cates had continued to excel after many of his peers were promoted. He’s now pitched to a 1.71 ERA over his last nine appearances, and his high-rising fastball and splitter have been nigh unhittable. FCL Blue Jays F-BLU (2), F-YAN (4) - 7/8 Box Score The Blue Jays' Complex League squad took on the Yankees' team on Tuesday, and it was another low-hitting affair. The Yankees' team got things started in the second inning with an RBI single from Luis Escudero. Dariel Ramon's RBI single in the third answered right back to tie the game at one. The next inning, Escudero homered to put the Yankees up by two. A rehabbing Yeuni Munoz rocketed a double in the fifth to drive in Ramon, putting the Blue Jays down one. The Yankees would put this one away with an RBI infield single to third base in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays' team would lose 4-2. Yeuni Munoz - 1-3, 0 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 2B Eric Pardinho - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K DSL Blue Jays Blue D-BJB (0), D-MRN (1) - 7/8 Box Score The only bright spot in Tuesday's game between BJB and MRN was starting pitcher Jose Andrades. He went five innings, gave up only three hits, one run, walked none, and struck out four. The lone run came in the bottom of the first inning, when MRN got a home run from DSL standout Yorger Bautista, his sixth of the season. From there, the game turned almost unwatchable. BJB only recorded two hits on the day and struck out 14 times. MRN wasn't any better, adding three more hits to their total. The game ended in a 1-0 loss for BJB. Juarlin Soto: 1-3, 1 K Jose Andrades: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K DSL Blue Jays Red D-BJR (1), D-GIB (8) - 7/8 Box Score BJR joined the other Blue Jays DSL team in struggling to hit down on the island. After coughing up a run in the top of the second inning, BJR got it back in the bottom of the third. Renyel Campos walked, followed by a Juan Sanchez single to left field. Elaineiker Coronado would then single in Campos to square the game back up at one apiece. From there, they only managed to get two more base knocks, but surrendered eight runs on their way to being blown out in this one, 8-1. Elaineiker Coronado: 2-3, 2 BB Erinyel Marquez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 3 K Hitter of the Period: C Edward Duran (Dunedin) - 5-9, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days) Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Hitters Rank Player Team PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS 1 Arjun Nimmala Vancouver 10 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 5 Alan Roden Buffalo 8 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Orelvis Martinez Buffalo 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 11 Yohendrick Pinango Buffalo 8 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 13 Josh Kasevich Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Jonatan Clase Buffalo 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 17 RJ Schreck Buffalo 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 19 Sam Shaw Dunedin 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 20 Victor Arias Vancouver 15 2 2 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 0 Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Pitchers Rank Player Team BF G GS IP H HR ER BB K 2 Trey Yesavage New Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Ricky Tiedemann Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Khal Stephen Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Johnny King Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Kendry Rojas New Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Landen Maroudis Dunedin 14 1 1 4 1 0 0 1 3 10 Gage Stanifer Vancouver 15 1 1 2.2 4 0 5 4 2 12 Jake Bloss Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 Juaron Watts-Brown New Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Adam Macko Buffalo 19 1 1 3.2 5 0 3 3 3 18 Brandon Barriera FCL Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 34-47 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 31-46 Vancouver Canadians: 40-34 Dunedin Blue Jays: 37-38 FCL Blue Jays: 26-16 DSL Blue Jays Blue: 8-13 DSL Blue Jays Red: 10-11 Transactions 07/02/25 - Toronto Blue Jays optioned LHP Mason Fluharty to Buffalo Bisons. 07/02/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats placed RHP Johnathan Lavallee on the 7-day injured list. 07/02/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated RHP Grayson Thurman. 07/01/25 - Buffalo Bisons sent LHP Amir Garrett on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 07/01/25 - Buffalo Bisons activated LF Alan Roden. 07/01/25 - Toronto Blue Jays optioned LF Jonatan Clase to Buffalo Bisons. 07/01/25 - Toronto Blue Jays recalled SS Leo Jiménez from Buffalo Bisons. 07/01/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays sent OF Braden Barry on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays. 07/01/25 - Dunedin Blue Jays activated 2B J.R. Freethy from the 7-day injured list. 07/01/25 - LHP Mason Olson assigned to FCL Blue Jays. 07/01/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated RHP Nate Garkow from the 7-day injured list. 07/01/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats transferred RHP Grayson Thurman to the Development List. 07/01/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated RF Je'Von Ward. 07/01/25 - New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated LHP Kendry Rojas. 07/01/25 - LHP Kendry Rojas assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians. 07/01/25 - 2B Jay Harry assigned to Vancouver Canadians from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 07/01/25 - RF Je'Von Ward assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (2), Rochester (1) - 7/1 Box Score The Buffalo Bisons kicked off the week with a series against the Rochester Red Wings. The Red Wings got the game going right away in the top of the first inning. Yohandy Morales blasted a 410-foot home run to center field off of newly acquired Toronto Blue Jays prospect Robinson Piña. It was the only run Piña would give up, as he went two innings, striking out four, and only allowing two hits. The Red Wings' starting pitcher, Bryce Conley, was masterful, with the Bisons struggling to get any hits. Buffalo only had two hits through five innings, but in the sixth, they got to Conley and the pitcher who replaced him. Riley Tirotta singled, Will Robertson moved him to third with a double, and then Orelvis Martinez tied the game at one with a sacrifice fly. Ali Sánchez brought Robertson home on an RBI single to give Buffalo the one-run lead. Anders Tolhurst, who came in for Piña, pitched beautifully for six innings, giving up just one hit, no runs, no walks, and striking out six. The Bisons would go on to win the game, 2-1. Will Robertson: 1-1, 1 R, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 2B Anders Tolhurst: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Buffalo (2), Rochester (1) - 7/2 Box Score In the second game of the series, Rochester again took the early lead in the top of the first, this time on an error from Buffalo first baseman Rainer Nunez that let a runner get to third base, followed by a Morales sacrifice fly. Buffalo answered quickly with Jonatan Clase hitting a single and stealing second base. Two groundouts would move him to third and then to home, tying the game at one. In the top of the third, Nick Schnell for Rochester homered to right field, a two-run shot. Again, Buffalo answered immediately, this time from a Joey Loperfido double that scored Josh Rivera. In the fifth, doubles were wild, as Tirotta, Robertson, and Nunez doubled in runs to give Buffalo a two-run lead. Rochester only had two hits after the Bisons’ starting pitcher left the game. The relief pitchers shut down the Red Wings, as Buffalo went on to win 5-3. Joey Loperfido: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 2B Ryan Burr: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (5), Portland (11) - 7/1 Box Score New Hampshire began a series with Portland on Tuesday evening, and it was full of excitement on the field. The Fisher Cats got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first with a solo home run from Jace Bohrofen. It was his 10th long ball of the season, but only his fifth since May 1. In the bottom of the second, New Hampshire struck again; Eddinson Paulino hit a single, followed by Gabriel Martinez's first home run of the year. Up 3-0 and with Trey Yesavage on the mound, New Hampshire was in the driver's seat and cruising along. Unfortunately, the steering locked up for them. Yesavage had a little trouble in the top of the second, surrendering two singles, but nothing more. Then, in the top of the third inning, Portland's bats got to Yesavage. A double and two walks loaded the bases, followed by a wild pitch that scored a run, and then a three-run home run by Zach Ehrhard. Yesavage was chased from the game at that point, with New Hampshire trailing by one. In the sixth, Bohrofen manufactured a run to tie it up by walking, stealing second, and then scoring on Paulino's single. In the eighth, Cade Doughty's double scored a run and gave New Hampshire the lead back. Portland got a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth to tie it back up and send it to extra innings. Both teams failed to score in the tenth, but Portland dropped a six-spot on New Hampshire in the 11th and took the series opener, winning 11-5. Jace Bohrofen: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 SB Pat Gallagher: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K New Hampshire (4), Portland (1) - 7/2 Box Score On Wednesday night, New Hampshire was in a battle to get back in the win column against a tough Portland team. Charles McAdoo started things off with a bang for New Hampshire in the bottom of the first inning, hitting his 10th home run of the season. It was a two-run blast to left field, scoring Jackson Hornung, who had doubled earlier in the inning, extending his Double-A hit streak to eight. In the bottom of the second, Jacob Sharp added to the lead with an RBI single. Hornung then continued his hot hitting and knocked in Martinez with a single. Grant Rogers was on the mound for New Hampshire and had an excellent game. He went through the first three innings, only giving up one hit. Ehrhard got to Rogers in the top of the fourth with an RBI double. It was his only blemish on the night, as he threw a quality start across seven innings, striking out four, and giving up just the one run. Alex Amalfi came in for him in the eighth and shut down Portland in the last two innings, as New Hampshire got back in the win column with a 4-1 win. Charles McAdoo: 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 HR Grant Rogers: 7 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (1), Everett (2) - 7/1 Box Score The Canadians hosted the Everett AquaSox for this series, and they unfortunately couldn’t do much offensively despite the quality start from Jackson Wentworth. The offense mustered up only