Blue Jays prospect notes: Midseason risers and players who can help Toronto's 2025 playoff push

New York Times

2 days ago

Juaron Watts-Brown spun on the mound, pumping fists as he let out a guttural roar. After recording his final strikeout, the Toronto Blue Jays prospect bounced back to the home dugout.
In the biggest start of his season, Watts-Brown was at his best. Bright lights poured over Nat Bailey Stadium, filling the Vancouver Canadians' home park for a 2024 High-A playoff contest. Toronto's 2023 third-round pick delivered a career-high 10 punch-outs, capped with the fifth-inning howl. He attacked the zone, stalked the mound with swagger and led the Blue Jays affiliate to a postseason victory.
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'That guy,' Blue Jays director of player development Joe Sclafani said. 'We wanted that guy.'
That postseason fire carried over to Watts-Brown's 2025 campaign. After an offseason of added strength and early-season arsenal tweaks — including a new kick changeup — the right-hander struck out 14.9 batters per nine innings in his first eight outings. He earned a promotion to Double A in late May and currently owns the sixth-most strikeouts in all of minor-league baseball.
Watts-Brown is one of many rising prospects in a Blue Jays farm system filled with needed success, setting Toronto up for crucial late-season promotions and trade-deadline acquisitions. Here's a midseason update on those stories across the farm.
In clear contrast to 2024, the Blue Jays have a long list of positive minor-league pitching stories this year. Watts-Brown and Trey Yesavage are up to Double A, Johnny King is rolling, Gage Stanifer shows real starter potential and Kendrys Rojas is back from injury.
The most impressive of the bunch might be 22-year-old righty Khal Stephen. Among all minor-league starters with at least 12 appearances, Stephen sits third in ERA (1.75), sixth in FIP (2.42) and sixth in WHIP (0.88). The righty throws six different pitches, with various weapons for both lefties and righties. The 2024 second-round pick started in Low-A and will now join Yesavage in Double A out of the All-Star break.
'The most impressive thing about Khal is just that he's continued to get better as he goes,' Sclafani said.
On the hitting side, outfielder Victor Arias also pushes up Toronto's system. He's known to teammates as 'Loco Mike,' likely a nod to Arias' hair-on-fire playing style. He steals bases, hustles for triples and dives for balls in the outfield.
'He's the type of dude where you hate to play against him,' Sclafani said. 'But you love to play with him.'
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Smacking the ball around minor-league parks has never been an issue for Arias when healthy, but early-career injuries stopped him from ever playing more than 80 games in a season. This year, the outfielder appeared in 66 of Vancouver's first 96 games, posting a .294 average and .818 OPS. It may not appear in homer power, but Arias has the type of exit velocities and hard swings that made Addison Barger an intriguing Blue Jays prospect years ago. His biggest improvements this year have come in the field, adding 8 mph to outfield throws over the offseason with a dedicated throwing program.
With risers across the system, the Jays will face deadline decisions. Intriguing prospects have injected Toronto's system with hope, but they're the exact kinds of players who could bring back immediate help for a big-league team hoping to contend.
INF Orelvis Martínez
Once Toronto's top hitting prospect, Martínez remains at the big-league door for a third year, getting just a brief taste in 2024 before an 80-game PED suspension. The slugging infielder could've earned an early MLB call-up with a strong start to 2025. Instead, the 23-year-old struggled, and those promotions went to Addison Barger, Leo Jimenez, Jonatan Clase and Michael Stefanic.
Martínez has long been a slow starter — perhaps linked to a distaste for cold-weather baseball or insufficient offseason work — but he always heats up as the summer pushes on. This year, that summer rise didn't come, and Martínez now owns a .192 average and .659 OPS in Triple A. The 23-year-old's power remains undeniable, but other prospects keep passing Martínez for MLB promotions. He must find consistent contact to join the Blue Jays at some point this year.
LHP Adam Macko
General manager Ross Atkins tossed out Macko's name as a potential rotation depth option earlier this year. The lefty entered 2025 sitting 11th in Keith Law's preseason Blue Jays prospect rankings, but since arriving in Triple A in June, he's posted a 6.10 ERA in 11 outings.
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One of Macko's biggest issues is settling into games, as he's allowed 13 earned runs in the first three innings over his last four starts. He often finds a groove later, but early struggles won't cut it at the big-league level. The Buffalo Bisons coaching staff pushes Macko to live in the zone early, hoping to turn 20-pitch first frames into five-pitch innings.
'If he can minimize pitches and be in the strike zone quick, then we give ourselves a chance to get some quick outs,' Triple A pitching coach Drew Hayes said. 'Then you can minimize your first, and now you got your feet wet and can go.'
Macko's fastball and slider appear MLB-ready, but early efficiency remains the biggest obstacle preventing him from an MLB promotion.
LHP Ricky Tiedemann
Tiedemann won't get into rehab outings until August, but the flame-throwing lefty touched 95 mph in flat ground sessions and should progress to live bullpens in the next couple weeks. The timeline is getting tight, but a late-season MLB debut isn't out of the question yet.
With a healthy Tiedemann and rising Yesavage, the Jays could have a couple late-season bullpen wildcard options to call on.
Other pitching depth options
Ryan Burr, Yimi García, Nick Sandlin, Bowden Francis and Paxton Schultz all hit the IL in the last month. With injuries piling up, Toronto continues to lean on Triple-A pitching depth.
Following a strong MLB debut, Lázaro Estrada should be the next man up for a rotation spot, but Adam Kloffenstein and Anders Tolhurst could also step in. Tolhurst's stat line doesn't shine, with a 5.32 ERA, but he's impressed in recent starts. The righty allowed just four runs in his last 16 innings, riding an improved splitter.
'He's started to get some more punch-outs,' Hayes said. '[Tolhurst] has been outstanding. The work is good and he's honestly just getting more comfortable, more confident.'
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On the relief side, Mason Fluharty is back in the zone after a July demotion. In a recent two-inning outing at Triple A, Fluharty struck out four batters with 77 percent strikes. The lefty will be in play for a big-league return at some point. Veteran Dillon Tate and youngster Hayden Juenger are also in the mix for future bullpen promotions.
The Blue Jays are by no means a catching factory — it remains one of the system's shallowest positions. But every few seasons, a young backstop seemingly pops. First it was Alejandro Kirk, then Gabriel Moreno and now 21-year-old Edward Duran earns attention.
The Venezuelan catcher, acquired in a 2022 trade alongside Anthony Bass and Zach Pop, entered the season unranked in Law's top 20 Toronto prospects. His tools are not as flashy as Kirk's or Moreno's, but Duran holds a similar skill set to the previous pair. Despite just seven career minor-league homers, Duran manipulates his barrel to make consistent contact — he hit .296 in 66 games for Dunedin this year. He's now set for a new challenge at High A Vancouver.
After an offseason of workouts to improve conditioning and strengthen his legs, Duran has had a tick up this season in his receiving behind the plate and arm strength. Where the Venezuelan differs from his Toronto catching predecessors is command of a pitching staff, as the Jays' young pitchers reportedly gravitate to Duran and defer to him in contests.
(Top photo of Khal Stephen: Bruce Newman / USA Today Network)