Simon Li

The Blue Jays have struggled all season with their power output, hitting only 22 homers on the season, which is good for second-last in the league. They’re also sixth worst in barrel percentage at 7.2%, and eighth worst in xSLG as of May 2. Obviously, some of this is due to the slow start from Anthony Santander, Bo Bichette, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the home run department, but the Jays are tailored more to a contact-heavy approach, which trades off whiffs for weak contact, as detailed by JaysCentre editor Leo Morgenstern. Enter Riley Tirotta. The 26-year old corner infielder has been one of the most productive bats in the Jays' minor league system over the past two years and has sneakily improved year over year to little fanfare. Tirotta was a late bloomer, getting drafted by the Blue Jays as a college senior out of Dayton in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft with a signing bonus of $125,000. He bounced around from Low-A ball to Double-A from 2021-2023 before going on a ridiculous hot streak in 2024 where he went from Low-A all the way to Triple-A Buffalo, slashing .302/.464/.591 for a 185 wRC+ in 196 PAs from April 13th to June 29th. He slowed down as the season progressed, but still ended up with a 126 wRC+ on the season in 444 plate appearances and was a cool developmental story for the Blue Jays last season. Tirotta got 26 PAs in spring training and did not perform well at all, striking out 50% of the time while hitting under the Mendoza line, which resulted in a wRC+ of -3. However, one thing stood out: he swings the bat really hard. According to the limited data available in spring, Tirotta was one of the top 15 hitters in bat speed, just 0.4 mph slower than some dude called Aaron Judge, and slightly above top prospect Orelvis Martinez. The Jays are currently the team with the slowest bat speed according to Baseball Savant, so Tirotta could immediately help change that outlook. (Via Eno Sarris) Once the regular season started, though, Tirotta carried over his success from 2024 and has been one of the hottest hitters for the Buffalo Bisons, slashing .278/.391/.519 with a 15.6 BB% to a 32.8 K%. He’s been so impressive that beat writers Keegan Matheson and Ben Nicholson-Smith have both discussed Tirotta as a potential call-up to the majors to help with the lack of power from their infielders, especially as Orelvis Martinez, Will Wagner, and Davis Schneider have struggled to start the season. Tirotta’s Statcast data is one of the most red pages you’ll see down in Triple-A (courtesy of TJStats), showcasing an extremely patient approach despite a lot of whiffs and strikeouts, though his batted ball metrics are outstanding. Tirotta’s approach varies heavily from the Jays' current approach, and he would be a welcome addition in order to inject some power into the lineup. Some things that are preventing Tirotta from getting the call as of now are that he isn’t on the 40-man roster, and his best defensive home is likely first base, despite starting more games at the hot corner in Triple-A. Obviously, that position is fully occupied by Vladdy, who plays practically every day. Still with seven outfielders currently on the Jays 26-man roster, Tirotta could be utilized as a backup to Ernie Clement and Guerrero Jr., and could maybe add some juice to the lineup with swings like this one. Obviously, a fast-rising, post-hype older prospect isn't going to solve all that woes Toronto. But as a means to getting better in-house production, the Blue Jays could take a chance on the 26-year-old slugger. View full article

