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New York Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
How a Blue Jays prospect is throwing more strikes: cleaner mechanics and clearer vision
ARLINGTON, Texas — Gage Stanifer had undergone vision tests before, but nothing like this. He wasn't reading out progressively smaller lines of letters or following a moving finger. Instead, the Blue Jays pitching prospect sat in a chair during his 2025 spring training physical, asked to put on a pair of goggles and relay the order of three shining lights. Advertisement He should've seen green, red and blue flashes, but couldn't pick up a single one. As Stanifer wrapped up the annual vision test, he was asked to stay behind. That's when the command-challenged prospect was told he had astigmatism, an imperfect curvature in one of his eyes. The fix was simple — he needed glasses. 'Things were definitely more clear,' said Stanifer, who is already throwing more strikes this season. 'I guess there was no hesitation in the vision so it's just a little bit easier for me to focus my eyes on the target.' Last year, Stanifer threw 56 percent strikes with the Dunedin Blue Jays, walking 50 batters in 59 2/3 innings. Looking back, Stanifer felt his eyes weren't quite firing at the same time. He struggled to pick up the movement on pitches or focus on the catcher's glove. But this spring, in his first bullpen session wearing glasses, Stanifer hit the zone on 80 percent of throws. The right-hander had a headache after the session, but the catcher's mitt was now a crisp target. If it sounds like the type of storyline straight out of a 1980s baseball movie, that's because it is. Stanifer's eyesight revelation is basically the tale of Charlie Sheen's character in Major League — Ricky ''Wild Thing' Vaughn got glasses and proceeded to dominate. The difference in Stanifer's story is all the work that came before the vision fix. Blue Jays pitching coaches and coordinators were already quietly excited for the right-hander's 2025 campaign, optimistic he could become the type of high-upside pitching development story the organization needs. After posting a 6.33 ERA in his first two seasons in Toronto's low minors, Stanifer entered this year with raised velocity, improved secondary pitches and cleaner mechanics. The contact lenses — Stanifer eventually switched off glasses for comfort — were an unexpected bonus. The result has been one of the fastest rises in the Blue Jays' farm system, with Stanifer posting a 1.64 ERA, filling the zone and earning an early promotion. Advertisement Greg Vogt, director of the Indiana-based baseball development company PRP Baseball, has worked with Stanifer since he was a big-bodied high schooler with fleeting command. Back then, Stanifer was a borderline draft pick, striking out 183 batters in 90 innings across his final two years at Westfield (Ind.) High School. The 60 walks and sporadic stuff held him back. Since Toronto took a chance on Stanifer in the 2022 draft's 19th round, he has spent three years trying to up his stuff and keep it in the zone. Bouncing in and out of the Blue Jays' pitching lab, Stanifer used weighted balls, water bags and held a football under the glove arm to tighten his action to the plate. He's thrown from varying distances to hone command, focused in the weight room and used mound sensors called force plates to find efficiency in his push to home plate. With a long stride and a short arm action — a combination Vogt compared to Spencer Strider's — syncing up Stanifer's top and bottom halves was a challenge. In the final days of the 2024 season, the 21-year-old's new mechanics began to affix as muscle memory. The comfort and confidence only built in the offseason. 'He's not a fun guy to play catch with,' Vogt said. 'People wonder why the fastball is pretty invisible, it's like that in catch. It hurts your hand and it's one of those fastballs that when he's yanking it and spraying, it's really not fun. Until he got to the point where his catch play was just locked in.' Vogt and Stanifer saw the results all winter — an uptick in velocity, better command and sharper action on his slider and splitter. Two MLB pitchers Stanifer worked out with at PRP, Tim Herrin and Jared Hoeing, joked the young righty's stuff looked ready for a big league bullpen. 'It was like holy cow,' Vogt said. 'This guy was sitting 95 for strikes with a slider that just goes down the drain in the last five feet. Guys can't hit it and we were starting to dial those in.' Advertisement Vogt tried to downplay Stanifer's strides, not wanting the young pitcher to get too far ahead of himself entering the season. 'Don't try to show them you're big-league ready this minute,' he told Stanifer. The message was to stick to routine and throw strikes. Then Vogt got a text from a Blue Jays minor-league coach before spring training: 'We fixed Gage.' The second text quickly came through: 'I'm just kidding. We just gave him glasses.' It was another reason for optimism. 'It's funny when you look at all the work that he's done,' Vogt said. 'And sometimes you just need to be able to see a little better, too.' In his first outing for the Blue Jays' Single A affiliate this year, Stanifer pitched four one-hit innings, walking two batters with 62 percent of his pitches finding the zone. That's a 62 percent strike rate he's maintained all year, a six percentage point jump from his 2024 form. Stanifer's first-pitch strike rate has gone from 38 percent to 53 percent this season, allowing him to expand the zone later with his slider and splitter. Stanifer is currently throwing in a piggyback role following Toronto's top pitching prospect, Trey Yesavage. The pair play catch together, prepare for starts together, and then split outings down the middle. For the Dunedin Blue Jays in Florida, Stanifer prepared for his back-half outings with a classic starter's routine — warming slowly with a set entry point into games. He's still logging heavy innings with the Vancouver Canadians, but ramping up more like a traditional reliever. Stanifer was amped up in his first inning after promotion, the righty said, walking three of his first four batters in High A. Since, he's struck out 13 batters to just three walks and his first-pitch strike rate for the Canadians remains over 50 percent. 