five hits and one walk, as they went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Wentworth did give up the first run on a solo homer in the third inning, and allowed another run in the fifth, but the offense did not pick up the slack despite a solid performance. Irv Carter came in and pitched three scoreless innings, as he’s improved immensely since coming off the development list. He’s now pitched to a 3.79 ERA/2.92 FIP with a 25.0 K% to a 5.0 BB% in 19 innings after revamping his cutter. Eddie Micheletti Jr. knocked in the only run of the night for Vancouver with a sac fly in the seventh to score Arjun Nimmala, but that was all they could get. Victor Arias: 2-4, 1 3B, 1 K Jackson Wentworth: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 K Wentworth didn’t have the strikeout stuff he had in his last outing but still went six innings for the second straight start after not reaching that mark prior. The 22-year-old fifth-rounder has taken to the challenge of starting off his pro career in High-A Vancouver quite strongly, with a better-than-average FIP on the season now. Vancouver (7), Everett (3) - 7/2 Box Score Vancouver’s offense bounced back after nearly getting shut out the night before. The first three innings were quiet for both teams, but then Nimmala broke the tie with an RBI single to left field to score Cutter Coffey. Nimmala then stole second base, and the catcher made an errant throw that allowed Sean Keys to score from third. Micheletti hit his own single to right field to score Nimmala for a three-run inning. In the sixth inning, some poor defense after a double from Micheletti led to a bases-loaded situation, where Victor Arias capitalized with a bases-clearing triple to double the lead for the Canadians. Meanwhile, Gage Stanifer put on a dominant performance for the Canadians, only allowing a single hit in 5.1 innings with nine strikeouts. Javen Coleman continued the excellent pitching, striking out two himself without allowing a hit or a walk. Hard-throwing Julio Ortiz came in after, and although he didn’t give up a hit, he ended up walking five batters and allowing three runs to score. Yondrei Rojas cleaned up the mess with a two-inning save, striking out four batters without allowing a hit, as the Canadians one-hit the AquaSox. Sean Keys: 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B Gage Stanifer: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K Stanifer barely faced any traffic. Although he walked a few batters, he always managed to strand them without them being able to move up, even showing off a nifty pickoff throw in the first to end the inning. Stanifer was in control all game and was touching 96 on the fastball at times. Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (3), Lakeland (10) - 7/1 Box Score The Flying Tigers came to visit the D-Jays, and Landen Maroudis was hoping to carry some strong success in his recent starts over to this game. Unfortunately, Maroudis struggled to find the zone, lasting only one and a third innings of work, walking four batters, hitting one, and giving up six runs. Eliander Alcalde came on in relief and pitched well as a bulk reliever, only giving up one hit to prevent the lead from ballooning more than it already had. It took until the sixth inning for the Dunedin Blue Jays to score, as Zack Lee was finally replaced by Ronny Chalas, who gave up three runs on a Yhoangel Aponte sac fly and Manuel Beltre’s third homer of the season, which scored Alexis Hernandez as well. Appearing on a rehab assignment after he suffered an injury in spring training, Amir Garrett recorded his first strikeout in the Jays organization, but Bennett Flynn came in right after and gave up four runs to put the game out of reach for good. Nate LaRue had his best appearance for the Jays, as he struck out three batters in two no-hit innings, but the Jays did not score after the sixth inning. Manuel Beltre: 1-2, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB, 1 HR Eliander Alcalde: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 K Dunedin (0), Lakeland (2) - 7/2 Box Score The pitching was a lot better in game two of the series, but the offense couldn’t capitalize on any opportunities this time. After five solid innings from Austin Cates, Gilberto Batista came in and allowed two runs in the seventh inning. Unfortunately for the Jays, that was the only time they could score, as they left nine men on base and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Rehabbing Alex De Jesus and Sam Shaw both had multi-hit games, but the rest of the lineup didn’t do much to help them score. Alex De Jesus: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 2B Austin Cates: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Cates has been the best pitcher in Dunedin after the more high-profile pitchers were promoted to Vancouver. His fastball was up a couple of ticks to 92 mph this outing, and it showed with five scoreless innings. It also helped his splitter play up. The fastball still had his signature high-ride, and he pounded the zone. The seventh-rounder has a 1.89 ERA in his last nine appearances, and his fastball has slowly been ticking up. FCL Blue Jays F-BLU (9), F-PHI (4) - 7/1 Box Score Sann Omosako got the start for the Blue Jays' club and was very good over five innings. He gave up a game-tying home run to Raylin Heredia in the bottom of the first, but after that only allowed four more hits and didn't allow another run. The Blue Jays' squad scored often in this one, putting up multi-run innings in the third, fifth, and sixth frames. Yorman Licourt had the big hits, racking up four of them on the day; two were RBI doubles and one was an RBI single. Up 9-1 after the sixth, the Phillies would tack on three more runs, but it wasn't enough as the Blue Jays won 9-4. Yorman Licourt: 4-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 3 2B Sann Omosako: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K DSL Blue Jays Blue D-BJB (3), D-CUR (2) F/8 - 7/1 Box Score Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, BJB got a single back to the pitcher from Rafael Flores, then Franklin Rojas came to the plate and blasted his first home run of the season to left field and gave them the lead. CUR tied the game in the bottom of the sixth and sent it into extra innings. BJB kept CUR from scoring in the eighth, then played small ball to score the winning run. Darwin Núñez bunted to move Cristopher Polanco to third, and Juarlin Soto had the walk-off hit, scoring him. BJB won this game 3-2. Franklin Rojas: 3-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR Jose Andrades: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K DSL Blue Jays Red D-BJR (8), D-TI1 (10) - 7/2 Box Score Tuesday morning's game was one decided by big innings. TI1 scored six in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single, RBI double, and two two-RBI singles. BJR got one run back in the top of the second when Luis Felipe scored on a wild pitch. The top of the fourth would be BJR's big inning. They got one on Diego Arce's single that scored Kennew Blanco. Later in the inning, Felipe grounded out, scoring Arce. After Wilmer Blanco was hit by a pitch, Juan Sanchez doubled home two and then scored on a wild pitch. Blanco wrapped up the inning by doubling in two more runs and giving BJR an 8-6 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, TI1 got a run back when they scored on a wild pitch. BJR was still in line for the win in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Kendrick Hernandez came to the plate with two men on base. His at-bat ended with a ball being sent over the left field wall for a three-run home run, which ultimately was the game winner. BJR fell down on the island, 10-8. Kennew Blanco: 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B Johandi Medina: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Gage Stanifer (Vancouver): 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K Hitter of the Period: OF Yorman Licourt (FCL Blue Jays): 4-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 3 2B Prospect Summary (Last 3 Days) Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Hitters Rank Player Team PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS 1 Arjun Nimmala Vancouver 8 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 5 Alan Roden Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Orelvis Martinez Buffalo 7 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 11 Yohendrick Pinango Buffalo 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 Josh Kasevich Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Jonatan Clase Buffalo 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 17 RJ Schreck Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 Sam Shaw Dunedin 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 20 Victor Arias Vancouver 8 0 4 0 2 0 3 0 1 0 0 Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Pitchers Rank Player Team BF G GS IP H HR ER BB K 2 Trey Yesavage New Hampshire 13 1 1 2.1 4 1 4 2 3 3 Ricky Tiedemann Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Khal Stephen Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Johnny King Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Kendry Rojas New Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Landen Maroudis Dunedin 12 1 1 1.1 3 0 6 4 0 10 Gage Stanifer Vancouver 19 1 1 5.1 1 0 0 3 9 12 Jake Bloss Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 Juaron Watts-Brown New Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Adam Macko Buffalo 22 1 1 3.2 7 1 2 3 3 18 Brandon Barriera Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