CURRENT W-L Records -Buffalo Bisons: 12-17 -New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 10-14 -Vancouver Canadians: 12-13 -Dunedin Blue Jays: 14-11 -FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) -DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS 05/02/25 Buffalo Bisons released C Matt Whatley. 05/02/25 New Hampshire Fisher Cats sent RHP Justin Kelly on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 05/01/25 Buffalo Bisons sent C Phil Clarke on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 05/01/25 Buffalo Bisons transferred 3B Damiano Palmegiani to the Development List. 05/01/25 LF David Beckles assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/01/25 RHP Pedro Tucent assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/01/25 C Juan Rosas assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/01/25 OF Yorman Licourt assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/01/25 LHP Ramon Suarez assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/01/25 3B Aldo Gaxiola assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/01/25 RHP Diego Dominguez assigned to FCL Blue Jays from DSL Blue Jays Blue. 05/01/25 Buffalo Bisons sent C Phil Clarke on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (8), Iowa (1) - 5/1 Box Score As the calendar shifts to May, the Buffalo Bisons are seeing their bats awaken. In this game, the ball was flying around the field and over the fence. In the top of the 2nd inning, Orelvis Martinez got things started with a rocket double to right field. After a Rainer Nunez infield single, Ali Sánchez would clear the bases with a 3-run home run to center field. The homer came off the bat at 106 MPH. Michael Stefanic would cap off the inning with an RBI single as well. In the next inning, Buffalo started things right back up again, culminating in a 3-run homer from Christian Bethancourt, this time on a 106.9 MPH line drive to center field. That would be all the runs Buffalo needed on the night, as Easton Lucas cruised through the game, pitching six innings. He was exceptional at limiting hard contact and only gave up two hits to go with zero runs. He walked just one and struck out four on his way to the quality start. The Bisons would tack on a late 8th inning run to win the game 8-1. Buffalo (2), Iowa (4) - 5/2 Box Score After a short rain delay, the game Friday night turned into a pitcher's duel. On the mound for the Bisons was Trenton Wallace. He fired off five innings pitched and kept Iowa in check for much of the night. He gave up two runs, only one of which was earned, on a 2-RBI triple in the 5th inning to tie the game. Buffalo had previously taken the lead with a run in both the 4th and 5th innings on an RBI groundout from Will Robertson and an RBI single off the bat of Jonatan Clase. Moisés Ballesteros and Jonathon Long would put Iowa on top for good in the 7th inning. The last chance for Buffalo came after Iowa walked the bases loaded in the 8th inning, but they shut the door by striking out Will Wagner to end the threat. Orelvis Martinez- 2-3, 0 R, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 2B Orelvis Martinez is finding his timing and that includes hitting to right field, as he now has three doubles in his last two games. The interesting part is the continued push to hit to the opposite field. The double Thursday night and the second double Friday night were hit to right field. All three were struck well. Trenton Wallace- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (3), Portland (5) - 5/1 Box Score New Hampshire sent Rafael Sanchez to the mound Thursday, in an attempt to keep riding his wave of stellar pitching performances and get another win against the Portland Sea Dogs. Sanchez delivered and then some for the team, going into the sixth inning and allowing only one run. The run came on a second inning single to center field from Karson Simas. In the bottom of the fifth inning, New Hampshire would tie it up on a single to center field as well, this one from Robert Brooks and it scored Alex De Jesus. Simas would lead another volley from Portland, when he scored from first base on a Mikey Romero double. Charles McAdoo made sure New Hampshire would keep on fighting, with a solo shot to left field that tied the game up at two in the bottom of the eighth. The game would head to extra innings and see Portland score three during their at-bat. New Hampshire would cut into the lead, as Jace Bohrofen hit a sacrifice fly to score Yohendrick Pinango. Unfortunately, with the lead down to two runs and a runner on first, McAdoo would end the game by grounding into a double play. Charles McAdoo: 1-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 HR McAdoo continues his hot stretch with his first home run of the season. He now has a four game hit streak, with five hits and three extra base hits, in his last four games. Rafael Sanchez: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Sanchez continues to throw to more contact, as he has been having a little bit of issue getting swing and misses on two-strike counts. He did manage to find a way to rack up nine swing and misses, but needs to get more to finish at-bats when he can. New Hampshire (8), Portland (2) - 5/2 Box Score RJ Schreck got the scoring started for New Hampshire on Friday night, with a home run to right field, his first of the season. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Fisher Cats would open things up with five runs, on the backs of RBI singles from Peyton Williams, Cade Doughty, and Dasan Brown. A Williams sacrifice fly and a wild pitch would tack on a couple of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ryan Boyer would come into the game in the top of the ninth inning and give up a two-run homer to Blaze Jordan, before closing the game out and securing the win for New Hampshire. RJ Schreck: 3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR Schreck had his first multi-hit game of the season and he did so with a big home run and double. Ryan Watson: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Watson used his fastball and slider mostly this game. He didn't miss bats much, but was able to keep Portland from squaring anything up on the night. Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (2), Hillsboro (12) - 05/01 Box Score After the Canadians won 2 games in a row against the Hops, game 3 went the opposite direction for them. Kevin Miranda took the bump for the 3rd time this season and he struggled, allowing 4 runs in 3.1 innings of work while only striking out 1 batter. He’s been moved to the rotation after Connor O’Halloran hit the injured list, and has been much less effective as a starter compared to when he pitched in relief. Nate Garkow and Jonathan Todd did not perform much better, as they gave up 3 runs and 4 runs respectively. Garkow did strike out 4 batters, but he also walked 4 and gave up 2 hits. Other than an Arjun Nimmala homer and a run scoring on a double play, the Canadians failed to score, and it resulted with a 12-2 loss where Catcher Hayden Gilliland pitched in the 9th to save the bullpen some bullets as a position player pitching. Arjun Nimmala - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR Arjun Nimmala raised his OPS to .940 on the season, while taking the Northwest League lead in homers. Nimmala is up to 6th in OPS in the Northwest league as the youngest hitter in the league. He’s going to move up a ton of prospect lists when mid-season updates are out because he’s shown that he belongs in the upper echelons of prospects with his 2025 performance. Kai Peterson - 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 K Peterson has some of the nastiest stuff in the system, and showcased that by striking out 4 batters in 2 1/3 innings. Vancouver (4), Hillsboro (7) - 05/02 Box Score Fernando Perez had a decent start again, going 4 innings for the second start in a row. He did struggle with runners on base, giving up 8 hits, and the Hops got out to a 3 run lead in the 4th inning. However, Cutter Coffey hit a liner to left field to score Aaron Parker in the bottom of the 4th to get the Canadians on the board. JJ Sanchez came in to relieve Perez in the 5th, loading the bases and giving up a bases loaded walk to make it 4-1 for the Hops. The Canadians quickly answered back though, bringing the lead to within 1 as catcher Alex Stone hit a 2-RBI double. Things quickly fell apart when former 5th rounder Irv Carter continued to struggle on the season. He gave up 6 hits, 1 walk, and allowed 3 runs to give the Hops a 7-3 lead which the Canadians could not come back from. Carter now has an ERA over 10 on the season, and has unfortunately been one of the bigger disappointments in 2025 after having a bounce back 2024. Nick Goodwin hit a double in the 8th to make it 7-4 but that was just too little too late. Aaron Parker - 1-2, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 2B Parker has been very disciplined for the Canadians, raising his OBP to .364 on the season and his walk rate to 12.1%. He also hit his 7th extra base hit of the season, again showing his power potential and bat speed despite only standing at 5ft 9inches. He’s an exciting bat to watch and maybe be the start of some interesting catching depth in the lower minors for the Jays. Fernando Perez - 4.0 IP, 8 H, ER 2, 0 BB, 2 K Perez went 4 innings again for the 3rd time this season, and lowered his season ERA to 6.00. He hasn’t been as sharp as he’s been previously in the minors, and not being able to make it to 5 innings of work is a little bit concerning for the 21 year old starter, but he’s still been able to get outs without walking many batters. The hope is that his stuff starts ticking up a bit as in 15 innings of work he’s only struck out 10 batters, but he at least limited the walks today. Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (10), Clearwater (1) - 05/01 https://x.com/DunedinBlueJays/status/1918089217093026155https://x.com/DunedinBlueJays/status/1918089217093026155https://x.com/DunedinBlueJays/status/1918089217093026155 Box Score The last game of the series against Clearwater, and Dunedin was hoping to not be swept, and they pulled it off with a dominant performance from Yesavage, while the offense supported him with 10 runs. It was quiet for both teams for the first 3 innings, but 2 former top Jays prospects both got their first homers on the season, with a solo shot from Beltre, and a 2-run homer from Toman to start off the scoring. In the 6th the Jays tacked on 3 more runs with Yhoangel Aponte and Bryce Arnold both hitting an RBI-double each, and then Kendrys Chriinos knocked in Arnold with a single after. Clearwater got on the board after Yesavage was taken out, with Beltre committing a throwing error to allow Joel Dragoo to score. Stanifer only managed 2 innings of work this time, but still struck out 3 batters, and Javen Coleman had his 5th scoreless outing out of 7 on the season. Manuel Beltre - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR Manuel Beltre finally hit his first homer of the season, but the young infielder has actually been quite excellent despite the lack of power he’s shown. He’s up to a 146 wRC+ on the season, which is good for 11th in the Florida State League, behind fellow Jays Yeuni Munoz and Bryce Arnold, but he’s also one of 5 hitters 21 years old or younger in the top 11. Beltre has been very adept at getting on base as he’s walked more than he struck out and if he can figure out a power stroke he might gain some momentum as a prospect and finally move up to High-A as this is his 4th year playing in Dunedin (his first being 5 games as an 18 year old in 2022). Trey Yesavage - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K The first round pick again dominated Low-A hitters, which was arguably his best start of the season, going 6 innings for the first time and having his 3rd 8+ strikeout game in a row. He’ll need to be challenged by tougher hitters sooner than later, and with Landen Maroudis and Brandon Barriera coming back from injury sooner than later, there should be some movement within the system that’ll allow Yesavage and probably Stephen to move up. Dunedin (8), Daytona (2) - 05/02 Box Score After a short 3-game series with Clearwater, the Jays moved on to face the Daytona Tortugas. Colby Holcombe started for the Jays, and only allowed a single run from a sac fly from Carter Graham in the 1st. The Dunedin Blue Jays continued to run hot offensively, answering back with a couple of runs with Edward Duran and Kendrys Chirinos knocking in 1 a piece. Bryce Arnold made it a 3-1 game after grounding out in the bottom of the 2nd. Once Holcombe was taken out, Trey Faltline scored an RBI single off of Justin Kelly, who was on rehab assignment, but they did not score after that. Aponte broke the game open with a 3-run shot off of Edgar Colon, and he knocked in another run the inning after. Peyton Powell, who walked 5 times this game, got an RBI walk to finish off the scoring, and Daniel Guerra and Colby Martin were excellent in relief, striking out 8 batters in only 3 innings of work. Dunedin took the lead in the FSL after this win, now with a +53 run differential on the season. Yhoangel Aponte - 3-5, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 K Yhoangel Aponte had himself a hell of a night getting on base 4 times with 2 extra base hits, including a 107.2 mph, 3 RBI homer in the 6th. He raised his OPS from .636 to .730 in just one game. Colby Holcombe - 5.0 IP - 4 H. 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Much has been said about Trey Yesavage and Khal Stephen from last year’s draft class, but Colby Holcombe has been quietly one of the best pitchers from the Jays 2024 draft picks. Holcombe generated 20 whiffs on the night which resulted in 6 strikeouts, and his mid 90s fastball and high 80s cut-slider were nigh-unhittable. Holcombe does need to work on a 3rd pitch, as an advanced college pitcher he’s been able to dominate with his two best pitches but he’s only thrown 15 pitches on the season that were not his cut-slider and his 4-seam fastball. He'll be seen more as a future reliever unless he manages to find that effective 3rd pitch. FCL Blue Jays No games DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Day Pitcher of the Period: RHP Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Period: 2B Manuel Beltre (Dunedin) - 5-8, 4 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HR Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 3-8, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 2B 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 0-3, 1 K 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - DNP 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 1-8, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - 4.0 IP, 8 H, ER 2, 0 BB, 2 K 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - Graduated 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - DNP 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - DNP 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

Looks like this is only 19 out of 20?