'I definitely think them seeing me in multiple roles is going to help out,' Stanifer said. 'Just to know I'm able to do both, and kind of put that final decision in their hands.' Advertisement Stanifer doesn't care what role he's in. The righty's current dilemma is contacts or glasses. He wore sport goggles for one inter-squad game before the 2025 season and all his teammates begged him to bust them back out in a real contest. The spectacled looks of Tom Henke and Eric Gagné have their perks, but Stanifer said the contacts are easier and more comfortable. Either way, the vision is what matters. For Major League's Ricky Vaughn, glasses were a switch that flipped him from wild to precise. For Stanifer, the prescription was another step in a climb he's been on for years. 'I think just knowing that side of things is taken care of,' Stanifer said. 'Then the confidence level of how everything's kind of working right now on the physical side, too, it's definitely huge.' (Photo of Gage Stanifer: Courtesy Dunedin Blue Jays)
The Province
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Province
Report: The Toronto Blue Jays' No. 2-rated prospect is set to join the Vancouver Canadians
The fireballing righty joins shortstop Arjun Nimmala, who's Toronto's No. 1 prospect, on the C's, and should pitch in Vancouver on May 27 Get the latest from Steve Ewen straight to your inbox Trey Yesavage going through the paces earlier this season with the Dunedin Blue Jays. There are reports he's been promoted to the Vancouver Canadians. Photo by Dunedin Blue Jays photo The Vancouver Canadians already feature Toronto Blue Jays' No. 1 prospect, Arjun Nimmala. Now, apparently, the No. 2-ranked Trey Yesavage is on his way to join the Nat Bailey Stadium crew. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors There's been no official word from the C's as of yet, but Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson at writes that the Blue Jays are promoting fireballing pitcher Yesavage from the single-A Dunedin Blue Jays to high-A Vancouver, along with fellow right-handers Khal Stephen and Gage Stanifer. Yesavage, 21, who was Toronto's first-round pick (No. 20 overall) in last summer's entry draft, last pitched Tuesday for Dunedin. The Blue Jays would undoubtedly want to keep him on the same routine. The C's are wrapping up a series with the Everett AquaSox on Sunday at the Nat. They start a six-game road set with the Eugene Emeralds on Tuesday, and then are back at the Nat for six against the Hillsboro Hops starting May 27. Yesavage would start that night, assuming he's kept on his current schedule. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The #BlueJays are promoting one of Single-A's most dominant pitching trios to Vancouver, led by No. 2 prospect Trey Yesavage. Full story on the news: — Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) May 16, 2025 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Nimmala, 19, is a right-handed hitting shortstop who was Toronto's first-round pick (No. 20 overall) in 2023 and he has been superb so far for Vancouver, despite being one of the younger players in the Northwest League. Nimmala went into Sunday's doubleheader against the AquaSox hitting .277, with seven home runs and 18 runs batted in, through 32 games. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Yesavage has a fastball that sits at 93-95 miles per hour and peaks at 98. The speculation all season has been that the Blue Jays would bump him up to Vancouver once the weather here started to warm up. He's dominated through seven starts at Dunedin, striking out 55 while walking just eight in 33 and one-third innings. He's gone 3-0 there, with a 2.43 earned run average. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Yesavage received a $4.18 million signing bonus from the Blue Jays. Nimmala's signing bonus was $3 million. The top 10 pitching prospects according to the Formulated Consensus!1. Trey Yesavage2. Chase Burns3. Jonah Tong4. Gage Jump5. Bubba Chandler6. Sean Linan7. Carlos Lagrange8. Logan Henderson9. Wei-En Lin10. Jacob Misiorowski Join StS for more! — Scout the Statline (@StatlineScout) May 17, 2025 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stephen, 22, is Toronto's No. 10-ranked prospect. He was 3-0, with a 2.06 ERA, in eight appearances with Dunedin, including seven starts. Stanifer, 21, has been Dunedin's closer. He's 4-0, with an 0.69 earned run average and two saves in seven appearances. MLB Pipeline has Nimmala and Yesavage in those top two positions among Blue Jays prospects. Vancouver's leading player on MLB Pipeline's Toronto list to finish last season was lefty Kendry Rojas, who came in at No. 12. When 2023 came to a close, righty Dahian Santos led Vancouver players on the MLB Pipeline rating of Blue Jay up and comers, slotted at No. 11. Nimmala comes in at No. 59 and No. 71 in MLB Pipeline's updated top-100 rankings for the entire minor leagues. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The C's likely haven't had prospects of this ilk since lefty Ricky Tiedemann did an eight-game turn with Vancouver in 2022. He was Toronto's No. 6 prospect when he arrived in May. By July, he had jumped to No. 3 in the Toronto system and No. 63 in the minors. He had entered the top-100 minors list at No. 100 on May 31. He made his last start with Vancouver on July 8 and then was promoted to the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Vancouver has been a Toronto farm team since 2011. They moved from the short-season, single-A level to high-A when Major League Baseball rejigged the minors during the COVID-19 pandemic break in 2020. SEwen@ @SteveEwen Read More Vancouver Canucks Junior Hockey News Vancouver Canucks News