As the first half of the season has come to a close, and the weather has started to heat up, so too have some of the Jays' minor league bats. There have been a lot of changes within the system recently, as certain prospects have earned call-ups and hitters who were hot in May started to cool off, but other hitters heated up to replace their production. It was very difficult to whittle down this list to something manageable, as each team in the system had some very productive hitters this past month. These were the best minor league hitters in the Toronto Blue Jays' system in June: Honourable Mentions 1B/OF - Jackson Hornung - High-A Vancouver/Double-A New Hampshire .337/.379/.488, 138 wRC+, 5.2 BB%, 36.1 K%, 2 HR, 5 2B, 1 3B The former catcher struggled defensively last season, so the Jays converted him to a full-time first baseman/left fielder, and his bat has begun to come around. He’s still striking out at an above-average clip, but Hornung was good enough to earn a promotion to Double A, where he had 11 hits in his first six games. OF - Eddie Micheletti Jr. - High-A Vancouver .229/.389/.486, 138 wRC+, 17.8 BB%, 16.7 K%, 5 HR, 2 2B The 2024 eighth-rounder has started to make some really good contact. His batting average is still below average, but he makes up for it with strong plate discipline, and when he does make contact, it is loud contact. 3B - Tucker Toman - Single-A Dunedin .329/.386/.468, 142 wRC+, 6.8 BB%, 23.9 K%, 2 HR, 5 2B The former second-round pick had struggled at times throughout his minor league career, but he had a hot June to bring his season numbers back above average. Toman is repeating Single A for the third time, but hopefully, the talent that got him drafted in the second round is starting to shine through. 3B/SS/OF - Rafael Flores - DSL Blue Jays Blue .298/.512/.421, 167 wRC+, 19.5 BB%, 12.2 K%, 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 9 HBP Flores was an unheralded international free agent signing, and the 18-year-old has been awesome for his second year in the Dominican Summer League. He’s walking nearly 20% of the time and hit his first professional homer in June. 2B/3B - Ryan McCarty - Triple-A Buffalo Bisons/Double-A New Hampshire .323/.417/.452, 156 wRC+, 12.5 BB%, 25.0 K%, 1 HR, 5 2B McCarty just missed out on the list, as the former Division III standout moved from Triple A at the beginning of the month back down to Double A. McCarty is another older prospect who has shown some strong recent success. Blue Jays Top Five Minor League Hitters in June 5. 3B/SS - Cutter Coffey - High-A Vancouver .337/.412/.506, 150 wRC+, 11.8 BB%, 24.5 K%, 2 HR, 9 2B The 21-year-old infielder was acquired in the Danny Jansen trade and has adjusted well to Vancouver after struggling when he was first acquired. Coffey hasn’t shown as much power as he did last season with the Red Sox organization but has raised his batting average after starting to swing more, despite a lower contact rate. His line drive rate is up on the season, as well as his pull percentage. All three of the players acquired in the Jansen trade have been performing well so far this season. 4. 3B/SS - Nick Goodwin - High-A Vancouver .250/.372/.594, 153 wRC+, 15.2 BB%, 24.1 K%, 7 HR, 1 2B Goodwin had a massive power surge at the beginning of June, hitting six of his seven homers of the month in the first week. Pitchers began to pitch around him more after that stretch, and he continued to maintain a solid approach, walking more and taking what the pitchers were giving him. The 2023 seventh-round pick just finished his best month with the organization. 3. 1B/3B - Riley Tirotta - Triple-A Buffalo .311/.429/.446, 16.5 BB%, 23.1 K%, 2 HR, 4 2B Tirotta slowed down in May after a hot April but began to heat up again in June. The Jays will be looking for a right-handed bat at the trade deadline, but if they can’t find the right player on the open market, they may have to look internally at Tirotta. The power wasn't as prevalent in June as it was previously, but his plate discipline was much improved, as he lowered his strikeout rate. 2. OF - Will Robertson - Triple-A Buffalo Bisons .320/.393/.760, 183 wRC+, 11.5 BB%, 24.6 K%, 6 HR, 4 2B Robertson just missed out on the number one spot because he was a little too good in June; when the Blue Jays placed Nathan Lukes on the 7-day IL, they called up Robertson, so he didn’t get enough minor league plate appearances to warrant the top spot. However, don’t discount how good the lefty slugger has been for the Bisons. As a platoon bat, he absolutely mashes righties, and he showed a lot of pop in more limited time relative to his peers. 1. OF - Je’Von Ward - High-A Vancouver .242/.467/.500, 167 wRC+, 30.0 BB%, 22.2 K%, 3 HR, 2 2B, 3 3B Ward was signed in 2024 after being released by the Brewers organization and is repeating High A for the fourth season now. The 26-year-old outfielder has been much better with the Jays organization compared to the Brewers organization. Ward had an absurd walk rate this past month due to a very passive approach, but it worked very well for him, as he now leads the farm system in OBP. The Jays have had success with late-blooming prospects in the past, so hopefully Ward is the next. Ward earned himself a promotion to Double-A New Hampshire off of his hot performance in June, and will now have to see if his new approach is effective against more advanced pitchers. View full article

After an injury-plagued 2024 season, Bo Bichette has returned to being an above-average hitter with a .274/.313/.427 slashline for a 108 wRC+. Bichette has been doing most of his work slotted right into that leadoff spot, except for this clutch pinch-hit homer to win the game for the Blue Jays against the Rangers on May 28th. That was the only plate appearance that Bo was not the one-hitter so far this season. That begs the question: Is Bo Bichette the right man for the job at the leadoff spot? The leadoff spot typically has one of your best hitters, which Bo has been consistently over his entire Blue Jays tenure, but also typically comes with a higher on-base percentage. Bichette has one of the lowest on-base percentages on the team because of his tendency not to take a walk, largely due to his excellent contact abilities. Of all leadoff hitters in MLB with greater than 50 plate appearances, Bo ranks 42nd in OBP, as well as 49th in walk percentage (via FanGraphs). Bichette is a good hitter, but there should be a better option to lead off for the Jays, as well as a better spot in the batting order for Bo to utilize his strengths. Bichette’s strengths have always been obvious on the offensive end, and that is that he can flat-out hit. He’s always been one of the league leaders, if not the league leader, in hits, and since his first “full season” in 2020, he’s had the 13th highest hit total amongst all hitters. His batting average is also near the top, being the 16th highest since the beginning of 2020. There is an old adage that a walk is just as good as a hit, but ultimately, that’s not entirely true. As noted by former Jays Centre editor Davy Andrews, a walk is around 61.5% as good a hit. One of the main reasons is that walks are limited to just one base for the most part, and if you have a runner in scoring position, a walk will just add another baserunner, whereas a base hit could potentially score you a run. In such instances with a runner in scoring position, Bo Bichette has been the ninth-best hitter in baseball (according to FanGraphs, minimum 40 PAs), hitting an absurd .400/.432/.625 for a 195 wRC+. Perhaps the Jays should maximize Bichette’s plate appearances to ensure that runners are on base, rather than having him lead off before other hitters who have a less likely chance of getting on base for them. This leads to another question, however: Do the Jays even have a leadoff hitter that could replace Bo? There are a few options, the most obvious one being the hitter with the second-most leadoff home runs in MLB history in George Springer, who’s been having a renaissance season himself. Unlike Bo, Springer carries an OBP of .362, walks 12.5% of the time, and rarely chases balls at 20.2% (compared to Bo’s 34.6%). The easiest and most obvious solution is for John Schneider to slot Springer back to the spot in the lineup that earned him his massive contract. Another potential option, albeit somewhat unrealistic, is to have a platoon at the top of the order. Nathan Lukes’ bat has cooled off after coming back from the concussion IL, but he still carries a strong .349 OBP against righties that comes with an 11.7% walk rate, and on the short side of the platoon, why not let Ernie Clement see more lefties? He’s been absolutely destroying them, and with a .430/.477/.722 triple slash line, including a surprising 9.0% walk rate, Ernie and Lukes could make a duo that is greater than the sum of its parts. However, this is unlikely again, as John Schneider and the Blue Jays might prefer more continuity at the leadoff spot, and having to pinch-hit for your leadoff hitter would not be ideal. This brings me to my favourite option, which is the movement to have Alejandro Kirk bat leadoff. Like George Springer, he’s also had his bat bounce back to solidly above average, and he also has the same OBP as Springer does, with a .362. Alejandro doesn’t walk nearly as much as Springer does, but he’s able to get on base at the same clip with his strong contact ability and the refusal to strike out. Captain Kirk has had his best batted ball metrics in his career, and allowing one of the hottest hitters on the team to get more plate appearances is obviously a good thing. There are obvious issues with leading Kirk off, as Springer is an above-average base runner who has stolen nine bases on the season, and Kirk is the opposite of that. Kirk is also a strong contact hitter who has been one of the best on the team, excelling at hitting with runners in scoring position. Therefore, potentially having Kirk hit behind hitters who can get on base will also maximize his opportunities. Still, it is fun to see managers break convention and lead off a slower, plodding catcher compared to a speedier outfielder. Regardless of who replaces Bo at the one-hole, it would be pertinent to give Bichette more opportunities with runners in scoring position, and moving him to the cleanup spot could be the easiest way to do so. View full article

CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 30-45 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 30-41 Vancouver Canadians: 39-31 Dunedin Blue Jays: 35-34 FCL Blue Jays: 22-16 DSL Blue Jays Blue: 7-9 DSL Blue Jays Red: 7-9 Transactions 06/25/25: Toronto Blue Jays optioned RHP Robinson Piña to Buffalo Bisons. 06/25/25: LHP Javen Coleman assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. 006/24/25: Buffalo Bisons sent LHP Amir Garrett on a rehab assignment to FCL Blue Jays. 06/24/25: Buffalo Bisons transferred 3B Damiano Palmegiani to the Development List. 06/24/25: DSL Blue Jays Red activated RHP Gabriel Brito from the restricted list. 06/24/25: 3B Alex De Jesus assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 06/24/25: New Hampshire Fisher Cats transferred C Robert Brooks to the Development List. 06/24/25: RHP Pat Gallagher assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians. 06/24/25: C Jackson Hornung assigned to New Hampshire Fisher Cats from Vancouver Canadians. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (1), Lehigh Valley (4) - F/10 - 6/24 Box Score Buffalo kicked off a series at home against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Tuesday night. The IronPigs struck first, when Weston Wilson launched a cutter from Adam Kloffenstein over the center field wall. That would be the extent of the runs Lehigh Valley would score off of Kloffenstein, who went four innings, gave up just four hits and two walks, striking out five. In the bottom of the fifth, Buffalo would get their lone run off of the IronPigs starter, by way of an Ali Sánchez home run to center field. In the seventh inning, Rainer Nunez and Josh Rivera singled for Buffalo in one of their lone scoring chances. Unfortunately, Will Wagner grounded out to end the inning. The game went to extras, and it was all IronPigs from there. They scored the automatic runner via a sacrifice fly, and then a two-run single put them up three. In the bottom of the 10th, Buffalo went quietly on a strikeout, groundout, and strikeout as they lost 4-1. Ali Sánchez: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR Adam Kloffenstein: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Buffalo (1), Lehigh Valley (7) - F/10 - 6/24 Box Score The Wednesday game had an early start, but a rain delay at the beginning would set the tone for the game, and it wasn't good for Buffalo. The first five innings went by quickly, with both teams putting up zeros, and then the sixth inning happened. A walk, a single, and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Two RBI singles, an RBI groundout, and a two-run single put Lehigh Valley up five. In the seventh, Rivera doubled in a run for Buffalo to inch closer. That would be all they could push across the plate in the game though, as the IronPigs added another RBI single and a Justin Crawford home run in the ninth to win this one 7-1. Josh Rivera: 1-4, 0 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 2B Bobby Milacki: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (1), Hartford (3) - 6/24 Box Score Tuesday saw a new series begin for New Hampshire, this one with Hartford. The Yard Goats took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning on a groundout that scored Cole Carrigg, following his lead-off triple. Juaron Watts-Brown, who was on the bump for New Hampshire, made it through the next two innings without surrendering a run, despite some traffic on the basepaths. However, he wouldn't be so lucky in the fourth inning. After the bases were loaded on a fielder's choice, he walked in the second run of the game. The scoring died off until the eighth inning, when New Hampshire got on the scoreboard and cut the lead to one. Jace Bohrofen singled, then moved to third base on Jackson Hornung's single. From there, he would score when Hartford's pitcher threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt. Braiden Ward singled in an insurance run the following half inning, giving Hartford a 3-1 lead. New Hampshire would go down in order in the top of the ninth inning and fall in the opener to Hartford. Jace Bohrofen: 3-4, 1 R, 1 3B Alex Amalfi: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K New Hampshire (2), Hartford (1) - 6/25 Box Score Wednesday saw a top-tier starting pitcher matchup in a game that was surely billed as a pitchers' duel (Trey Yesavage against Sean Sullivan). In the first inning, both teams got a baserunner and a stolen base but nothing more, as Sullivan got a couple of pop-ups and Yesavage struck out two. In the top of the second inning, New Hampshire struck first, getting a walk, another stolen base, then an RBI single from Gabriel Martinez. Yesavage racked up two more strikeouts in a clean bottom half of the inning. A walk, a stolen base, and another single by Martinez would lead to a run by New Hampshire in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Yesavage sat down two more hitters by way of the strikeout, ending his night having only allowed two baserunners and striking out eight. The bullpen came in for Yesavage and was up to the task of holding the lead, only surrendering one run, as New Hampshire won 2-1. Gabriel Martinez: 2-4, 2 RBI Trey Yesavage: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (6), Tri-City (3) - 6/24 Box Score The second half of the season officially started, and the Canadians kicked it off against the Tri-City Dust Devils. Ryan Johnson and Jackson Wentworth went head to head, as they both didn’t allow a run to score until the sixth inning, when Wentworth dealt with a bit of traffic, which resulted in a sac fly to give the Dust Devils the first run of the ballgame. Sean Keys answered back with a homer, and then Eddie Micheletti Jr. hit his 10th homer of the season to make it 3-1 for the Canadians. Wentworth was taken out in the seventh for Jonathan Todd, who gave up a homer himself, and then allowed another sac fly to even it up at three apiece. Victor Arias took the lead back, scoring Nicolas Deschamps on a seeing-eye single, and then Je’Von Ward hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach for good. Chay Yeager earned the save with two scoreless innings. Eddie Micheletti Jr.: 2-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR Micheletti is now the third Canadian to hit the double-digit homer mark. The 2024 eighth-rounder has shown a lot of pop and has taken his walks all season. Jackson Wentworth: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K Wentworth has struggled in the past month or so, but he really put it together, as he had his best start of the season, inducing 20 whiffs in a career-high six innings. His nine strikeouts were also a career best. Hopefully, he can bring this strong start to the second half of the season to the remainder of his year. Vancouver (4), Tri-City (5) - 6/25 Box Score In game two of the second half of the season, the Canadians got off to a great start, with Gage Stanifer striking out the first six batters he faced and an Aaron Parker two-run homer giving the Canadians an early lead. Stanifer struck out batter number seven before facing some trouble, as he lost his command, hitting a batter and then immediately walking the next. He ended up allowing two runs to score after he hit another batter, as Matt Coutney hit a two-RBI single to tie it up for the Dust Devils. Stanifer threw another two strong scoreless innings before Edinson Batista gave up two runs himself in the sixth inning. Aaron Munson allowed another run on a couple of doubles back-to-back, and the Canadians were then down 5-2. Micheletti hit homer number 11 to bring it slightly closer, and the Canadians had an opportunity to win it in the ninth after Cutter Coffey walked and Keys hit a single to put two men on. Parker flied out, and then Ward hit a grounder to score Coffey, but Micheletti couldn’t win the game as the Canadians fell just short. Aaron Parker: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR Gage Stanifer: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K Stanifer had his longest outing of the season, and although he faced traffic in the third inning, he managed to settle down and didn’t allow a run after that. Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (2), Bradenton (3) - 6/24 Box Score Juanmi Vasquez had his first start of the season, and the rust showed, as he allowed three runs to score in the first inning. After that, the Jays locked it down, as they combined for 14 strikeouts on the night, not allowing another run. Alexis Hernandez hit a double in the bottom of the second to reduce the Marauders' lead. The game was then scoreless until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Sam Shaw hit his seventh homer of the year, but it was too little, too late. Sam Shaw: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR Shaw has homered in consecutive games, as his power drought has ended. Johan Simon - 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K Dunedin vs. Bradenton - 6/25 PPD after three innings FCL Blue Jays F-BLU, (4), F-PHI (6) - 6/24 Box Score Amir Garrett started the game for the Blue Jays team, and it did not go well. It began with a double, then a single, double, double, home run, and a double, with a strikeout in the middle. Another run would score after he was pulled, and Garrett was charged with five runs. In the second inning, an error would allow a run to score, and the Blue Jays team was down six quickly. In the third, a hit-by-pitch would bring in the first run for the Blue Jays' squad. In the seventh, a two-run single by Dariel Ramon would add two runs, and a wild pitch put the Blue Jays within two. The game ended, though, with the Blue Jays losing 6-4. Dariel Ramon: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K Sann Omosako: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K DSL Blue Jays Blue D-BJB (8), D-MRN (6) F/7 - 6/24 Box Score The power was on display from the BJB on Tuesday against the Mariners’ DSL team (MRN). Angel Guzman flexed his muscles first, with a solo shot to center in the top of the first inning. In the top of the second, BJB scored a run on a wild pitch and another when Rafael Flores walked with the bases loaded. Guzman added two more runs on his single, Flores would score on another wild pitch, and Franklin Rojas made sure to join the party with his RBI single. In all, it was a six-run second inning for BJB and a 7-0 lead. MRN worked their way back from the deficit and cut the lead to two heading into the fifth inning. Daniel Dominguez made sure to add a welcomed insurance run with a flex of his own, a solo home run to left field. BJB took this game 8-6. Angel Guzman: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR Jorge Gonzalez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K DSL Blue Jays Red D-BJR (11), D-ARR (3) - 6/24 Box Score BJR had some big innings on Tuesday against the Red team of the Arizona Diamondbacks (ARR). They scored three runs or more in three of the nine innings, but only had seven hits in the game. It was the 13 walks they had at the plate that would fuel their scoring bursts. BJR got their scoring started in the third with Luis Felipe scoring on a wild pitch, Elaineiker Coronado singling home a run, and Juan Sanchez coming home on a groundout by Kennew Blanco. In the fifth, a couple of walks and a single loaded the bases for BJR. They would score one on Pascual Archila's walk and then two on wild pitches. Two more walks would load the bases up again, before Felipe hit a sacrifice fly, bringing the score to 7-1. In the bottom of the sixth, Sanchez walked, then advanced to third, and scored on three straight wild pitches. Three consecutive walks then loaded the bases up again, followed by a run scoring on a hit-by-pitch. Diego Arce singled home a run, and Felipe hit a sacrifice fly to wrap up the scoring for BJR. They won big with an 11-3 victory. Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Jackson Wentworth (Vancouver): 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K Hitter of the Period: Jackson Hornung (New Hampshire): 6-10, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 2B Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days) Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Pitchers Rank Player Team BF G GS IP H HR ER BB K 2 Trey Yesavage New Hampshire 17 1 1 5 1 0 0 1 8 3 Ricky Tiedemann Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Khal Stephen Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Johnny King FCL Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Kendry Rojas Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Landen Maroudis Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Gage Stanifer Vancouver 20 1 1 5 2 0 2 2 9 12 Jake Bloss Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 Juaron Watts-Brown New Hampshire 22 1 1 4.2 5 0 2 3 3 16 Adam Macko Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Brandon Barriera FCL Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Hitters Rank Player Team PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS 1 Arjun Nimmala Vancouver 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 Alan Roden MLB 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 6 Orelvis Martinez Buffalo 8 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 11 Yohendrick Pinango Buffalo 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 Josh Kasevich Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Jonatan Clase MLB 5 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 17 RJ Schreck Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 Sam Shaw Dunedin 6 1 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 20 Victor Arias Vancouver 8 0 3 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 View full article