After the first month of minor league baseball, it’s time to acknowledge who’s been the best in the system, and we’re starting off with a look at the relievers. The Jays have struggled to find consistent bullpen arms from within the organization, but they have found some interesting arms that have had solid success early in the season. It would be very easy to just sort by ERA to complete these rankings, but with how small the sample is, and the fact that relievers are very volatile and can have a lot of noise with BABIP/poor luck/defense, I’m going to use more than just ERA as part of the consideration for these rankings. Honourable Mentions RHP Braydon Fisher Triple-A Buffalo - 9 1/3 IP, 2.89 ERA, 29.3 K%, 9.8 BB%, 1.39 WHIP Fisher just missed the list proper due to letting a few too many hitters on base. The righty was acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for Cavan Biggio and relies on a strong curveball to get outs. RHP Bo Bonds High-A Vancouver - 12 2/3 IP, 2.13 ERA, 25.5 K%, 4.3 BB%, 0.71 WHIP Bonds has been one of the main contributors to the back end of the Vancouver Canadians’ bullpen and has excelled at keeping runners off base. What’s keeping him from being on the list is his not being that dominant at striking guys out compared to those above him, but he’s already gotten three saves on the year. He may only have been the third-best Vancouver reliever in the first month of the season. LHP Javen Coleman Low-A Dunedin - 10 2/3 IP, 4.22 ERA, 39.5 K%, 9.3 BB%, 1.03 WHIP Coleman has been dominant for the Dunedin Blue Jays, save for a blow-up inning that ballooned his ERA to above 4.00 despite great peripherals. Coleman was a senior sign reliever and has shown a solid sinker-slider combination that led to Florida State League Pitcher of the Week honours in mid-April. RHP Chay Yeager High-A Vancouver - 11 IP, 3.27 ERA, 40.5 K%, 9.5 BB%, 0.82 WHIP Yeager struck out over 40% of the batters that he faced, whilst walking them less than 10% of the time. The 2023 12th-round draft pick has utilized his high-octane fastball and his gyro slider extremely effectively and has helped headline a stellar Vancouver bullpen. His most recent outing ballooned his ERA and almost doubled his walk rate, as he walked three after a scoreless inning. Still, his performance is nothing to be scoffed at, but it just took him off of the list for me. RHP Pat Gallagher High-A Vancouver - 13 IP, 1.38 ERA, 27.8 K%, 11.1 BB%, 1.08 WHIP Gallagher’s been exceptional for Vancouver as a 'pen piece while having success as a starter in previous seasons. He makes the most out of some low velocity and uses his splitter well. He's done great as a bulk reliever for the Canadians, and although he's walking batters a bit more than usual, he hasn't given up a single homer and has had the best results in a stacked Canadians bullpen. RHP Gilberto Batista - Low-A Dunedin - 22 IP, 2.05 ERA, 21.2 K%, 3.5 BB%, 0.86 WHIP Gilberto Batista was recently acquired last season as a relatively unknown piece of the Danny Jansen trade, but he has been electric since joining the Jays organization. After pitching to a 2.70 ERA with a 23.5 K% and a 2.9 BB% as a starter last season, he’s improved on that as a multi-inning reliever, typically pitching behind RHP Daniel Guerra. He did start his two most recent games, so this may be the first and last time he’s a part of one of these lists, but his ability to avoid walks has been very valuable in helping him rack up innings and keep runners off base. 5. RHP Colby Martin Low-A Dunedin - 7 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 30.8 K%, 11.5 BB%, 0.55 WHIP The 24-year-old righty has been a staple of the Dunedin bullpen, not allowing a single run and barely letting anyone on, with an opponent's BA of only .043. What prevents him from being up higher on this list is just a lack of innings and maybe less dominant strikeout numbers compared to the above. Still, it’s hard to come by a high-octane fastball in the Jays system, and Martin’s sits 96-97 mph, although with pretty average shape. He's used that heater, plus a cut-slider, very effectively, not allowing any good contact at all. 4. RHP Geison Urbaez - Double-A New Hampshire - 9 1/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 25.6 K%, 10.3 BB%, 1.18 WHIP Urbaez was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2020 and has been a solid but unspectacular arm in the Jays organization over the past few years. He is now Rule 5 Eligible. Urbaez earned his way all the way up to Double-A in 2022 but suffered an injury in 2023, which took him out for the year and forced him to repeat Single-A and High-A in 2024. So far this season, he's pitched only out of relief, and it has been a great move. He has a career-high K-rate, and his walk-rate is in line with his career norms. In his first appearance, he allowed five hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings, but since that appearance, he's only allowed two hits and two walks, whilst striking out eight. 3. RHP Hunter Gregory - Double-A New Hampshire - 10 IP, 0.90 ERA, 35.0 K%, 10.0 BB%, 1.00 WHIP The 26-year-old reliever has been absolutely dominant for the Fisher Cats, only allowing one run in 10 innings of work. Gregory hasn't had the most success in the minors since being drafted by the Jays in the eighth round of the 2021 draft, posting ERAs over 4.00 in every season. He's always had strong stuff, but this might be the year that he puts it all together. 2. LHP Jimmy Burnette - Double-A, Triple-A - 10 2/3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 36.6 K%, 14.6 BB%, 0.94 WHIP Burnette has been effectively wild throughout his duration in the Jays organization, racking up gaudy strikeout totals whilst also walking his fair share. This season, he’s been riding the bus between New Hampshire and Buffalo, but he still has been effective, not allowing a run. Of course, he has also struck out more than a third of the batters he's faced while walking almost 15% of them. Although the Jays have quite a few lefty pitchers ahead of him on the depth chart, he could sneak his way to the big leagues if things continue to go well for him and if the pitching falters in the majors. 1. RHP Gage Stanifer - Low-A Dunedin - 16 IP, 0.56 ERA, 33.3 K%, 9.5 BB%, 0.81 WHIP Stanifer has easily been the best reliever in the system, and arguably could have been given a shout as the most dominant pitcher in the minors for the Jays. Entering in relief after each Trey Yesavage start, Stanifer has gone exactly 4.0 innings each appearance, getting the win each time, while striking out a third of the batters he has faced and only giving up one run due to a “dropped” pop-up. Stanifer utilizes a high-90s sinker, a mid-80s “death-ball” slider, and a high-80s changeup most against lefties to dominate hitters. Once Yesavage and Stephen earn a promotion to Vancouver, Stanifer should earn the right to start. It's been an incredible turnaround from a prospect who averaged a 6.33 ERA in his previous two professional seasons, as he's finally matched his physical gifts and tools with production. View full article

Arjun NimmalaTrey YesavageRicky TiedemannAlan RodenJake BlossKhal StephenOrelvis MartinezJonatan ClaseJosh KasevichLanden MaroudisKendry RojasFernando PerezJace BohrofenJohnny KingJuaron Watts-BrownAdam MackoGrant RogersYohendrick PinangoGage StaniferCharles McAdoo

Arjun NimmalaTrey YesavageRicky TiedemannAlan RodenJake BlossKhal StephenOrelvis MartinezJonatan ClaseJosh KasevichLanden MaroudisKendry RojasFernando PerezJace BohrofenJohnny KingJuaron Watts-BrownAdam MackoGrant RogersYohendrick PinangoGage StaniferCharles McAdoo

I don't think they believe in his throwing motion. He's adequate at getting to balls and his range isn't completely terrible, but he throws across his body in a weird way that leads to inaccuracy. Being at 2nd lets him set his feet and take his time to throw to first.

Good catch, should be the right link now.

I don't disagree about your latter statement regarding swinging less and looking for better pitches to hit, I don't think Bo is going to be more than the 120 career wRC+ guy that he was before, but he's definitely a better hitter than Lourdes by quite a bit. Bo's in-zone contact rate is still 94.5%, just 0.1% under Jacob Wilson. Should he be chasing less? Of course, but he's definitely up there in ability to make contact. He does have sub-optimal launch angles and doesn't pull the ball, so that limits his upside. I still think he'll be a good hitter in the near future. All I was saying is that Bo should get into some more power based off the contact he was making. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if he's hovering around 115-120 wRC+ for the next couple of years.

His batted ball metrics have returned to form for the most part. The launch angles aren't ideal, but his xWOBACON is .432. I think he could turn it around, and his knack for contact is legit. Not sure if he'll be worth his contract at whatever we pay him for, but we don't really have a replacement for him, even if we move Gimenez back to short.

Here's the latest news from the Jays' minor league system. Going forward, Jays Centre will provide a recap for every two games played to give you more consistent and timely updates from down on the farm! CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 7-14 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 6-8 Vancouver Canadians: 8-9 Dunedin Blue Jays: 9-8 FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS 04/22/25: Dunedin Blue Jays activated SS Tucker Toman from the temporarily inactive list. 04/22/25: Dunedin Blue Jays activated OF Sam Shaw from the 7-day injured list. 04/22/25: SS Jacob Lojewski assigned to FCL Blue Jays from Dunedin Blue Jays. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (4), Rochester (8) - 4/22 Box Score Buffalo started a series with the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday. The Bisons pushed toward an early run with back-to-back singles from Jonatan Clase and Michael Stefanic, but Clase was thrown out trying to steal second base before the second hit. The bats stayed silent for a good chunk of the game. On the other hand, the pitching was fantastic, as Andrew Bash and Bobby Milacki combined to pitch six innings, only giving up five hits. They didn't surrender a single run and struck out three batters. After Rochester took the lead in the seventh inning, Joey Loperfido launched a 360-foot home run to tie the game. The ball left the bat at 107.9 mph. Buffalo would give the run right back in the top of the ninth, ultimately sending the game into extra innings. Rochester took the lead in the top of the 10th on a single to score a run. In the bottom of the 10th, Orelvis Martinez laced a 102.8-mph double down the line to tie it up at three. Rochester would run away with the game in the 11th inning, with a five-run volley. The Bisons would add one run to end the game in another loss, this one 8-4. Joey Loperfido: 2-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR Loperfido has struggled at times at Triple-A this season, but he put together a good all-around game. Hopefully, it will start propelling him into much more consistent runs of success this season. Bobby Milacki: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Buffalo (6), Rochester (3) - 4/23 - Game 1 Box Score Buffalo finally got back into the win column in the first game of this doubleheader day. Lazaro Estrada started this one and put up four very solid innings. He only gave up three earned runs while striking out three hitters. He did allow one walk and six hits. It was enough for the Buffalo offense for once, though, as they put up nine hits over the seven innings. After going down three runs in the top of the 4th inning, the Bisons charged back in the bottom half of the inning and would add two runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. The highlights were Michael Turconi driving in two runs on a single, Davis Schneider doubling in a run, Rainer Nunez hitting an RBI single, and Joey Loperfido doubling in a run as well. Kevin Gowdy would pitch a clean seventh inning to close the game out. Davis Schneider: 1-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 2B Kevin Gowdy: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Buffalo (3), Rochester (2) - 4/23 - Game 2 Box Score The Bisons swept the doubleheader Wednesday with a 3-2 victory. It was another rough game, but Buffalo managed to pull this one out in the end. Rochester started out with the lead, thanks to a two-run second inning. That would be all the runs they would get off of new Buffalo starting pitcher Anders Tolhurst, who was making his Triple-A debut. He pitched well, going 4.2 innings while only allowing one hit, one earned run, two walks, and tallying two strikeouts. The Bisons would add two runs in the fourth inning to tie the game. Rainer Nunez rocketed a 119.6-mph double to the opposite field, and Christian Bethancourt added an RBI groundout. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Michael Stefanic drove in what would be the winning run on a single to center field. Rainer Nunez: 1-3, 0 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 2B Worth mentioning again, a 119.6-mph opposite field double, in classic Nunez fashion. If he can speed up his timing, he could become more of a factor pushing toward the big leagues. Anders Tolhurst: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Tolhurst wasn't blowing away the other team, but he worked well with a predominantly sinker/cutter combination for his pitch mix. It worked, keeping hitters off balance and generating weak contact. New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (6), Binghamton (5) - 4/22 Box Score On Tuesday night, New Hampshire started a new series against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. It was a tough matchup for the Fisher Cats from the get-go, as Binghamton had one of their best pitchers on the mound, Jonah Tong. Yohendrick Pinango rose up to the challenge, as he led off the game with a home run to right field. In the top of the fourth inning, New Hampshire got to Tong again; this time, an Eddinson Paulino double would score Peyton Williams from second base. Tong would be removed from the game in the top of the fifth after striking out nine Fisher Cat hitters. In the bottom half of the fifth inning, Binghamton would get two runs off of Ryan Jennings to tie up the game at two apiece. That's the way the game remained until the bottom of the eighth inning, when New Hampshire continued its season-long dance with errors and committed three. Binghamton would capitalize on back-to-back errors by Paulino and a passed ball by catcher Jacob Sharp, to score four runs and take the first game of the series. Yohendrick Pinango: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 HR CJ Van Eyk: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K New Hampshire (0), Harrisburg (3) - 4/23 Box Score In the second game of this series, the New Hampshire bats were up against one of the early breakout arms this season in Double-A (Jack Wenninger), and they were mystified by him. For much of the first five innings, the Fisher Cats struggled to make contact, and when they did, it was just singles. Wenninger walked off the mound after the fifth inning having earned his paycheck for the game. He went five innings, gave up four hits, and struck out 10. On the flip side, New Hampshire sent Devereaux Harrison to the mound, and he had some trouble in the first three innings. He gave up a two-run homer to Ryan Clifford in the first inning and a sacrifice fly that scored a run in the third inning. After that, he was able to settle down and shut out Binghamton across the next three innings. In the top of the seventh inning, New Hampshire had a shot to get on the scoreboard, but Gabriel Martinez got the stop sign at third base on a double to right field from Pinango. He failed to score from third base, and the Fisher Cats would not really threaten again. They would fall to Binghamton 3-0. Yohendrick Pinango: 2-5, 2 K, 1 2B Pinango would raise his batting average to .348 on the season and record his first double. Devereaux Harrison: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (2), Everett (3) - 04/22 Box Score The Canadians lost their fourth straight as they faced the Mariners’ High-A team, the Everett AquaSox. The pitching was solid, giving up only two earned runs, but an error from Sean Keys led to JJ Sanchez giving up an extra run, and they were walked off in the ninth. The Canadians had their chances; Adrian Pinto hit another homer, and Je’Von Ward hit his first of the season. Victor Arias hit a triple with no outs, but the Canadians were unable to send him home as the middle of the order was very quiet all game. Je’Von Ward - 1-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K Ward hit his first homer of the season. He was originally a 12th-round pick for the Brewers in the 2017 draft but signed with the Blue Jays out of Indy ball in June of 2024. He produced a 137 wRC+ with the Canadians in 2024, and through 10 games in 2025, he’s up to a 144 wRC+. Grant Rogers - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HR Rogers has been electric for Vancouver, with another strong outing, striking out six in five innings of work. He walked four batters, but did well with runners on base, erasing all of the batters he allowed to reach. His only blemish was a homer to Carson Jones. Vancouver (4), Everett (2) - 04/23 Box Score The Canadians snapped their losing streak off the backs of Jackson Wentworth’s dominant pitching performance and the top of the order. Arias and Aaron Parker both scored a run and drove in a run each, and Keys had a two-RBI double in the top of the eighth to give the Canadians a 4-2 lead. The bullpen was also solid, with Jonathan Todd earning the win, giving up a run in two innings pitched off a homer to top prospect Lazaro Montes while striking out two hitters. Bo Bonds continues to be dominant; in his sixth appearance on the season, he earned his second save, striking out two batters in two innings and continuing his scoreless season. Aaron Parker - 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 K Parker has great bat speed, and it showed with his second homer of the season against the AquaSox starter Shaddon Peavyhouse. Jackson Wentworth - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR Wentworth diced up the Everett AquaSox. With five strong innings and eight Ks, they stood no chance against him, recording only three hits, including a solo homer. Wentworth had 17 whiffs on the night. This is Wentworth’s second straight game with eight strikeouts. Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (6), Tampa (3) - 04/22 Box Score Khal Stephen's solid start led Dunedin to win the first game of the series, as he only allowed two runs to score while striking out five in five innings pitched. The Jays and the Tarpons traded runs early, with the Jays scoring their first two off a wild pitch and an RBI single from Manuel Beltre. Then, in the sixth, the Jays took the lead, despite Edward Duran grounding into a double play. The Tarpons answered back with a sac fly, evening the game to 3-3, but in the top of the eighth, another wild pitch led to Brock Tibbitts scoring, and Braden Barry hit a two-RBI single to put the game out of reach for good. Javen Coleman earned the save, bouncing back from a rough outing previously, as he pitched two scoreless innings and notched a strikeout. Yeuni Munoz - 3-5, 1 R, 0 K, 1 2B Munoz continues to rake, with a three-hit night, this time not striking out once in his five at-bats. Munoz has been one of the hottest prospects in the Jays' system, but he still does have swing and miss issues. He’ll need to cut his strikeout rate down from over 30%, but he’s been making a ton of loud contact. Khal Stephen - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K He’s too good for Low-A. Another solid start with five strikeouts, he used his rising fastball as per usual but mixed in his slider a bit more, getting chases at 42.1% and limiting hard contact. Dunedin (6), Tampa (5) - 04/23 Box Score The Dunedin Blue Jays came into an early lead thanks to the first homer of the season from J.R. Freethy, but the Tarpons came roaring back with a homer in the fifth and then a three-run bottom of the seventh to take a 4-2 lead. Tibbitts hit a homer to bring it within one in the top of the eighth, and after Duran, Beltre, and Sam Shaw (who returned from the IL) all got on base, Yhoangel Aponte cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to give the Jays a lead that they didn’t relinquish. Nate LaRue, who was signed as a catching prospect in 2023, came into the game in relief and got the win in his first professional pitching performance. Brock Tibbitts - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR Tibbitts raised his season RBI total to 13. He’s been very consistent at driving in runs on the season despite only hitting .200. Gilberto Batista - 6.0 IP - 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR Batista got his first start of the season, after typically piggybacking off of RHP Daniel Guerra, and he didn’t disappoint, going six strong innings with only a solo homer given up. Batista only sits around 91-93 on his fastball but can touch up to 95 mph, and his fastball has decent shape. At only 20 years old, he still has some physical projection remaining, and if he can add some ticks to his fastball, his advanced pitchability and feel will let him advance up prospect rankings. FCL Blue Jays No games DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Day Pitcher of the Period: RHP, Jackson Wentworth, Vancouver - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR Hitter of the Period: OF, Yeuni Munoz, Dunedin - 5-10, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 2B Prospect Summary (Last 2 Days) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 1-4, 0 BB, 2 K 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - DNP 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 1-8, 1 RBI, 1 0 BB, 2 K, 1 2B 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - DNP 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 0-5, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 0-7, 1 BB, 4 K 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - DNP 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - 0-6, 0 BB, 2 K 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - DNP 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - 1-4, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 2B 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

@Brock Beauchamp Could you also add Sam Shaw?

@Brock Beauchamp I'm just going to add a list of guys I'm considering that aren't on the list SS Christopher Polanco RHP Grant Rogers RHP Gage Stanifer SS Juan Sanchez