In my first piece writing for Jays Centre, I highlighted a few Non-Roster Invitees who could possibly make an impact on the major league roster sometime this season, and Braydon Fisher was the first pitcher I mentioned. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back too hard, though, as although I thought Fisher could pitch some big-league innings, I didn’t expect him to be this effective. Other than the blow-up innings he pitched as an opener, Braydon Fisher has not given up a single earned run as a reliever for the Jays in 17 ⅓ innings pitched. Just last season, he was traded from the Dodgers for Cavan Biggio, and Fisher had a 6.60 ERA in Triple-A against worse hitters while walking 16.3% of the batters he faced. This season, his walk rate dropped to 8.5% in Triple-A, and then in the major leagues, it dropped even further to 4.3%. One of the most tangible differences about Fisher’s pitching compared to last season is that he’s just throwing harder. In Triple-A, his average fastball velocity was 93.8 mph; however, this season it has increased to 95.5 mph in MLB. Similarly, his slider velocity has increased by two mph, and his curveball velocity has increased by 3.7 mph, from 79.8 mph to 83.5 mph. The extra velocity has altered the movement profile of some of his pitches, resulting in a tighter break, which may explain some of the improved control. His fastball shape also changed slightly, as he increased the ride on it by 0.5 inches and reduced the run it had by an inch. Another interesting change about his arsenal is that he’s getting more extension on all of his pitches relative to when he was in Triple-A. This suggests that he’s being more direct to the plate, which not only helps him stay in the zone more but also explains a bit of the velo increase as he’s driving down the mound a little more effectively. Despite the increased stuff making his arsenal more effective, as hitters now have much less time to react to his fastball, which makes the split-second decision on whether a pitch is a breaking ball or not much harder, Fisher’s most impressive aspect of his game is now his command. His release point was lowered slightly by an inch, and it’s remarkably consistent, with all his pitches being released at the same point. His zone rate is now above average at 54.5%, representing a significant difference from his 50.5% zone rate when pitching against weaker competition in Triple-A. However, he’s not just throwing the pitch in the heart of the zone and hoping that hitters don’t time it up; he’s been excellent at peppering the edge of the zone, with 45.8% of his pitches being thrown there (via Statcast). FanGraphs’ Location+ and Pitching Bot Command both back up Fisher’s strong command of his pitches, as they have him at a 109 and a 59 grade, respectively. This forces hitters to swing because he’s always in the zone, but also generates a good amount of whiffs due to the location of those pitches, as evidenced by his 32.3% whiff rate and 34.4% chase rate. Hitters also struggle to square him up when they do make contact, as he has an 87.1 average exit velocity against and a 35% hard-hit rate given up. Fisher is also an example of more modern pitching philosophy, despite increasing his fastball velocity by a couple of ticks, the big righty has reduced the usage of his four-seamer, and instead increased the usage of his two better pitches, his slider which has a Stuff+ of 116 and his curveball with a 110 Stuff+. Fisher mostly throws his slider against righties, whereas he throws the curveball more against lefties. The results support this style of pitching, as his breaking balls have combined for five run value, whereas his fastball has been neutral. As hitters are getting better and better at dealing with higher velocities, pitchers must more effectively mix their pitches to prevent hitters from getting to the fastball. It helps when you can make Kyle Schwarber look silly like this: SzRsM0JfWGw0TUFRPT1fQXdKUkFsTUFCVlFBRHdkV1h3QUhCZ2RlQUZrTVZsZ0FBVk1GVmxWUkF3VUhCRlpm.mp4 Fisher’s combination of strong command and increased velocity of his pitches allows him to be the second-best reliever for the Blue Jays. After a few years of little-to-no internally developed talent pitching in the Jays' bullpen, there are now a few that are helping anchor the Jays' pitching staff while the starting pitching has struggled. Fisher has mostly been used in lower leverage early in his career, but if he continues to pitch like this, John Schneider will have his hand forced to put Fisher in big spots. View full article

CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 29-40 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 29-36 Vancouver Canadians: 36-29 Dunedin Blue Jays: 33-31 FCL Blue Jays: 19-14 DSL Blue Jays Blue: 2-8 DSL Blue Jays Red: 4-7 Transactions 06/18/25: Toronto Blue Jays sent RF Nathan Lukes on a rehab assignment to Buffalo Bisons. 06/17/25: Buffalo Bisons activated RHP Jacob Barnes from the 7-day injured list. 06/17/25: Toronto Blue Jays recalled RHP Paxton Schultz from Buffalo Bisons. 06/17/25: Toronto Blue Jays selected the contract of LHP Justin Bruihl from Buffalo Bisons. 06/17/25: Toronto Blue Jays sent RHP Ryan Burr on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 06/17/25: Dunedin Blue Jays placed RHP Christian Mracna on the full-season injured list. 06/17/25: FCL Blue Jays placed C Luis Meza on the full-season injured list. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (4), Worcester (5) - 6/17 Box Score The Buffalo Bisons began a series on Tuesday with the Worcester Red Sox. Lazaro Estrada got the ball as the starting pitcher for the Bisons in this one, and he delivered another quality performance. He baffled the Red Sox hitters for four innings, only surrendering two hits, one earned run, and two walks, while striking out four. The one run came in the third inning in the form of a Nick Sogard home run. In the fifth, after Estrada came out of the game, the Red Sox would pounce for four more runs, taking a 5-0 lead. They scored on a Wilyer Abreu single, a sacrifice fly, a Vaughn Grissom RBI double, and a bases-loaded walk. The Buffalo bats came alive toward the end of the game. In the sixth, they got things started with their first run on a double-play ball. Then in the seventh, two groundouts, one from Will Wagner and one from Michael Stefanic, added two more runs. Yohendrick Pinango doubled in the fourth run for the Bisons in the eighth inning. That would be where the scoring ended though, as Buffalo lost this one 5-4. Yohendrick Pinango: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Lazaro Estrada: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Buffalo (14), Worcester (1) - 6/18 Box Score Buffalo jumped out early in this one, when they put up five runs in the top of the second inning. Josh Rivera singled in a run, there were two bases-loaded walks, Nathan Lukes drove in a run, and a third bases-loaded walk of the inning brought in the fifth run. It was all Buffalo from there, as Max Scherzer was on the mound and he looked lights out. He went 4.1 innings and only gave up one hit, two walks, and no runs. He struck out eight and looked like he could be up in Toronto for his next start. Jacob Barnes and Adam Kloffenstein combined to go the rest of the way and only surrendered three hits and one run themselves. The Buffalo offense was cooking though, as they would smash 12 hits, take nine walks, and put 14 runs up on the scoreboard. Lukes and Rainer Nunez added home runs in the fifth and sixth innings to provide the power for the Bisons. Buffalo would win this easily, 14-1. Nathan Lukes: 3-4, 1 R, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, Max Scherzer: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (3), Somerset (5) F/7 - 6/18 - Game 1 Box Score After a rainout Tuesday night, the series opener with Somerset was moved to a doubleheader on Wednesday. In game one, New Hampshire sent Juaron Watts-Brown to the mound to set the tone for the week, and he did that and more. Watts-Brown was locked in from the get-go, sitting down hitters via the strikeout and in waves. He struck out the side in the top of the first inning, got two more swinging in the second, and three in the third. Unfortunately, for New Hampshire, the three in the third were sandwiched in between a couple of walks and a throwing error by Watts-Brown on a pickoff attempt that allowed a run to score. In the fourth, Somerset went quietly, thanks to a caught stealing after a walk. The fifth inning, though, saw Watts-Brown unable to pitch over a Charles McAdoo error, on his way to giving up a two-run home run to Roc Riggio. The home run tied it up at three; New Hampshire had gotten three runs in the bottom of the fourth on two errors from Somerset. New Hampshire was unable to add any more runs, but Somerset put two on the scoreboard, which included one from a Spencer Jones single in the top of the seventh. New Hampshire fell in game one 5-3. Charles McAdoo: 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB Juaron Watts-Brown: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K New Hampshire (1), Somerset (6) F/7 - 6/19 - Game 2 Box Score In game two of the doubleheader, New Hampshire had prospect stud Trey Yesavage going in a much-anticipated matchup. He got through the first two innings, only giving up one walk and striking out two. The top of the third inning would prove to be one of the worst for Yesavage this season. After striking out the lead-off hitter, he gave up a double to Max Burt, who would score on the next batter's single. After walking George Lombard Jr., he struck out Jones, then gave up a three-run home run to Dylan Jasso. His night was over at that point, giving way to Nate Garkow. New Hampshire got their lone run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on Peyton Williams’ single that scored McAdoo. In a stunner to fans, New Hampshire got swept on the night, losing game two 6-1. Charles McAdoo: 1-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 2B Nate Garkow: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (12), Eugene (8) - 6/17 Box Score Vancouver continued their hot streak with another high-scoring affair, as they looked to win 11 games in a row. Jackson Wentworth was the starter for this game but went only 2.2 innings, allowing three earned runs, walking three, and allowing four hits. He did strike out four batters, but Wentworth has been struggling for more than a month. In his past seven starts, he’s allowed three or more earned runs in six of them. Fortunately, the offense picked up him up, as the Canadians started off with an early lead, with Victor Arias hitting his fourth homer of the season on the first at-bat of the game, then Je’Von Ward scored Aaron Parker on a double, before Arias came back to bat a second time in the second inning to hit an RBI single to make it 3-0 Canadians. The Emeralds then scored three runs in the second and third innings, which knocked Wentworth out of the game. The Canadians answered back with some power though, as Eddie Micheletti Jr. hit his ninth homer of the season to score two more runs, and Sean Keys tacked on two more with a two-run single in the fourth inning. Kai Peterson gave up a three-run homer to make it 7-6 in the bottom of the fifth, but Arjun Nimmala answered back with a two-run homer of his own in the top of the sixth. Keys got RBI number 43 (second-most in the Northwest League) with a double to score Cutter Coffey, before Parker broke it up with another homer for the Canadians to score Keys as well. Yondrei Rojas did give up a two-run homer to Jack Payton, but with the Canadians up by so much, it was too little, too late. Edinson Batista came in and shut down the scoring to end the game, going 2.1 scoreless. Victor Arias: 3-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR The 21-year-old outfielder has had a really strong June, with his fourth game of three hits in just this month. He’s up to a 158 wRC+ on the month, hitting .328/.379/.590. Edinson Batista: 2.