The teams in the Jays' minor league system played several games over the Easter weekend, and although the Canadians and Bisons could not get it going, the offense had indeed risen for the Fisher Cats and Dunedin. CURRENT W-L Records Buffalo Bisons: 5-13 New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 6-6 Vancouver Canadians: 7-8 Dunedin Blue Jays: 7-8 FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS 04/20/25: Toronto Blue Jays selected the contract of RHP Paxton Schultz from Buffalo Bisons. 04/20/25: Toronto Blue Jays recalled RHP Dillon Tate from Buffalo Bisons. 04/19/25: Toronto Blue Jays sent CF Daulton Varsho on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 04/19/25: Dunedin Blue Jays placed SS Tucker Toman on the temporarily inactive list. 04/19/25: Toronto Blue Jays sent CF Daulton Varsho on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. 04/19/25: SS Jacob Lojewski assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 04/19/25: C Nate LaRue assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 04/19/25: RHP Edinson Batista assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. 04/19/25: C Nate LaRue assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 04/19/25: SS Jacob Lojewski assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 04/19/25: Vancouver Canadians activated RHP Edinson Batista. 04/19/25: RHP Edinson Batista assigned to Vancouver Canadians from Dunedin Blue Jays. 04/18/25: Dunedin Blue Jays placed OF Jaden Rudd on the 7-day injured list. 04/18/25: Dunedin Blue Jays placed LF Alexis Hernandez on the 7-day injured list. 04/18/25: CF Jean Joseph assigned to Dunedin Blue Jays from FCL Blue Jays. 04/18/25: New Hampshire Fisher Cats activated CF Gabriel Martinez. 04/18/25: Vancouver Canadians transferred OF Carter Cunningham to the Development List. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (0), Syracuse (3) - 4/18 - Game 1 Box Score In the first game of the doubleheader with Syracuse on Friday, the Bisons continued their long season of frustration and not scoring runs. In this game, though, it was more understandable, as Brandon Sproat was on the mound for Syracuse. He made quick work, as he pitched six innings with ease on only 76 pitches. For Buffalo, Eric Lauer started the game on the mound and went five innings. He gave up five hits while surrendering two earned runs, managing to strike out five hitters. On the hitting side, the Bisons never got on the scoreboard and only managed four hits in the game. Syracuse would score in the fifth and sixth innings to win the game 3-0. Jonatan Clase led the way for Buffalo, going 2-for-3. Jonatan Clase: 2-3, 2 1Bs, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K Eric Lauer: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Buffalo (5), Syracuse (11) - 4/18 - Game 2 Box Score Things went a little better for the Bisons in the second game of the doubleheader, but it still ended in an easy defeat. Syracuse started the game with two runs in the first, second, and third innings. Beginning in the fifth inning, Buffalo started to chip away at the lead, scoring four runs. Christian Bethancourt got things started with a two-run home run to left field. After a single from Michael Turconi and a double by Steward Berroa, Joey Loperfido cashed in one run with a sacrifice fly. Riley Tirotta would push across the fourth run of the inning with a rocket double to center field. Unfortunately, Syracuse would add five more runs immediately in the bottom half of the inning. A Rainer Nunez home run would inch Buffalo one run closer, but the game remained out of reach to the end. Syracuse won again, 11-5. Rainer Nunez: 2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR Eric Pardinho: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Buffalo (5), Syracuse (1) - 4/19 Box Score Buffalo finally got things going in all facets of the game on Saturday. The hits kept coming, and the pitching was on point. Trenton Wallace got the start for the Bisons and dominated Syracuse. He spun almost five perfect innings, as he went 4.1 innings while giving up one hit, zero earned runs, and only two walks. He also struck out six batters. In the third inning, Ali Sánchez got the Bisons a run on a 351-foot home run to right field. Steward Berroa would add a run on a single in the seventh inning. Riley Tirotta and Ali Sánchez (a second time) would add home runs in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Buffalo would have 12 hits on the game and, in positive news, Orelvis Martinez went 2-for-4 with a double off of Dedniel Núñez. Hopefully, his timing is getting better, and the hits start piling up. Ali Sánchez: 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HR Trenton Wallace: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Buffalo (1), Syracuse (2) - 4/20 Box Score In the final game of the series, it was a return of the slow-starting offense for the Bisons. They only managed five hits and one run off of the Syracuse pitchers in a game that turned into a pitchers duel. Blade Tidwell started for Syracuse and struck out nine batters, while Jake Bloss started for Buffalo and pitched one of his best games in the Blue Jays system. He went 4.2 innings, gave up six hits, zero runs, and struck out seven batters. The lone run for Buffalo came in the sixth inning on a home run from Riley Tirotta to cut the lead to just one. Orelvis Martinez went 1-for-3, and Jonatan Clase had a single to go with two more stolen bases. The Bisons would strike out 16 times in the game on a pitching-dominant day. Riley Tirotta: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR Jake Bloss: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (6), Harrisburg (5) - 4/18 Box Score This game started out with more of the same from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats: An error in the first inning led to two unearned runs for Harrisburg. A Daylen Lile single would add a run to New Hampshire's deficit in the second inning. The Fisher Cats would finally answer in the bottom of the fourth inning when the hottest hitter on the team, Jace Bohrofen, hit his third home run of the season. It was a solo shot to right field and brought New Hampshire back to within two runs of Harrisburg. That's where the scoring remained, until Bohrofen came up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with Peyton Williams on first base. He used his smooth-looking swing to launch his second home run of the game and tie it up at three runs apiece. New Hampshire kept pushing in the seventh and added three more runs, by way of Josh Rivera's first home run of the season. The bullpen faltered again late, but Jimmy Burnette would come into the game in the ninth inning and strike out the side to get the win for New Hampshire. Jace Bohrofen: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 HR, Bohrofen continued his recent power streak and hit two more home runs on Friday night, giving him four on the season. He is looking much improved at the plate and could be a big breakout if his hot hitting continues. CJ Van Eyk: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Van Eyk weathered the early error that led to two unearned runs and would pitch mostly to contact to shut down Harrisburg for the final three innings he pitched. He did manage to get 10 swings and misses on the night, but he could not get them to put away the at-bats. New Hampshire (4), Harrisburg (2) - 4/19 Box Score Saturday's game began the same way Friday's did, with another error leading to an unearned run to open things up for both teams. This time, the error came from Eddinson Paulino at second base. New Hampshire would even things back up in the bottom of the second inning on a Yohendrick Pinango single that scored Ryan McCarty. The scoreboard would see-saw in the fifth on home runs from each team, Carlos De La Cruz for Harrisburg and Eddinson Paulino for New Hampshire. Bohrofen would cash in a triple from Pinango in the bottom of the seventh inning and give the Fisher Cats the lead for good. On the mound, Rafael Sanchez continued his early-season dominance and held Harrisburg to only one earned run on five hits across five innings. The bullpen would lock it down from there, and New Hampshire would secure the back–to-back wins. Yohendrick Pinango: 4-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 3B Pinango has taken over as the team leader in batting average, raising his average to .324 on the season. Rafael Sanchez: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K New Hampshire (0), Harrisburg (3) - 4/20 Box Score It was a windy Sunday afternoon, as New Hampshire wrapped up their series with Harrisburg. Ryan Watson pitched over an error on his way to turning in a quality start. He went six innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs. The bullpen came in and was masterful, going three innings and not giving up a hit, walk, or run. The pitching left open a door for the bats to take over the game. Unfortunately, the bats stayed silent, only managing three singles and a triple, which they couldn't get across the plate. They fell to Harrisburg in the final game of the series, 3-0. Yohendrick Pinango: 2-4, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K Pinango wrapped up this series going 7-12 in the final three games and brought his season batting average up to .342. Ryan Watson: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Watson had command of the strike zone on Sunday, issuing zero walks on his way to a quality start. He brought his ERA down to 2.25 and his WHIP down to 0.75 on the season. Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (3), Eugene (5) - 04/18 Box Score Juaron Watts-Brown looked mortal, allowing three runs in five innings of work as he walked two and gave up six hits. He still struck out five batters, and his slider is still one of the better ones in the system. He just was not at his best in this game. That gave Eugene an early 3-0 lead in the fifth, but an extra-base hit from Aaron Parker and a two-run homer from Victor Arias gave the Canadians a chance of winning the game. However, Aaron Munson gave up two runs in the seventh, and the Canadians were out of offensive juice, leading to a 5-3 Canadians loss. Juaron Watts-Brown - 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Although not at his best, Watts-Brown was still able to go five innings and keep the Canadians close enough to come back, but unfortunately, they could not. Watts-Brown is now up to a 3.14 ERA on the season, with a 1.84 FIP and a 35.0% strikeout rate to a much-improved-from-last-year 6.7% walk rate. Victor Arias - 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K Arias is continuing to heat up after starting off a bit cold, hitting his first bomb on the season and showing some excellent plate discipline, with a walk rate over 13% on the season to pair with a reasonable 22.4% strikeout rate. ttps://x.com/vancanadians/status/1913366584275730538https://x.com/vancanadians/status/1913366584275730538 Vancouver (2), Eugene (5) - 04/19 Box Score The Canadians ran a bullpen day, with reliever Kevin Miranda getting his first start of the season. He was piggybacked by Pat Gallagher after Miranda gave up two runs. Vancouver only had four hits on the day, with three walks and struggled to come up with any offensive momentum all game. By the seventh, Jonathan Todd had given up a homer to James Tibbs III, and the Canadians were at risk of getting shut out. A couple of hitters got on base, and Je’Von Ward hit a single to give the Canadians the first runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh. That was all that they could muster, as they went down in the eighth and ninth and never came back. Kai Peterson, 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Kai Peterson continues to confound with his sinker/slider combo from the left-hand side. Despite an astronomical walk rate, he carries an even better strikeout rate. He does need to rein in the walks, but he’s one of the most interesting bullpen arms in the system. Vancouver (3), Eugene (8) - 04/20 Box Score Eugene won three straight as Fernando Perez had the worst start of his career, not recording a single out while allowing four ER and walking three batters with two wild pitches in the same inning. As the bullpen had to come in early, they had to eat a lot of innings and performed reasonably well, other than Edinson Batista, who let in three runs in a third of an inning. The rest of the bullpen only allowed one run in eighth and two-thirds of an inning. The offense also sputtered, only getting on base eight times, with only one extra base hit from Aaron Parker, who knocked in one of the three runs scored by the Canadians. The Canadians will look to find their footing after this mini-slump. Cutter Coffey - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 K Julio Ortiz - 2 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (11), Lakeland (7) - 4/18 Box Score This was a slugfest, with the Dunedin Blue Jays knocking around starter Zack Lee for eight runs in the first four innings, with Yeuni Munoz and Yhoangel Aponte both homering to score some of those runs. Austin Cates was scoreless heading into the fifth inning but let on a couple of runners and was taken out of the game, which allowed for the Flying Tigers to get a few runs on the board. Eminen Flores and Bennett Flynn were the ones who gave up some runs after Cates was taken out, but the Jays scored enough early to prevent Lakeland from getting close enough for a real comeback. Colby Martin shut the door in the ninth with two strikeouts, guaranteeing the win for the Dunedin Blue Jays. Yeuni Munoz - 2-5. 2 R. 3. RBI, 1 HR, 2 K Munoz was the designated hitter this game, and he immediately smashed a homer for his third straight game at 102 mph. Munoz struggled last season, being unable to play for most of it due to concussion symptoms, but has been the best hitter for Dunedin, showing very strong power and walking at a good rate. He is striking out around a third of the time, but he’s been one of the best power hitters in the Florida State League so far. Austin Cates - 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K Cates was pitching very well through the first four innings, not allowing a single run and striking out six, before he fell apart a bit in the fifth inning. He still managed to strike one more batter before Flores came in relief and allowed an inherited runner to score. Cates was able to generate 14 whiffs on the day, relying on a 92-mph fastball with 21.1 inches of induced vertical break. He mixed in a solid slider, changeup and cutter, and it was his best showcase of his stuff on the season. Dunedin (12), (Lakeland) (3) - 04/19 Box Score For the third time in four games, Dunedin scored over 10 runs on the Flying Tigers. This time, the starters for both teams were electric, with Josh Randall only allowing one run, and Jays top prospect Trey Yesavage striking out 10 batters in five innings despite allowing three runs in the fifth. However, once the Tigers went to their bullpen, all hell broke loose. The sixth inning was an onslaught, with Briceno walking three batters and allowing five runs on a sac fly from Brock Tibbitts, a bases loaded walk to Yeuni Munoz, a bases clearing triple from Yhoangel Aponte, and a Bryce Arnold homer to give Dunedin an 8-3 lead in the sixth. Daulton Varsho had his rehab appearance, but the player who pinch hit for him, Jean Joseph, hit the second homer for the Jays in the bottom of the seventh, and Yeuni Munoz got his second RBI with a single to drive in Edward Duran. Bryce Arnold hit his second homer of the day to cap the game off in the bottom of the eighth, and Gage Stanifer went four innings in relief with seven strikeouts and no earned runs to finish off the game. Bryce Arnold - 3-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, 0 K Hamilton Native Bryce Arnold just continues to mash, with him and Yeuni Munoz being some of the biggest bats for the Dunedin Blue Jays this season. Arnold had some slight success in Dunedin the previous two years, but he is putting together a great season. As of this game, he’s up to a 1.248 OPS and a 91.3 average exit velocity, with a 56% hard hit rate. Trey Yesavage - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 K Yesavage had his strikeout stuff going this game, generating 18 whiffs and striking out 10. He flashed five plus pitches, with his four-seam fastball sitting 94-95 mph with 20.9 inches of induced vertical break. His splitter was highly effective as well, with the Lakeland Flying Tigers being unable to make contact with it (75% whiff rate). Yesavage also mixed in a cutter, a slider and a couple of looping curveballs that all were very effective despite more limited usage. He’ll most likely need to be challenged with higher levels of competition sooner than later. Gage Stanifer - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Stanifer was also excellent in relief, pitching another four strong innings while showcasing his high-powered sinker and utilizing his “death-ball” slider effectively to rack up seven Ks. He’s one of the most underrated arms in the system, as he’s arguably outperformed Trey Yesavage and Khal Stephen early on in the season. Dunedin (1), Lakeland (4) Box Score It was Easter Sunday, but Dunedin was unable to take the last game of the series, falling to the Flying Tigers in a lower-scoring affair as the offense had not risen. Colby Holcombe pitched a decent game, going five innings and only allowing two earned runs, but the Jays were only able to muster a single run the whole game. Varsho is still working his way back to being game-ready, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and the rest of the lineup barely hit as well, with only Manuel Beltre, Kendry Chirinos, and Braden Berry notching hits. Some sloppy defense also allowed Holcombe to give up a third run, and Eshelman gave up another run as Dunedin got blanked after a last-ditch effort in the bottom of the seventh. Manuel Beltre - 2-4, 1 R, 0 K Beltre got a multi-hit game and scored a run, and he’s been awesome at getting on base, with a .340 batting average and an .871 OPS. He may have figured out something offensively despite not showing much power at all. Colby Holcombe - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K Holcombe only generated four whiffs on the day, explaining just the one strikeout, and his cutter-fastball combo looked very run-of-the-mill. He was still able to generate a ton of weak contact but may need to find a genuine out pitch. FCL Blue Jays No games DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 Ks Hitter of the Period: OF Yohendrick Pinango (New Hampshire): 7-12, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 3B Prospect Summary (Last 3 Days) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 1-11, 1 BB, 2 K 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 Ks 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 3-11, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - 4.2 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 0-5, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - DNP 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 3-12, 5 K 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - DNP 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - 3-6, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - 1-10, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB. 4 K, 1 HR 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