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Batista has pitched ten innings in his last four appearances, only allowing one run with 11 strikeouts to two walks. It's been nice to see him have a good stretch because he had a hard time at first after getting traded from the Astros organization. Vancouver (1), Eugene (8) - 6/18 Box Score Vancouver had a chance to clinch the first-half title thanks to their scorching hot win streak, but both the offense and the pitching sputtered in game two of this series. Gage Stanifer had been awesome all season long, but for the first time this season, he couldn’t last two innings, going 1.2 IP. He struggled to get batters out with a bit of bad BABIP luck; he gave up five singles on the night to go with four strikeouts and a walk. He had thrown 50 pitches before the second inning ended, so Jose Mayorga took him out for Irv Carter, who went three innings of two-run ball. Aaron Munson came in next and gave up three runs himself, and Julio Ortiz gave up a run as well. All four pitchers were able to strike out two or more batters, but also each gave up at least one run. Vancouver pitchers gave up 16 hits and walked five in this one. The only run of the game for the Canadians came on a Coffey line drive to Jonah Cox that scored Arias after he doubled. Cutter Coffey: 3-4, 1 RBI Coffey had a hot start to the series, going 7-for-10 with three doubles in just two games. Irv Carter: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (0), Clearwater (2) - 6/17 Box Score The Dunedin Blue Jays went over to Clearwater again but couldn’t get anything going offensively. The top of the order struggled to get on base, as none of the top four got any hits and combined for just three walks. The bottom of the order had all five of the hits, as Jean Joseph went 2-for-4, and Kendry Chirinos had two doubles on the night. Manuel Beltre added a hit and a walk, but none of them could score as the top of the order let them down. The pitching was solid for the D-Jays as Colby Holcombe went five solid innings, Ryan Burr had another good rehab appearance, and Jay Schueler and Javen Coleman also pitched scoreless innings, but without scoring a run there was nothing else that could be done. Kendry Chirinos: 2-3, 2 2B Colby Holcombe: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K Dunedin (5), Clearwater (6) - 6/18 - (11 innings) Box Score Clearwater and Dunedin had an early noon game, and it went to extra innings, with the teams trading runs back and forth. Bryce Arnold hit a homer on the first at-bat of the game, a 103.5-mph, 379-foot bomb off of Clearwater starter Orlando Gonzalez. Tucker Toman added to that lead, scoring Joseph on a line drive to right to give the Jays an early 2-0 lead. No more runs scored until the sixth inning, with Brady Day breaking the scoreless streak with a single off of Juanmi Vasquez. A passed ball from Jacob Lojewski allowed another run to score for the Threshers, which made it an even 2-2 game. No one else scored for either team, so they went to extra innings, with Toman scoring the ghost runner in the top of the 10th, but the Threshers tied it up with a sac fly from Kodey Shojinaga. Yhoangel Aponte and Lojewski both hit doubles in the top of the 11th to make it 5-3 and give the D-Jays a good chance to win, but Jack Eshleman gave up two singles in the bottom of that inning to allow the Threshers to tie it up. Then Eminen Flores allowed Dante Nori to walk it off with an RBI single, as the D-Jays lost a tight one. Tucker Toman: 2-5, 2 RBI Hayden Juenger: 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 K Juenger looked sharp in his rehab appearance, taking only 17 pitches to get six batters out with two strikeouts. He was sitting 95 mph with his fastball. FCL Blue Jays F-BLU (1), F-TIG (4) - 6/17 Box Score The Tigers’ FCL team got on the scoreboard in this game on an error by the Blue Jays' team. This set the tone for the game, and it wasn't pretty. Drew Jemison homered in the third inning for the Blue Jays to tie things up, but that was pretty much all they could do in the game. In the fifth inning, the Tigers' squad would put up a three-spot, this time on a three-run home run by Cole Turney to center field. The Blue Jays' team would have a single in the sixth from J.R. Freethy, but that was their last hit. They only connected for three hits in the seven-inning game, and they would lose 4-1. Drew Jemison: 1-1, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR Connor Overton: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K DSL Blue Jays Blue D-BJB (6), D-MRL (7) F/7 - 6/17 Box Score BJB took on the Marlins' DSL team (MRL) Tuesday morning down in the Dominican Republic. J.T. Bain tied the game up at one in the top of the second inning, when he tripled home Darwin Nunez. Nunez would then give BJB the lead by two on his two-run single, scoring Yeicer Crespo and Angel Guzman. In the bottom of the third, MRL put up a three-spot to take the lead back. BJB tied it in the fourth on an error by MRL's first baseman. Anthony Abreu gave MRL the lead for good in the fourth with his two-run home run. Crespo cut into the lead in the sixth with his first home run of the season, a deep ball to center. BJB fell to MRL 7-6. Yeicer Crespo: 2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HR Juan Ramirez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K DSL Blue Jays Red D-BJR (0), D-RNR (17) - 6/17 Box Score BJR took a beating on Tuesday when they faced the Texas Rangers Red team (RNR). BJB only managed one hit in the rare nine-inning DSL game. On the flip side, they committed five errors and walked 13 en route to coughing up a whopping 17 runs. Three of the errors came from third baseman Juan Sanchez. Forget it and move on, as they say. Randy Soto: 1-2, 2 BB Wilfredo Cordero: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (New Hampshire): 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Period: 3B Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire): 3-5, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days) Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Hitters Rank Player Team PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS 1 Arjun Nimmala Vancouver 9 2 2 0 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 4 Orelvis Martinez Buffalo 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 7 Alan Roden Toronto 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9 Jonatan Clase Toronto 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 Josh Kasevich Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 Charles McAdoo New Hampshire 6 2 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 18 Enmanuel Bonilla FCL Jays 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 20 Jace Bohrofen New Hampshire 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Pitchers Rank Player Team BF G GS IP H HR ER BB K 2 Ricky Tiedemann Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Trey Yesavage New Hampshire 14 1 1 2.2 3 0 4 3 4 5 Khal Stephen Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Jake Bloss Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Landen Maroudis Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Kendry Rojas Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Johnny King FCL Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 Gage Stanifer Vancouver 11 1 1 1.2 5 0 2 1 4 14 Adam Macko Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Fernando Perez Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 Brandon Barriera Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 Juaron Watts-Brown New Hampshire 21 1 1 4.2 3 1 1 4 8 View full article

Arjun NimmalaTrey YesavageRicky TiedemannKhal StephenAlan RodenJosh KasevichJuaron Watts-BrownKendry RojasJohnny KingJonatan ClaseLanden MaroudisGage StaniferJake BlossOrelvis MartinezYohendrick PinangoAdam MackoRJ SchreckBrandon BarrieraFernando PerezEdward Duran

Arjun NimmalaTrey YesavageRicky TiedemannKhal StephenAlan RodenJosh KasevichJuaron Watts-BrownKendry RojasJohnny KingJonatan ClaseLanden MaroudisGage StaniferJake BlossOrelvis MartinezYohendrick PinangoAdam MackoRJ SchreckBrandon BarrieraFernando PerezEdward Duran