The Jays announced some roster moves on Sunday, as they placed Nick Sandlin on the 15-day IL with a lat strain and designated Jacob Barnes for assignment. Their corresponding moves were to recall Dillon Tate and promote Paxton Schultz for his first sniff at the major leagues. Jacob Barnes was always the 13th pitcher for the Blue Jays, and it was kind of a surprise when he was announced to have made the Opening Day roster. However, since he was out of options, it seemed likely that he would be one of the first pitchers to be designated for assignment if the Jays needed to create 40-man space for a new arm. Barnes has always had decent stuff, with a mid-90s fastball and a high-80s cutter, but he has never been able to put it all together, bouncing around organizations throughout his 10-year career. Through six appearances with Toronto this season, he gave up nine runs (eight earned) in eight innings of work (9.00 ERA). On the other hand, Nick Sandlin has been a very effective set-up man for the Jays, pitching to a 2.25 ERA and a 2.78 FIP in eight innings of work, with a 27.0% K rate to a 10.8% walk rate. He has not given up a single home run. He’s been able to do this by relying on his slider and splitter, while mixing in his four-seamer and sinker to keep hitters off balance, which has resulted in a 39.2% whiff rate and a 36.3% chase rate. The side-armer will be sorely missed in the Jays bullpen, and John Schneider will need to find another reliable arm to step up in Sandlin's place while the righty is on the IL. Dillon Tate, who re-signed with the Blue Jays late this spring after he was non-tendered by the team last fall, gets a second shot in the Jays bullpen. The former Orioles mainstay is an east-west pitcher, with his main pitch being a high-70s sweeper that gets around four inches of induced vertical break and 6.4 inches of glove side break. The pitch doesn’t have outstanding shape, but it was highly effective in Triple-A Buffalo, with a whopping 61.9% whiff rate and a low 33.3% hard-hit rate. He throws his sinker around 30% of the time, sitting around 91-92 mph on the pitch, and it has 2.7 inches of induced vertical break and 16.9 inches of arm side run. He uses that pitch to pound the zone, though its solid movement can help create chase. He also throws a changeup mostly against lefties, but it hasn’t been as effective in this limited sample. In Buffalo, he pitched to a 1.50 ERA and a 3.81 FIP with a 29.2% strikeout rate and a 4.2% walk rate. Hopefully, he’ll carry some of that success over to the big leagues. In his first appearance of the season on Sunday, he gave up two runs on three hits and a home run, but he also struck out three of the eight Mariners batters he faced. Paxton Schultz was acquired by the Jays from the Brewers in May 2021 as the player to be named later (PTBNL) in the Derek Fisher trade, and he’s been a solid minor league arm for the Jays over the past several years. Schultz split time as a multi-inning reliever and a spot starter in Triple-A last season and this season. He pitched very solidly in 92 innings in 2024, producing a 4.11 ERA and a 4.05 FIP with a 28.4% strikeout rate to an 11.2% walk rate. This season, he looked electric in Triple-A, with a 2.08 ERA and a 3.60 FIP to go with a 27.3% strikeout rate and an improved 6.1% walk rate. Schultz is a four-pitch pitcher with an almost side-army slot. His four-seamer sits around 93-94 mph with 18 inches of ride and eight inches of run, while his cutter sits in the upper 80s with 11.6 inches of induced vertical break and 2.6 inches of glove side movement. Both pitches can generate solid chase numbers despite a lack of whiffs. He throws his mid-80s changeup mostly to lefties, and it generates solid whiff rates, although it gets tagged for hard contact when it does get hit. His mid-80s slider is mostly another look for righties, as he’s reduced the usage on it this year. Schultz will most likely be used as a long reliever to eat innings while he’s up for the Jays. Indeed, he was phenomenal in relief of Easton Lucas on Sunday, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. View full article