The Blue Jays do not have a rich history of Cuban players coming over and playing up north, but there have been a few that have had solid success with the Jays, most notably a handful of position players. Shortstop Yunel Escobar, first baseman and designated hitter Kendrys Morales, and most recently Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were all productive bats (at least somewhat) for the Jays. Only recently have the Jays had a pitcher come from Cuba, with Yariel Rodríguez being the first and only Cuban pitcher to play for the Blue Jays' major league team. That could change very soon, as the Jays have developed a little bit of a Cuban pitching pipeline, with five separate Cuban pitchers across four different levels all finding some success within the organization. RHP Yariel Rodríguez - MLB - Toronto Blue Jays Most are already familiar with this hard-throwing righty who came out of Japan. Rodríguez was signed as a starter in the offseason of 2023-24, although he mostly pitched out of relief in NPB for the Chunichi Dragons. He had mixed success as a starter in 2024 for the Blue Jays, and although he accumulated 1.0 fWAR with a 4.47 ERA/4.34 FIP, he was ultimately moved back to the bullpen at the start of 2025. From there, he has been excellent, raising his fastball velocity by over two ticks in shorter stints and pitching to a 2.86 ERA, although his FIP has been more mediocre at a 4.25. He has been more effective as a reliever relative to as a starter, as his strikeout his risen by 2.1%, and his walk rate has decreased by 1.7%. He’s been slightly more homer-prone, but that could just be a bit of variance, as his xFIP and xERA are down compared to last season. The 28-year-old has excelled at limiting hard contact, with a 68th percentile hard-hit rate and a 92nd percentile average exit velocity as well. “La Muneca” should be a staple in the Jays bullpen for the remainder of his contract, as his four-pitch mix to help him deal with righties and lefties plays up in the 'pen. RHP Lazaro Estrada - Triple-A - Buffalo Bisons Although Yariel Rodríguez was the first Cuban pitcher to pitch in the majors for the Jays, Lazaro Estrada has been the longest-standing Cuban pitcher within the organization; he signed out of Cuba in January of 2018 as a 19-year-old. Estrada got off to a good start in Rookie ball, but the COVID year in 2020 and injuries limited his innings, so he was unable to advance past High A until last season. Still, the righty has had solid success as a starter within the organization throughout his minor league career, and the now 26-year-old Estrada has pitched decently as a starter for the Buffalo Bisons. He also uses a four-pitch mix, with the pitch he uses the most being a four-seam fastball that sits 92-94 mph. The pitch has 18.5 inches of ride and 8.7 inches of run, but its mediocre velocity and extension allow opponents to hit the ball really hard when they make contact. However, the pitch also generates chase at an above-average rate, and a whiff rate of 22.2% due to its ride, as well as the flat approach angle at which it comes into the zone, as he has a -4.6 Vertical Approach Angle (VAA). Estrada relies on the pitch heavily because of his ability to zone it, but he does leave it over the heart of the plate a little too often. The more intriguing aspects of his arsenal are his secondary pitches, as he has a very strong feel for spin, which he utilizes with two different breaking balls. His slider is a bit tighter with less spin. It sits in the mid-80s, and he uses it more often against righties. It has a near 40% whiff rate, and hitters chase it at a solid rate as well. The curveball is a big, slow looper that he throws in the mid-70s with over 2700 rpm, and it has -10.6 inches of induced vertical break along with -9.4 inches of glove side movement. The big movement makes it hard for hitters to square up, but he struggles to throw it in the zone, and hitters can spit on it after picking up the spin. Lastly, Estrada throws a splitter mostly against lefties, which is also in the mid-80s. It doesn’t get that much whiff or chase, but hitters struggle to square it up as they only have a .160 batting average against the splitter. He’s currently a depth starter in Buffalo, but his stuff may tick up in a relief setting. He’s a little undersized, but with a starter’s arsenal, it still may be worth using him as one. RHP Rafael Sanchez - Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats Rafael Sanchez was the inspiration for this article, as just last week, he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter. Sanchez was signed out of Cuba in 2022 and immediately showed some good results in Rookie ball with a 3.00 ERA across 51 innings pitched. Strong results followed in 2023 in Low A, where he pitched to a 2.27 ERA/2.91 FIP and showed some strong stuff. That earned him a promotion to High A, where he struggled a bit against advanced hitters but still had decent peripherals. In 2024, Sanchez was again solid, splitting time between High A and Double A with a 3.64 ERA/3.27 FIP. He struck out 23.6% of batters to a 7.1% walk rate. As a 25-year-old, he’s now repeating Double A, and although he had that no-hitter last week, his ERA is a little elevated compared to last season. He has a 4.97 ERA, but his FIP is in the mid-3.00s, suggesting that he’s been a little unlucky. The strikeout stuff isn’t there against more advanced hitters in Double A, but he’s done a good job avoiding the long ball. Sanchez throws a four-pitch mix himself, with a slider, a four-seam fastball, a splitter, and a cutter that he mixes in slightly less often. There’s no public pitch data on his pitches since 2023, so I’m not confident in saying how his pitches look, but he’s another depth starter option scouted and developed by the Jays. LHP Kendry Rojas - Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays (On Rehab Assignment) The lefty pitcher was one of many people expected to have a breakout campaign prior to the start of the minor league season, as Rojas had an excellent performance in the "Spring Breakout" game, where he was touching the upper 90s with his fastball in an abbreviated appearance. He continues to improve year-over-year, but unfortunately, he was shelved early in the season due to a midsection injury. After two appearances in the Complex League (5.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 K), Rojas is just returning to pitch on a rehab assignment in Dunedin, and he's pitched four scoreless innings so far. The early velo gains are noticeable, as he is sitting 94-96 mph on his sinker with 18 inches of ride and 11 inches of run. The Dunedin ball is slightly different, so expect those numbers to regress a bit as he heads back up to High A, but he's showing some strong stuff very early in the season. If the velocity holds over longer starts, Rojas will have some serious momentum. For more on Jays Centre's number 10 prospect, please check out our scouting report on him! RHP Silvano Hechavarria - Florida Complex League/Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays The newest pitching addition to the Jays organization is this hard-throwing righty. Hechavarria was signed out of Cuba in 2024 as a 21-year-old for a signing bonus of $215,000. He was hidden away a little bit in Rookie ball his first year with the organization, as they presumably wanted him to get his feet wet against weaker competition, but he has finally made his way stateside in 2025. Hechavarria pitched 17 innings in the Florida Complex League to start the year, and although he didn't strike many batters out, he pitched to a 2.12 ERA/5.15 FIP. After a plethora of players were promoted from Dunedin to Vancouver, Hechavarria was subsequently promoted to Dunedin, where he's made three appearances already and has struck out a quarter of the batters he has faced while walking only 6.3%. The 22-year-old has three pitch mixes with a high-80s cutter that he throws 36.2% of the time as his main offering. It's been highly effective in Low A, with a 45.2% chase rate and a 39.5% whiff rate. His high-powered fastball sits at 94-96 mph, and it has 18 inches of ride and 10 inches of run that comes at a -5.2 VAA. His fastball also has solid chase and whiff rates. In addition, he throws a sinker that's 94 mph, which is more for boring in against righties, with 16 inches of ride and 13.5 inches of run. He does have a changeup that he mixes in 5.6% of the time, but he mainly throws the other three pitches. As a slightly older pitcher, the big righty is definitely more advanced than the competition in Low A, but the raw stuff is decent. The Jays have done an excellent job scouting Cuban players, and although they don't have a dedicated scout for Cuba like they do for other Latin American countries, they have recently found talent in international free agency that they hadn't found previously. Yariel Rodríguez was the first Cuban pitcher for the Jays, but he definitely will not be the last. Stats updated prior to games on June 17. View full article

CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 27-36 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 28-31 Vancouver Canadians: 29-28 Dunedin Blue Jays: 29-29 FCL Blue Jays: 17-11 DSL Blue Jays Blue: 2-4 DSL Blue Jays Red: 3-4 Transactions 06/11/25: Buffalo Bisons sent RHP Hayden Juenger on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 06/11/25: Buffalo Bisons released LHP Jimmy Burnette. 06/11/25: Toronto Blue Jays selected the contract of LF Will Robertson from Buffalo Bisons. 06/11/25: Vancouver Canadians sent LHP Kendry Rojas on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 06/11/25: Buffalo Bisons sent RHP Hayden Juenger on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 06/10/25: Buffalo Bisons placed LHP Easton Lucas on the 7-day injured list. 06/10/25: Buffalo Bisons sent 3B Will Wagner on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 06/10/25: Buffalo Bisons activated RHP Bobby Milacki. 06/10/25: RHP Hunter Gregory assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 06/10/25: RHP Jose Andrades assigned to DSL Blue Jays Blue. 06/10/25: Buffalo Bisons sent 3B Will Wagner on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 06/10/25: RHP Landen Maroudis assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 06/10/25: RHP Landen Maroudis assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 06/10/25: RHP Hunter Gregory assigned to Buffalo Bisons from New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (3), Columbus (4) - 6/10 Box Score Buffalo began a series on Tuesday at home against the Columbus Clippers. The Bisons struck first in this one, with an RBI double from Riley Tirotta following two walks by Michael Stefanic and Joey Loperfido. Columbus would answer back quickly with a two-run home run from Will Wilson to left field, scoring C.J. Kayfus. After that, both starting pitchers made easy work of the batters. For the Bisons, CJ Van Eyk went six innings, only giving up three hits and the two earned runs, while walking two, and striking out two. Will Robertson gave Buffalo the lead in the sixth inning on a two-run double. Wilson took over again in the seventh with his second home run of the game, this one going 385 feet to left field and tying the score at three. In the ninth, Columbus would push across a run on an RBI single to take the lead by one. Buffalo would get out quickly in their half of the ninth and lose this game 4-3. Riley Tirotta: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 2B CJ Van Eyk: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Buffalo (3), Columbus (4) - 6/10 Box Score Lazaro Estrada got the start in this game for Buffalo and almost threw another quality start. He came close to matching Van Eyk's line from the day before, going 5.2 innings, surrendering three hits, two earned runs, one walk, and striking out six. He had the Columbus hitters fooled for much of the game, except for an RBI triple in the fourth by Brayan Rocchio and an RBI single in the sixth. For the Bisons, Yohendrick Pinango tripled in a run himself in the fourth, and Rainer Nunez followed by driving him in with a single. In the seventh, Orelvis Martinez walked with the bases loaded to give Buffalo a one-run lead, and Nunez drove in two more with a single shortly after. With the three-run lead, Tommy Nance came on for the ninth and shut down the Clippers for the Buffalo win. Rainer Nunez: 3-4, 0 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K Lazaro Estrada: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (4), Reading (3) F/10 - 6/10 Box Score The New Hampshire Fisher Cats started a new series Tuesday night against the Reading Fightin Phils. New Hampshire had Devereaux Harrison on the mound and a lineup full of bats that had been hot the prior week. In the top of the first inning, the Fisher Cats loaded the bases with only one out, but Ryan McCarty struck out and Cade Doughty lined out to end the scoring threat. Harrison got into a jam in the bottom of the second, when Reading scored two runs from a sacrifice fly and a single, but he got out of it with a pick-off of a runner at first base. In the top of the fifth, New Hampshire finally got on the scoreboard. Charles McAdoo grounded out, scoring a run, and Peyton Williams added two more on his single. The bullpen would falter a little bit in this one, giving up a run to Reading in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly. The game would head into extra innings. Doughty would cash in the ghost runner on a sacrifice fly, and Alex Amalfi would get a 1-2-3 inning, securing the 4-3 win for New Hampshire. Eddinson Paulino: 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B Devereaux Harrison: 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K New Hampshire (5), Reading (4) - 6/11 Box Score Wednesday saw Juaron Watts-Brown take the mound to face the bats from Reading. He cruised through the first three innings, not allowing a hit. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Felix Reyes got a hold of a pitch from Watts-Brown and sent it over the fence for a home run. The blast cut their deficit by one. New Hampshire had gotten a solo shot of their own in the top of the third from Paulino and another run from Jace Bohrofen's double. In the top of the fifth inning, Bohrofen doubled again, resulting in a play at the plate, where Jay Harry was thrown out and failed to score. Watts-Brown surrendered two triples to start the bottom of the sixth and got chased from the game with it tied at two. Reading would add one more in the inning, before New Hampshire put up a crooked number in the top of the seventh. Bohrofen doubled in Alex Stone, and Devonte Brown singled in two runs. Reading added a run to their total in the bottom of the eighth, and then Bohrofen started a relay from right field to nail a runner at home, ultimately securing the 5-4 win. Jace Bohrofen: 3-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 2B Juaron Watts-Brown: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (5), Spokane (1) - 6/10 Box Score Vancouver started off strong with Khal Stephen taking the bump. Stephen continued to keep hitters off the basepaths, and when they did reach, he struck out batters to strand them. The offense was powered by some extra base hits, as Carter Cunningham gave them a lead in the third inning with a solo shot, and then Sean Keys had a homer of his own to score two runners, this time in the fifth. Victor Arias has raised his OPS to .800, as he hit a two-run triple to give the Canadians a 5-0 lead in the sixth. Spokane only got on the board with Stephen out of the game, as JJ Sanchez gave up a homer to Skyler Messinger in the eighth, but that’s all they could get. Irv Carter came on in the ninth inning, and with his re-worked cutter, struck out two batters to end the game. Sean Keys: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB Keys has struggled offensively recently, but he’s still providing good power, he’s still finding ways to get on base despite hitting below the Mendoza line, and he’s been an RBI machine. He hit his seventh homer of the year. Khal Stephen: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K Stephen seemingly is itching to join his draft class mate Trey Yesavage in New Hampshire, with another dominant scoreless outing. Stephen’s command was on point in this one, and he generated 17 swings and misses and racked up the strikeouts. That’s now 20 strikeouts in two starts for Stephen after a one-strikeout start a couple of starts ago. Vancouver (8), Spokane (4) - 6/11 Box Score Vancouver got on the board first with an Arias double, then an Arjun Nimmala fly out put Arias on third, which allowed him to score on a wild pitch. Jackson Wentworth started off the game strongly, striking out four batters in the first two innings. However, in the third, after he walked Caleb Hobson, who subsequently stole second, Wentworth allowed a few base hits from Charlie Condon and Aidan Longwell to give Spokane a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of that same inning, Nick Goodwin walked, then Arias hit his second double, which led to Nimmala hitting a big three-run homer to give the Canadians the lead. Jackson Hornung hit a single, then Cutter Coffey hit a double, and Keys hit a sac fly to pad an extra run onto the lead in the same inning. Wentworth lost his command in the fourth inning, as he walked two batters before Pat Gallagher replaced him. Gallagher let an inherited run score off a Condon single, but then struck out Longwell to end the inning. Arias had his third hit of the game after another Goodwin walk, and with two outs, Cole Messina committed catcher interference, extending the inning and allowing Coffey to knock in a run on an RBI single. The Canadians' bullpen did a great job, with Gallagher striking out five, Yondrei Rojas striking out three, and Bo Bonds striking out two batters, although he gave up a homer to Jared Thomas. Meanwhile, Eddie Micheletti Jr. continued to be an extra-base hit machine, hitting his tenth double of the season to make it eight runs for the Canadians. After being near the bottom of the standings for some time despite an elite run differential, the Canadians are now first in the Northwest League! Arjun Nimmala: 1-5, 1 R, 3 RBI Nimmala had an 18-game on-base streak that was broken the previous game, but came back with a huge three-run homer to give the Canadians the lead. The teenager now has double-digit homers on the season. Pat Gallagher: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (4), Fort Myers (5) - 6/10 Box Score Dunedin went down early to the Mighty Mussels, as Daniel Guerra struggled with his command. He gave up a homer in the second inning before some shaky defense, some walks and a hit-by-pitch resulted in three more runs scoring in the third inning. Guerra was replaced in the third, and the D-Jays bullpen didn’t allow an earned run after he was taken out. The Jays' offense began to pick up in the fourth inning, as Edward Duran and Tucker Toman both hit RBI singles to halve the lead, and Manuel Beltre cut it to one with a sac fly in the fifth. In the eighth inning, some shaky command from Javen Coleman and a throwing error from Duran allowed a run to score, and although Lizandro Rodriguez, who pinch hit for the rehabbing Will Wagner, doubled to score Beltre in the eighth, they couldn’t capitalize, and they ended up losing 5-4. Sam Shaw: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B Eliander Alcalde: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K Alcalde has been great for the D-Jays pitching in relief after he returned from the Complex League. In four appearances with Dunedin, he’s only given up a run in one of them. Dunedin, Fort Myers - 6/11 PPD FCL Blue Jays F-BLU (4), F-TIG (2) - 6/10 Box Score Sann Omosako set the Blue Jays up well in this game. He pitched great for five innings, while only allowing one earned run and striking out three. In the second inning, the Blue Jays' team scored on a sacrifice fly from Dylan Leach. The Tigers' team answered back in their half of the inning, tying the game on a double play ball. In the fifth, the Tigers added a run on a single and an error from Omosako. The Blue Jays' team came alive in the last inning, the seventh. Yorman Licourt hit a two-run triple to left field, and David Beckles drove him in with a sacrifice fly. The Blue Jays' team would win this one 4-2. Yorman Licourt: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 3B Diego Dominguez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K DSL Blue Jays Blue D-BJB/D-ARB - 6/10 PPD DSL Blue Jays Red D-BJR (5), D-ARR (4) F/8 - 6/10 Box Score It was a battle of Reds in the Dominican on Tuesday, when the Red teams for the Blue Jays and the Diamondbacks faced each other. Both teams scored their first runs in the second inning. In the top half, ARR scored on a couple of singles. In their half of the inning, BJR scored three runs, one from a wild pitch and two on a Wilmer Blanca single. ARR tied it up in the fourth, and the score remained tied after the seventh, sending the game to extra innings. ARR scored their ghost runner on a single but couldn't get any more runs. In the bottom of the eighth, BJR loaded the bases, and then Luis Felipe drew a walk, scoring Nestor Urbina and tying the game. Elaineiker Coronado then grounded out, with the play coming home to get the lead runner. Juan Sanchez would then draw another walk and end the game, with BJR winning 5-4. Diego Arce: 1-1, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 2B Johandi Medina: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Khal Stephen (Vancouver): 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K Hitter of the Period: CF Victor Arias (Vancouver): 5-8, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days) Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Hitters Rank Player Team PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS 1 Arjun Nimmala Vancouver 9 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 4 Orelvis Martinez Buffalo 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 7 Alan Roden Toronto 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9 Jonatan Clase Toronto 8 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 11 Josh Kasevich Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 Charles McAdoo New Hampshire 10 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 18 Enmanuel Bonilla FCL Jays 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 20 Jace Bohrofen New Hampshire 10 1 3 3 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Pitchers Rank Player Team BF G GS IP H HR ER BB K 2 Ricky Tiedemann Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Trey Yesavage Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Khal Stephen Vancouver 26 1 1 6 6 0 0 2 9 6 Jake Bloss Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Landen Maroudis FCL Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Kendry Rojas FCL Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Johnny King FCL Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 Gage Stanifer Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Adam Macko FCL Jays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Fernando Perez Vancouver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 Brandon Barriera Dunedin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 Juaron Watts-Brown New Hampshire 22 1 1 5 6 1 3 2 2 View full article

Oops I got it wrong 😅, Roden redshirted as a freshman in 2019, so they actually played together in college!

Clarifying point, in the minor leagues haha. But they probably had some sort of connection Creighton-wise. Robertson was drafted in 2019 and Roden joined Creighton in 2020.

Thy actually were teammates at one point.