Some struggles have come for the upper minor league teams in the colder weather, but there have still been some exciting moments across the Jays farm system! Take a look at some great performances! CURRENT W-L Records -Buffalo Bisons: 4-10 -New Hampshire Fisher Cats: 4-5 -Vancouver Canadians: 7-5 -Dunedin Blue Jays: 5-7 -FCL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) -DSL Blue Jays: 0-0 (Season not started) TRANSACTIONS 04/17/25: Buffalo Bisons activated LF Davis Schneider. 04/17/25: Buffalo Bisons transferred C Matt Whatley to the Development List. 04/17/25: Toronto Blue Jays optioned LF Davis Schneider to Buffalo Bisons. 04/16/25: Vancouver Canadians placed LHP Connor O'Halloran on the 7-day injured list retroactive to April 15, 2025. 04/15/25: Buffalo Bisons activated C Matt Whatley. 04/15/25: Toronto Blue Jays recalled 3B Addison Barger from Buffalo Bisons. 04/15/25: RHP Manuel Suero assigned to DSL Blue Jays 2. 04/15/25: Dunedin Blue Jays placed OF Sam Shaw on the 7-day injured list. 04/15/25: New Hampshire Fisher Cats sent 2B Cade Doughty on a rehab assignment to Dunedin Blue Jays. Buffalo Bisons Buffalo (2), Syracuse (10) - 4/15 - Final/6 Innings Box Score The Buffalo Bisons started the series well in this weather-shortened game. They took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Ali Sánchez lined a single into left field, scoring Will Robertson from third base. It was all downhill from there for the Bisons, as Jake Bloss, who started the game on the mound, imploded in the third inning. He had only given up one hit and struck out three batters over the first two innings. However, in the third inning, he started the inning by allowing a single and then back-to-back home runs. The scoring barrage for Syracuse didn't end there, though. Bloss would give up four more runs in the inning, to see the Bisons down 7-1. In the fourth inning, Robertson added a home run to cut the deficit to five runs. Syracuse would add two more runs before the weather ended the game early. Continuing the long run of bad weather the Bisons have run up against to start the minor league season. Will Robertson: 2-2, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, 1 2B Kevin Gowdy: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K Buffalo, Syracuse - 4/16 - PPD Buffalo (0), Syracuse (2) - 4/17 Box Score This was another night to forget for the Buffalo Bisons. It might have been the worst game offensively in a long line of cold weather, painful showings to start the season. Syracuse started the bottom of the first inning by scoring two runs on a walk and three hits off of Lazaro Estrada. Estrada would settle down to push across one of his better lines of the early season, 3.2 innings pitched while giving up five hits, two earned runs, one walk, and striking out three batters. The bullpen followed after and didn't surrender an earned run and struck out three more hitters. The problem on the cold night is Buffalo was completely shut down offensively, outside of 29-year-old Michael Stefanic. Stefanic went 3-4 with three singles. The rest of the team went 0-26 with 14 strikeouts. Hopefully, warmer weather will bring the bats around eventually and they can heat up on the scoreboard. Michael Stefanic: 3-4, 3 1Bs Tommy Nance: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K New Hampshire Fisher Cats New Hampshire (3), Harrisburg (5) - 4/15 Box Score New Hampshire started a new series on Tuesday night against the Harrisburg Senators and they used the fresh start to open up their legs on the basepaths in an attempt to generate more runs. They stole three bases, but none would come around to score. The scoring was started by Jace Bohrofen, when he launched his first home run of the season in the bottom of the second inning. Another run came across in the bottom of the third inning from a sacrifice fly by Peyton Williams, following a couple of hits from RJ Schreck and Yohendrick Pinango. Ryan Watson would hold the Harrisburg bats silent until they got to him in the top of the sixth inning on a Daylen Lile home run. The bullpen could not hold the lead, as they coughed up a big three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. The Fisher Cats tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth with a walk, but Peyton Williams ended the threat with a double play, followed by a strikeout to end the game from Bohrofen. Jace Bohrofen: 1-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR Bohrofen hit his first home run of the 2025 season, coming on the heels of 14 home runs last year. He's got enough power to the pullside to unlock a 20 home run season. Ryan Watson: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Watson continues his feel-good story and looks every bit of a true pitching prospect. He induced eight swing and misses on the night, while continuing his great start to the season. New Hampshire (10), Harrisburg (9) - 4/16 Box Score The bats came alive for the first time in 2025 for New Hampshire, as this game was pure excitement from start to finish. The Fisher Cats started the game in a hole after an error at first base by Charles McAdoo led to a run in the top of the first inning. However, they took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning by way of three base hits from Jace Bohrofen, Ryan McCarty, and Alex De Jesus. There was another big volley of runs in the fourth inning, as Harrisburg took the lead back by scoring four in the top half of the inning, when New Hampshire couldn't get the last out and they gave up four hits with two outs. In the bottom half, McAdoo cashed in a couple of runners on a single to take the lead back for the Fisher Cats. Bohrofen would add an insurance run in the sixth inning with his second home run in as many nights, to give New Hampshire the lead 9-5. Unfortunately, the bullpen could not hold the lead, as they imploded in the eighth inning when an error by McCarty opened the door for Harrisburg. Then the fan favorite himself, The Iowa Meat Truck (Peyton Williams), came into the game to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied up at nine a piece. What follows was just more fun provided by the legend himself. Jace Bohrofen: 3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR For the second night in a row, Bohrofen launches a home run, as he gets dialed in for the long season. More nights like tonight can really boost him within the organizational ranks. The power is shining through, now the speed and the bat need to follow suit. Anders Tolhurst: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K It wasn't a great night for Tolhurst on the mound, but he did more than enough to get the win for New Hampshire. He only had seven swing and misses and gave up one extra base hit. He mostly was pitching to contact, but doing a decent job at it. New Hampshire (4), Harrisburg (11) - 4/17 Box Score New Hampshire really has a giant problem on their hands and it showed once again in Thursday night's game. In the field, they committed three more errors, bringing the series total to seven in just three games so far. The blunders didn't cost them the game this time, only leading to one unearned run, but it will need to be addressed sooner than later. Devereaux Harrison was not nearly as good as his first start of the season, leaving the top of the first inning trailing after giving up a home run to Donta’ Williams. In the second inning he struggled mightily, giving up four hits and three more runs. He had more struggles in the fourth inning again before giving way to Alex Amalfi. In the sixth, Amalfi and Ryan Boyer were pounded for seven runs. On the offensive side of things, the bats were relatively quiet until the bottom of the sixth inning, when a minor rally was capped off by a two run single from Bohrofen. Unfortunately, that was where the scoring in the game ended, as New Hampshire would fall to Harrisburg 11-4. Peyton Williams: 2-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 2B Williams managed to get two base knocks (including a double) off of Jarlin Susana, one of the best pitching prospects in the minor leagues. The big man has been consistent so far this season, bringing his batting average up to .273 and his OPS up to .839. Geison Urbaez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Vancouver Canadians Vancouver (8), (Eugene) (11) - 4/15 Box Score Vancouver tacked on 7 runs against Eugene starter Cale Lansville in the first 3 innings, but slowly relinquished the lead as Fernando Perez wasn’t as sharp as he was in his first start, and some poor defense and some poor reliever performances allowed for the Emeralds to catch up and even take the lead and win in the 8th. Arjun Nimmala DH’d again, as he’s been dealing with a shoulder issue, but it hasn’t been affecting his hitting, as he went 2-5 and scored 2 runs this game. The Canadians were unable to hit with RISP despite matching the Emeralds in hit total, only going 2-13 with RISP. Victor Arias - 3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Arias had a slowish start to this season, but he’s hit at every level in the minors so far in his young career, and he’s started to pick it up recently. The power hasn’t come yet, but he’s been taking his walks and making solid contact. As a smaller hitter without a premium defensive home, it’s hard for him to get on top prospect lists, but his results have been some of the best in the Jays system since coming out of Venezuela in 2019. Kai Peterson - 1.1 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K The lefty reliever with the funky sinker continues to be unhittable, although he’s walked batters at the same clip he’s striking them out, hitters cannot figure him out so far. He was the only Vancouver pitcher to not give up a run. Vancouver (5), (Eugene) (2) - 4/16 Box Score Vancouver’s pitching was much better this game, headed by Grant Rogers who hasn’t allowed an earned run yet, and another solid relief outing by Irv Carter, and righty Bo Bonds came in and got the save. The Canadians pitching only let 4 runners on base all game, which was much better than the 11 run game they gave up the previous night. The Canadians ran hard on the Emeralds pitching stealing 5 bases on them, including a double steal attempt in the bottom of the 7th that resulted in Je’Von Ward taking 2nd base and Aaron Parker stealing home. Sean Keys has displayed his keen eye for getting on base with 4 walks, and Je’Von Ward also was walked 3 times as well. Nimmala finally came back to the field and looked solid out there, hopefully showing that the shoulder problem was a minor issue. Aaron Parker - 1-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB Aaron Parker was touted for some premium bat speed in college despite being an undersized catcher, as he’s great at rotating for some big damage and he notched his first bomb of the season. He’s been excellent offensively since getting drafted in the 6th round from the Jays and he could be some rare power from the catcher position as he advances through the minors. Grant Rogers - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K Grant Rogers has continued to blank pitchers, with his 3rd start in a row allowing no earned runs, with the only run scoring against him coming from an error committed by first baseman Brennan Orf, which earned him his first win of the season. Rogers is a big guy, standing at 6’7”, but he throws from a lower slot and creates a weird look for opposing hitters and has kept them confused so far this season. Vancouver (13), (Eugene) (5) - 4/17 Box Score The offense exploded for the Canadians, as they scored 13 runs this night with 7 coming in the 5th inning alone. The Canadians combined for 10 hits and 11 walks with every Canadian scoring at least once while Nimmala and Pinto both had a rest day. Jay Harry and Victor Arias both had 2 hits and a walk, and again the Canadians ran hard with 3 stolen bases on the day from Arias, Orf, and Coffey. The pitching was again solid, despite Julio Ortiz giving up 3 runs in the 6th, the rest of the pen kept them scoreless, and Wentworth had a solid bounce back start with 4.1 IP and 8 Ks. The Canadians also scored four in the 7th, stopping any and all momentum to allow them to cruise to a victory. Cutter Coffey - 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR The power hitting infielder had his second homer of the season off of starter Josh Bostick, and he got on base another 2 times without striking out. Coffey has struggled with contact and strikeouts early on in the season, with an over 30% K rate. His contact skills are clearly below average, but if he can tap into his power and take some walks he could still be a productive infielder in the majors. https://x.com/vancanadians/status/1913071876836147643 Nate Garkow - 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K, W Garkow earned a win in relief, striking out 6 in only 2.2 innings pitched and stopping the Giants High-A affiliate from getting any momentum after they scored 3 the inning prior to him getting in the game. Dunedin Blue Jays Dunedin (2), (Lakeland) (4) - 4/15 Box Score The Dunedin Blue Jays offense struggled to get going, even with 2022 2nd Rounder Cade Doughty on rehab assignment slotted directly at 2nd base. Brock Tibbits hit a homer to give the Dunedin Jays a 1-0 lead, and that was the 6th game where they scored the first run of the game. Colby Holcombe pitched 5 strong innings, but let in a couple of runs due to some extra base hits given up as well as some shaky defense behind him. The offense couldn’t recover from the early deficit, and although the bullpen only let in one more run, the Dunedin offense only managed to get one more as well with Tibbitts scoring again on a sac fly from Tucker Toman. (Highlight a hitter with what they did and anything you want to add, including X links) Colby Holcombe - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Colby Holcombe was the 9th round pick for the Jays, and although he’s struggled with traffic on the basepaths, he’s shown a solid arsenal and effective stuff. His fastball has been excellent, sitting around 94 mph with 20 inches of ride and got whiffs at a 41.1% rate. His main secondary is a 86-87 mph cut-slider that also had a strong whiff rate, but he struggled to find the zone with it and it got hit hard today. Still this is the second strong start for Holcombe and his golden locks. He still hasn’t shown a pitch that could be used effectively against lefties but his 2 main pitches have looked very good. Brock Tibbitts - 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Tibbitts has been a steady presence in the Dunedin Lineup, hitting his first homer of the season and getting on base. His contact skills haven’t been the greatest but he’s been consistent at driving runners in. Dunedin (18), (Lakeland) (2) - 4/17 Box Score Although Dunedin still is below .500, they tend to explode for double digit runs, including this 18-2 thrashing of the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Every hitter has gotten on base, and the Dunedin Jays went for 7 extra base hits, showcasing some power in addition to a balanced lineup. Bryce Arnold and Duran both hit their 2nd homer of the season, and Alexis Hernandez and Manual Beltre both had 2 hits and 3 RBIs. The pitching was also solid, only giving up 2 runs from Edinson Batista, who’s still adjusting to a new organization, and this was easily the best game of the season for the Jays. Khal Stephen - 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K Stephen showed again that he’s too advanced for Low-A, as a SEC college pitcher he’s shown pretty much everything he’s needed to and with a 0.56 ERA/2.67 FIP and a 35.7% K rate to a tiny 3.6% walk rate his results have also shown excellence. With Connor O’Halloran hitting the injured list, it may be reasonable to see him or Yesavage move up to replace him. Yeuni Munoz - 3-5, 3 R, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K Yeuni Munoz has been electric for the Dunedin Blue Jays, smashing his 2nd homer of the season at 105.7 mph and 398 feet, as well as hitting a 105 mph double. He’s been near the top in average exit velocity and hard hit rate in the Florida State League, and has been finally showing some game power to match some of his raw power. Dunedin (4), (Lakeland) (6) - 04/17 Box Score Daniel Guerra took the bump again, and although he started off the first 2 innings without giving up a run, he allowed 3 runs to score in the 3rd and 4th. The Jays scored 2 in the 4th from an Alexis Hernandez double, but Javen Coleman gave up 3 runs himself and made it difficult for the Jays to come back even with Gilberto Batista having 4 scoreless innings to keep them close. Cade Doughty still hasn’t recorded a hit on his rehab assignment but walked 3 times and scored a run. Bryce Arnold also continued to hit the ball hard on contact with another extra base hit in the 9th, but was not able to score as the rest of the lineup hit into outs. Yeuni Munoz - 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K Munoz’s power surge continued, as he hit a homer of the 2nd day in a row, this time 104.7 mph. It’s exciting to see if this can continue for him, as his underlying metrics are showing that his power has finally started to click. Munoz also had an outfield assist to save a run at home, flashing the leather as well. Gilberto Batista - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Gilberto Batista piggy backed off of Daniel Guerra again, which seems like the Dunedin Blue Jays are planning to do with them all season, and he pitched his 3rd scoreless outing. The stuff isn’t eye popping off the page, but his velocity was up slightly from 91 mph in his last outing to around 93-94 mph in this one. He does throw a variety of pitches, but there isn’t much movement variability and it can tend to bleed into each other. However, Batista has been excellent since joining the Blue Jays organization only giving up 5 ER, in 27.2 innings of work as a Jays prospect. FCL Blue Jays No games DSL Blue Jays No games Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Players of the Period Pitcher of the Period: RHP, Khal Stephen, Dunedin Blue Jays: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day: OF, Jace Bohrofen, New Hampshire: 5-14, 4 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR Prospect Summary (Last 3 Days) 1. Arjun Nimmala (Vancouver) - 3-9, 2 R, 3 K, 1 2B 2. Trey Yesavage (Dunedin) - DNP 3. Ricky Tiedemann (Buffalo) - DNP 4. Orelvis Martinez (Buffalo) - 0-7, 3K 5. Jake Bloss (Buffalo) - 2.2 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 K 6. Alan Roden (Toronto) - 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 2B 7. Josh Kasevich (Buffalo) - DNP 8. Kendry Rojas (Vancouver) - DNP 9. Khal Stephen (Dunedin) - 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K 10. Charles McAdoo (New Hampshire) - 2-7, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K 11. Adam Macko (Buffalo) - DNP 12. Landen Maroudis (Dunedin) - DNP 13. Fernando Perez (Vancouver) - 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K 14. Will Wagner (Toronto) - 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K 15. Johnny King (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 16. Brandon Barriera (Dunedin) - DNP 17. Emmanuel Bonilla (FCL Blue Jays) - DNP 18. Juaron Watts-Brown (Vancouver) - DNP 19. Eddinson Paulino (New Hampshire) - 3-7, 1 RBI, 0 BB. 3 K, 1 2B 20. Dahian Santos (New Hampshire) - DNP View full article

It felt like just yesterday Davis Schneider was launching balls over the Green Monster, one of the hottest hitters in baseball who earned the nickname “The Babe” from Brandon Belt. How quickly things change in the major leagues. Davis Schneider had an excellent spring training for the Blue Jays, slashing .333/.487/.633 in 39 plate appearances and earning his spot on the roster as a platoon bat against lefties. There was reason for optimism that he’d found himself and could contribute in a limited role. Projections were high even after a down 2024 season, with all of them, including FanGraphs' OOPSY (which incorporates bat speed) expecting Schneider to have an above-average offensive season. Unfortunately, that has not come to fruition. Davis's offensive production consists of one bloop single in the early going. He's running a .067/.333/.067 slash line, good for a 57 wRC+ over 21 plate appearances. The underlying metrics are similarly ugly, with only a .099 xBA and .110 xSLG, as well as a 33.3% whiff rate. He also has not had a single hard-hit ball. Davis is walking at a career-high 23.8% clip, but that also comes with a strikeout rate near 40%. The Jays felt it was better for Davis to reset in Triple-A. He was optioned to Triple-A on Thursday and even started for the Bisons. Addison Barger will most likely be replacing Schneider. Barger was called up when Nathan Lukes went on the paternity list, and Lukes will most likely come back and claim Schneider’s spot. Barger hasn’t been at his best in Buffalo, putting up a 98 wRC+. However, his batted ball metrics have been excellent. At the time of his promotion, he was leading all Triple-A hitters in 90th percentile exit velocity, and ranked fourth in expected slugging, fifth in average exit velocity, and 15th in hard-hit rate. Barger will add some power potential to the Blue Jays lineup, and although he’s a lefty hitter instead of a righty like Schneider, he has more defensive versatility. He's able to third and right, which Davis has not covered. Myles Straw’s emergence also made it harder for Davis to find playing time in the outfield. Davis still has a penchant for getting on base, and in his previous two seasons had a knack for getting barrels on pulled fly balls. That hasn’t happened early on this season, and since Davis has below-average bat speed and doesn’t actually hit the ball that hard, he relies heavily on those pulled fly balls to do damage. According to Baseball Savant's new metric that tracks pulled balls in the air, Schnedier has dropped from 37% in 2023, to 24.4% in 2024, to only 14.3% in 2025. Davis has become much more selective as well, potentially to a fault, dropping his swing rate down to only 30%. Pitchers have avoided giving him pitches that he could turn on, and as a result, Schneider hasn’t swung much. Schneider could go down to Triple-A and find the magic that made Blue Jays fall in love with him and his mustache again, but he’ll have to figure out how to adjust back in a more effective way. Getting full-time reps in Buffalo should help him more than a few scattered at-bats against lefties in Toronto. View full article

It looks like he's still swinging hard at the hard stuff, but he's trying to square up the soft stuff: