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Keep an eye on Shane Bieber’s fastball velocity versus Padres

Thomas Hall — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:30:47 GMT

It’s been a rough return from the injured list for Shane Bieber, whose stuff hasn’t looked quite the same ahead of his fourth start of the 2026 season — and first career outing at Petco Park.

The 31-year-old Bieber, who opened this season on the IL with right elbow inflammation before returning on June 23, enters Friday’s series opener against the San Diego Padres with an ERA that’s ballooned to 9.00 and an even worse FIP of 9.34 across 13.0 innings thus far. He’s been unable to keep balls in the yard, having already surrendered six home runs in half as many starts.

There have also been plenty of concerns surrounding his erratic command, resulting in seven walks compared to only nine strikeouts in that span. As such, he’s currently been worth half a win below replacement level, according to FanGraphs, and could badly use a performance boost heading into the All-Star break.

Metrically, Bieber’s arsenal hasn’t ticked back up just yet in ’26, as he owns a career-worst 89 Stuff+ grade in his return. Of his five pitches, none has declined more than his four-seamer — the veteran starter’s primary offering — which has seen its Stuff+ descend from a 94 grade last season to 91 this year, the lowest it’s been in three years.

Much of that, unfortunately, has been a byproduct of Bieber’s diminished velocity — his four-seamer is averaging 92.0 m.p.h. through three starts, just over half a tick slower than 2025. In two of those outings, it only averaged 91.9 m.p.h. — his slowest post-Tommy John surgery reading.

Even more concerning is that his fastball hasn’t reached 93 m.p.h. or higher more than four times this season, topping out at 93.9 thus far. Last season, for example, he achieved that mark 70 times — in the regular season alone — and reached 94 or above in five separate instances.

Source: Baseball Savant

Sitting in the low 90s is usually the danger zone for Bieber’s four-seamer, which opposing hitters are slugging .750 against this season, producing a 96.7 m.p.h. average exit velocity against it — the highest of his career.

When the veteran right-hander has a feel for the strike zone, however, he has found ways to survive without his “A” stuff. Many of the game’s greats usually do. The only thing is, though, his command hasn’t been anywhere close to sharp since returning from the IL, as his heater currently features a career-worst 44.6 per cent in-zone rate.

Jumping ahead 0-1 is crucial for pitchers who rely on pitchability over stuff, such as Bieber. Last season, he did an excellent job of gaining count leverage, posting a 61.0 per cent first-pitch strike rate — a figure now down to just 51.6 per cent this year.

It’s worth remembering that this is Bieber’s first full post-TJ season, which follows the shortest off-season of his professional career and a spring training hijacked by forearm/elbow soreness. He was also rushed back to the Blue Jays’ rotation out of necessity amid Max Scherzer’s second consecutive injury-plagued campaign. So, it’s understandable that he wouldn’t be at his best out of the gate.

Bieber still needs a bit more time to work through these issues. Had he been healthy at the start of this season, he’d been ironing things out in April rather than July, and that would’ve provided him considerably more margin for error. But since we’re already past the midway point, he no longer has that luxury.

For a Blue Jays rotation that ranks 24th in starters’ ERA (5.30) since June 1, they need last year’s version of Shane Bieber to rise to the surface, and soon.

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Blue Jays: What the latest mock drafts are saying for the 39th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft

Tyson Shushkewich — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:00:06 GMT

The 2026 MLB Draft kicks off tomorrow, with the Toronto Blue Jays stepping to the plate with 19 picks to work with.

They don’t make their first selection until the 39th overall pick, which is the second pick in the second round, as a result of making the World Series and receiving a ten-pick penalty for exceeding the second surcharge threshold of the CBT. Toronto also loses its second-round pick and compensation pick after the fourth round (for Bo Bichette signing with the Mets) because of the Dylan Cease signing this winter. It’s a complicated mess because of the penalty and pick forfeitures, and the Jays will have $5.54 million to work with in bonus pool money (the second lowest of the group, ahead of only the Dodgers).

Industry pundits and analysts across the various baseball websites have been making mock drafts all summer long, and many have excluded the Jays because their first pick is out of the first round. However, a few have extended to pick #40 to include the Dodgers as well, and this is what the different sites have to say for Toronto and their #39 pick.

Will Brick – C
Christian Brothers HS (Tennessee)

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel has the Blue Jays pencilled in to select prep backstop Will Brick with their first pick of the draft.

Brick is ranked at #46 on MLB Pipeline’s latest draft rankings, and the right-handed hitting Tennessee product is the highest ranking prep catcher on the draft board. Standing 6-foot-2 at 18 years old, Brick reclassified from the 2027 draft class and has been making headlines over the past year.

He supported Team USA on their U18 squad and has improved his play behind the plate, sporting a sub-1.9 pop time with a strong arm that scouts think can stick behind the plate. During his final high school season, he won Tennessee’s Gatorade Player of the Year, posting a .526 average with nine doubles, five home runs, and 25 RBIs.

There will always be risks associated with catchers and their ability to stay behind the plate in pro baseball. The Jays did that with Max Pentecost in 2014 (and he was a college player), and he never found his footing in the Jays system, retiring in 2019. However, they did find success stories in J.P Arencibia (1st round, 2007 – college) and Danny Jansen (16th round, 2013 – high school) and also found success in international players with Alejandro Kirk and Gabriel Moreno, so there are more wins than losses for anybody keeping tally.

Brick has a commitment to Mississippi State in his back pocket, so he could turn to college if the right deal doesn’t come his way.

These backstops have next ⏬️

(📹️ )Will Brick, C, Christian Brothers HS
Sean Dunlap, C, Crown Point HS
Cole Prosek, SS/C, Magnolia Heights HS

The best tools in the 2026 MLB draft class from high school defensive catching to college power:https://t.co/ihMeADZL4L pic.twitter.com/ZR13KJHzyw

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 19, 2026

Ty Head – OF
North Carolina State

The fine folks at MLB Pipeline have tabbed outfielder Ty Head to the Blue Jays in their latest mock draft.

Batting from the left side, Head has spent the past two seasons at North Carolina State, working as an everyday player. Across both seasons, he posted a .283/.447/.481 slash line with 19 doubles, 18 home runs, 81 RBIs, and a .928 OPS. Head also stole 32 bases and walked 105 times compared to 51 strikeouts.

Last season, the 21-year-old led the squad with 14 home runs and started all 56 games in centre field, where he posted a clean fielding sheet and added two outfield assists. He was a Rawlings Gold Glove recipient and was named to the All-ACC Third Team for his efforts on the Wolfpack.

Scouts believe Head can stick in centre field with his plus speed and athleticism, and he impressed many with his strong walk rates. The bigger question will be if he can make contact and still hit for power at the next level against tougher pitchers.

Head is ranked at #60 on MLB Pipeline’s draft board.

Jack Radel – RHP
Notre Dame

Heading to Just Baseball, the masterminds behind the college side of the site have the Blue Jays going the pitching route with right-hander Jack Radel.

Radel has been a weekend starter for most of his three years at Notre Dame, and this past season he kicked things up a notch to become one of the Fighting Irish’s more dependable arms. Across 87.2 innings and 15 starts, he posted a 3.29 ERA with a 1.027 WHIP.

Radel also struck out 116 batters to the tune of an 11.9 K/9 and was controlling the strike zone well, posting a 2.3 BB/9. The South Dakota product earned multiple honours this past year, including Third Team All-American (D1 Baseball and Perfect Game), First Team All-ACC, and ABCA/Rawlings Midwest All-Region First Team honours, while earning two ACC Pitcher of the Week honours as well.

Ranked at #44, Radel works with a mid 90s fastball that touched 98 MPH this past year and works with a cutter that was one of his most chased pitches in his arsenal. He also boasts a curveball and a changeup to keep things interesting and saw almost double the amount of strikeouts in his junior campaign compared to his sophomore season.

In his final start for Notre Dame, Jack Radel was stellar in front of a large scouting contingency.

Relied heavily on his low-80s SL with sharp bite and depth, as well as firm low-90s CT that played very well. FB up to 98 in 6th, flashed good CH. 19 whiffs.

Pot. 1st RD arm. pic.twitter.com/4ADJuCF7Gi

— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) May 20, 2026

Scouts tab Radel as a middle-of-the-rotation type arm – not the flashiest stuff, but he’s a workhorse who can generate the odd whiff here or there while giving you solid innings regularly. His stuff should play at the professional level, and the Jays’ pitching development has seen notable improvements over the past couple of seasons to support using a high pick on a pitcher like Radel.

It’s been a hot minute since the Jays selected a player from Notre Dame. Cavan Biggio (5th round – 2016) and Nick Podkul (7th round – 2018) are their lone picks from the South Bend, Indiana program since 2016.

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Blue Jays: Don’t count on Yimi García returning to the roster in 2026

Ben Wrixon — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:00:37 GMT

Yimi García was expected to be a big part of the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen in 2026, but it’s looking more and more like he won’t be a part of it at all.

García, 35, is currently on the injured list as he continues to recover from surgery on his pitching elbow from last season. He appeared on the cusp of a return in early June, making several rehab appearances with the Buffalo Bisons before being derailed by biceps soreness that Blue Jays general manager described as “complex.”

From a roster construction—and trade deadline—standpoint, the Blue Jays need to operate as if García won’t pitch this season because he probably won’t. He’s not someone they can be hoping will help them down the stretch or flip for prospects if they decide to sell, which should be on the table considering how poorly the team played.

García has been effective when healthy over the last few seasons. The problem is that he simply hasn’t been healthy very often, and the Blue Jays knew that when they brought him back on a two-year, $15-million deal ahead of the 2025 season.

He missed most of the second half of 2024 after they traded him to the Seattle Mariners for Jonatan Clase and Jacob Sharp. He made just 22 appearances last season, all of which came before the Blue Jays took off and became the eventual American League champions.

There is no guarantee García will even be the same pitcher he once was if he somehow does make it back to the Blue Jays this season. He gave up eight earned runs on 12 hits in just 6.2 innings in Buffalo before getting shut down. Rehab outings are, of course, more about process than results, but this showing was nonetheless discouraging.

He could be a similar case to Shane Bieber if he does come back in August or September. Bieber, like García, struggled with the Bisons during his rehab appearances and has gotten absolutely rocked since returning to the Blue Jays. He’s been borderline unstartable.

So, with all that being said, the Blue Jays’ front office needs to exclude García from their plans regardless of which way they lean. If they believe the current team needs two more bullpen arms to be successful, then they need to add two guys. If they are weighing the pros and cons of buying versus based on assets they could move, García can’t be included.

The writing is unfortunately on the wall for García. His arm simply isn’t healthy enough to be a factor during the 2026 season, and the Blue Jays need to accept that and move on. Any contributions at this point would be a massive surprise.

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A few forgotten faces from the 2026 Blue Jays roster

Michael Coyle — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:00:07 GMT

Throughout the course of a Major League Baseball regular season, each team’s 26-man roster changes significantly over the five-plus months the sport is played.

In the case of the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays, they have used 28 pitchers and 21 position players to get through their opening 93 games due to the mass amount of injuries that have sprung up amongst the big league roster.

Here is a look at three Blue Jays who many fans probably forgot appeared for the Blue Jays this season.

Tanner Andrews

This offseason, Andrews quietly signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays on November 27 after spending his previous seven professional seasons in the minors.

Having yet to make his MLB debut, the 30-year-old had his contract selected by the Blue Jays on May 25 from the Buffalo Bisons after Dylan Cease was placed on the 15-day injured list. Andrews debuted later that night and turned in a scoreless frame against the Miami Marlins.

Through two games with the Blue Jays this season, Andrews allowed one hit and two walks across his three innings of work while also recording his first big league strikeout against Heriberto Hernández.

After working on back-to-back days, Andrews was optioned back to Triple-A but was later designated for assignment on June 4 to make room on the 40-man roster for Chad Dallas. A few days later, Andrews returned to the Blue Jays’ organization, re-joining the Bisons, where he has spent the past month. Through 24 games with the Bisons this season, Andrews is 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP across 29 innings.

Lazaro Estrada

After debuting with the Blue Jays during the 2025 season, Estrada opened the season in Triple-A with Buffalo, but was quickly summoned to the 26-man roster in April after injuries struck.

Estrada’s first appearance came on April 4 during a 6-3 loss against the Chicago White Sox. The 27-year-old worked as the bulk guy behind Mason Fluharty and turned in a pitching line of 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K.

Unfortunately for Estrada, the following day, he was placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement, which ended up costing him nearly two months. After working through his rehab assignment, Estrada was activated and returned to the Blue Jays’ roster on June 20 and worked 2.1 innings during an 8-6 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Through two outings with the Blue Jays, Estrada holds a 2.84 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP across 6.1 innings pitched. With the Bisons, the right-hander has pitched in seven games (two starts) and is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP.

Austin Voth

The Blue Jays signed Voth to a minor league contract on March 25 after he was released from the Chicago White Sox’s organization. After a successful stint in Japan during the 2025 season, Voth struggled in his return to MLB.

After his contract was selected on April 5, Voth was DFA’d a day later. He elected free agency before returning to the Blue Jays a week later. After his second outing on May 29, the same process repeated, but this time Voth opted to join the Minnesota Twins’ organization on a minor-league deal.

Through two games with the Blue Jays, Voth tossed six innings and allowed eight hits, six earned runs, five walks, and struck out only one. In one outing with the Twins on June 23 against the Dodgers, Voth turned in a pitching line of 4.0 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K before being DFA’d once again.

After being DFA’d for the third time this season, Voth was signed to a minor league contract by the Texas Rangers and has made one appearance in Triple-A with the Round Rock Express.

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Blue Jays: A stint on the IL could do Vladimir Guerrero Jr. some good

Ian Hunter — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 22:00:35 GMT

Nobody could use a break more than Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

With five home runs through his first 88 games, the Toronto Blue Jays’ first baseman on pace for nine home runs this season. Not that home run totals are a barometer for a great hitter, but that’s a frightening projection for Guerrero Jr., who has averaged 29 home runs a season since his debut in 2019.

The 2026 season has already been the season from hell for Guerrero Jr., and there’s still a second half yet to play. It would be one thing if Vladdy were showing signs of getting out of his funk, but a solo home run in the Blue Jays’ series finale on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants can’t paper over the fact that Guerrero Jr. has an uphill battle to salvage his season.

Even though fans voted for Guerrero Jr. as the starting first baseman for the American League All-Star Game, he made the wise decision to bow out and focus on nursing the back issues that have been plaguing him for close to a month.

Many had wondered whether the lingering effects of back tightness were still hampering Guerrero Jr., as the issues were first reported in mid-June when he was scratched from the lineup for a few games against the Yankees on June 13 and 14.

Those back issues flared up again on June 19 at Wrigley Field, when he was removed mid-game against the Chicago Cubs, and was a late scratch for a game last week at Rogers Centre against the New York Mets.

John Schneider said Vladimir Guerrero Jr. "was tight swinging and I don't want to push it with him. Obviously he's been working a lot. I think that plays into how he's feeling."

Blue Jays feel "he's where we want him to be and he's really close (at the plate), so I didn't want…

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) July 1, 2026

Kudos to Vladdy for grinding through the past month-plus with this injury, but he may be doing more harm than good.

It was admirable for Guerrero Jr. to politely decline the All-Star Game appearance, but he’s still playing through this injury on the Blue Jays’ West Coast swing through Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego.

Why didn’t the Blue Jays just put him on the injured list last weekend, give him the All-Star break to rest and recover, and reactivate him when the team returns to Rogers Centre on July 17? That would be a full 13 days of recovery, more than enough time for an IL stint.

Instead, Guerrero Jr. is still starting most games at first base, and when he doesn’t, he’s more than likely serving as the designated hitter as Sean Keys gets the odd start.

Guerrero Jr. is integral to the Blue Jays’ lineup, and losing him for any period makes this team worse. As the team fights to pull itself above .500 for the umpteenth time this year, it’s hard to see the Blue Jays doing that without their superstar first baseman in the lineup.

Wouldn’t it benefit the Blue Jays more to have a fresher Guerrero Jr. post-All-Star break, rather than trying to play through the back issues and dig himself out of this career-worst funk?

The timing of this slump couldn’t be worse, as the first baseman is in year one of his 14-year, $500 million contract extension with the Blue Jays. Although he had a decent 2025 regular season, and more than delivered in the playoffs last year, Guerrero Jr. might be on track for a 1.5 fWAR season while earning $40 million in 2026.

FanGraphs’ Value metric says Guerrero Jr. has delivered $6.2 million in value for the Blue Jays this season, and at the pace he’s going, it’s hard to imagine that number being much higher than $10 million by season’s end.

It’s no secret what’s plagued the Blue Jays’ first baseman to this point: the increased chase outside the strike zone, being overly aggressive early in the count, and a general lack of hard contact off the bat have all been contributors to his below-average 96 wRC+. If Guerrero Jr. isn’t a hitter with extra-base pop, he’s a singles hitter, which the Blue Jays already have a bounty of.

This wouldn’t be a phantom IL stint, as Guerrero Jr. seems hampered with each game he plays. There’s something to be said for a player who hasn’t been on the injured list in his eight-year career, but if there ever was a window for Guerrero Jr. to duck out for a few weeks, now would be it.

All the extra swings he’s taking daily — around 300 pre-game and 100 or more post-game — can’t be helping his cause. I know if I took 400 swings at the driving range, my arms would quit after two large buckets. Also, the odds of having a eureka moment at swing 399 are very slim.

Via @ShiDavidi, Vlad Guerrero Jr. estimates he's been doing “a lot, like 300 swings a day before games, after games, probably like 100 … I have to get better and sitting here (in clubhouse), I’m not going to get better. I have to take a lot of swings”https://t.co/4l7UBQ4o5t

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) July 2, 2026

At some point, put down the bat and go for a soak in the cold tub.

If the Blue Jays are going to turn things around in the second half, it’s going to be because of Guerrero Jr. He drives the bus in this lineup; as he goes, so do the rest of the Blue Jays.

It’s a weight that no single player on a 26-man roster should bear, but as the franchise’s $500 million man, that’s a responsibility Guerrero Jr. will carry for the next 14 years.

Veteran outfielder Daz Cameron, Blue Jays agree to minor-league deal

Thomas Hall — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 15:30:23 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays have added some veteran experience to their outfield depth, signing Daz Cameron to a minor-league contract, per the transaction log.

Cameron, who’s been assigned to the Florida Complex League and will make his organizational debut on Thursday, most recently appeared in the majors last season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He signed with the KBO’s Doosan Bears last off-season, playing 75 games this season before being released by the club late last month.

According to the transaction log, OF Daz Cameron has signed a minor-league deal with #BlueJays.

He previously spent this season in the KBO before being released. His most recent major-league stint came last season with the Brewers.

— Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) July 9, 2026

The 29-year-old outfielder posted respectable results while overseas, hitting .287/.360/.473 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs, earning a 121 wRC+ (100 league average). He also went a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen-base attempts, walking 9.6 per cent of the time and striking out at a modest 16.9 per cent clip.

Last season, Cameron briefly appeared with the Brewers after being acquired via trade from the Baltimore Orioles in April 2025. He spent most of the campaign at Triple-A, but enjoyed a 21-game stint in the majors, albeit while struggling to a .195/.214/.293 slash line with 13 strikeouts and only one walk across 42 plate appearances.

In total, the right-handed-hitting veteran features five seasons of major league experience, totalling 160 career games, mostly compiled with the Detroit Tigers — who acquired him as part of the return in the 2017 blockbuster deal for Justin Verlander that helped the Houston Astros capture their controversial first World Series title.

After things didn’t work out in Detroit, Cameron — accounted for minus-0.4 fWAR in three seasons with the Tigers — spent the next few years bouncing back and forth between the Orioles and Athletics before landing with the Brewers.

The former 2015 first-round selection by the Astros will now attempt to work his way up to Triple-A Buffalo inside the Blue Jays’ system, hoping to immerse himself as part of the organization’s next layer of depth should an opportunity arise at the big-league level.

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Blue Jays: Max Scherzer rehabs, Arjun Nimmala homers

Ryley Delaney — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:00:12 GMT

While the Toronto Blue Jays won 10-0 on Wednesday, it wasn’t a great day in the farm system.

Of the seven games played, only two games were won. One of those losses belonged to the Buffalo Bisons, as Max Scherzer struggled in his rehab outing, at least on the surface. Over four innings of work, the future Hall of Famer allowed five runs (four earned), striking out five and giving up a three-run home run.

Some of the underlying numbers were better. Scherzer generated a game-high 16 whiffs, seven more than the next highest total. He was also hit pretty hard, surrendering five hard-hit balls, including the aforementioned three-run home that came off the bat at 102.7 mph.

Scherzer's day is done, so why not put all his strikeouts in one place 😌 pic.twitter.com/m4RPLuJDhp

— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) July 8, 2026

As for Scherzer’s velocity, he averaged 93.4 mph on his heater, with the pitch generating 10 of the 16 whiffs. Scherzer maxed out (pun intended) at 94.4 mph, while his slider generated three whiffs on six total pitches.

It wasn’t the worst start he could’ve had. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets one more outing with the Bisons, as the Jays are back down to four starters in their rotation.

Arjun Nimmala hits first Double-A home run

The Blue Jays’ 20th overall pick in 2023 missed pretty much all of June due to an injury. It was a shame, as he was on a tear after joining the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Over his 72 plate appearances, Nimmala was slashing .308/.375/.369 with four doubles for a 105 wRC+.

After some rehab games, Nimmala returned to the Fisher Cats for their doubleheader on Wednesday. In just his second plate appearance after being activated, Nimmala went deep for what was his first home run at the Double-A level.

Welcome back, Arjun! FIRST DOUBLE-A HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/SchewX8bWt

— New Hampshire Fisher Cats (@FisherCats) July 8, 2026

It’s important for Nimmala to finish this season strong, as the 20-year-old shortstop could position himself to be a potential call-up as soon as next season. He’ll stick at shortstop, but it all depends on if he can continue to hit while keeping the strikeout rate down, because the power is certainly there.

Other notes…

The Bisons ended up losing that game 5-1, which is an improvement over their 18-3 loss on Tuesday, at least. It was a quiet night offensively, but CJ Van Eyk hurled five scoreless innings with four strikeouts. He seems to be on the door of a big league call up.

As for the Fisher Cats, they split their doubleheader. In the game Nimmala hit a home run, the Fisher Cats fell 3-2, as Gage Stanifer gave up three earned runs over three and one-third innings of work. All three runs were solo home runs, while he also walked four. It was probably his worst start since his first two of the season.

On the bright side, Nick Goodwin became the 10th player in the organization to hit double-digit home runs, blasting his 10th of the season. That was it for their offence, save for a Carter Cunningham single.

Nick Goodwin can't be stopped! pic.twitter.com/CdfUET57pg

— New Hampshire Fisher Cats (@FisherCats) July 8, 2026

The second game of the doubleheader went better for the Fisher Cats, defeating the Portland Sea Dogs 6-2. Cunningham hit his 13th home run of the season (his third in Double-A), while Goodwin was 3-3 with two doubles. Hedbert Perez, Dub Gleed, and Cutter Coffey all hit doubles as well. Javen Coleman got the final three outs, striking out two to drop his season ERA to 2.86.

Carter Cunningham two-run BOMB 💣 pic.twitter.com/wZPXOXmPv3

— New Hampshire Fisher Cats (@FisherCats) July 9, 2026

It wasn’t a good day at the office for the Vancouver Canadians, as they fell 7-1. They mustered just four hits, three of which were singles (one belonged to Tucker Toman). The positive from this game is that Holden Wilkerson threw six one-run innings with four strikeouts.

The Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays also lost, dropping an 8-2 decision to the Lakeland Flying Tigers. After Blaine Bullard hit his seventh home run and 13th double of the season in the series opener on Tuesday, he managed to hit his 14th double on Wednesday.

While they scored just two runs, the D-Jays actually out-hit their opponents. Bullard was one of four players with two hits, while Jean Joseph had a three-hit performance. They just couldn’t drive in any runs.

One Dominican Summer League team won, the other one lost. The DSL Blue Jays Blue fell 11-3 to the DSL Pirates Gold, with Juan Caricote going 2-3 with his fourth double of the season. On the other hand, the DSL Blue Jays Red defeated the DSL Arizona Red by a score of 4-3, as Darwin Nuñez had a two-hit performance with a double.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

Blue Jays release pitching prospect Rafael Sánchez and others

Ryley Delaney — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:00:27 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays recently released a handful of players.

One of them happens to be Rafael Sánchez, a Cuban-born right-handed pitcher who made a rapid ascent up the minor league after the Blue Jays signed him in May 2022. Other players released were Dylan Leach, Travis Kuhn, Josh Fleming, Justin Topa, and Matt Bowman.

Zeroing in on Sánchez, he signed with the Blue Jays on May 13th, 2022, though it was reported a few weeks ahead of time. Signing at the age of 22, Sánchez made nine starts in the Dominican Summer League, then three starts in the Florida Complex League.

The Cuban-born righty-handed pitcher wrapped up his 2022 season in Single-A, finishing with a 3.20 ERA and 3.04 FIP in 59 innings of work. Repeating the Single-A level in 2023, Sánchez made six starts, authoring a 2.27 ERA and 2.91 FIP in 35.2 innings pitched. He earned a call-up to the High-A Vancouver Canadians, making 17 starts where he had a 5.17 ERA and 4.34 FIP in 78.1 innings pitched, giving him a season ERA and FIP of 4.26 and 3.89 respectively.

Like the prior season, Sánchez repeated the level to begin the new season. Over 17 appearances, Sánchez had a 4.03 ERA and 2.80 FIP in 82.2 innings of work with the Canadians. Toward the end of the season, he earned a call-up to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, posting a 2.28 ERA and 4.90 FIP in 23.2 innings of work.

Unfortunately, Sánchez and his development hit a wall in 2025. Spending the entire season in Double-A, he finished the season with a 5.54 ERA and 3.85 FIP, with a 17.3 K% and 7.6 BB% in 91 innings of work. In early June of that year, he threw a seven-inning no-hitter, one of the defining moments of his career.

Sánchez threw a handful of innings with Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Puerto Rican Winter League, but spent the entirety of the 2026 season on the injured list.

It was a similar situation for Leach. The catcher signed a minor league deal on June 7th, 2025, ironically the same day as Sánchez’ no-hitter. However, Leach appeared in just 19 games in the organization last season, and didn’t play in 2026.

Kuhn, 28, didn’t pitch in the Jays organization. Topa pitched in eight games with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, one fewer outings than Bowman. Fleming is the most notable of the veteran arms to be released, as he had two separates stints on the big league team earlier this season.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

Series Recap: Blue Jays find offence against Giants thanks to a stuffed dragon

Ryley Delaney — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:00:59 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays picked up a much-needed series win against the San Francisco Giants.

Simply put, they were spiraling. After reaching .500 in the first game of a 10 game home stand, the Jays went on to drop seven of the last night games. Their struggles continued on the road, defeating the Seattle Mariners in the series opener, but they were then shut out over the next 29 innings.

That stretch of scoreless baseball continued into their three-game series against the Giants. Entering the top of the sixth down 3-0 on Monday, Kazuma Okamoto hit his 20th home run of the season to finally get the Blue Jays on the board. Then the Giants immediately responded with five runs, taking the series opener 10-1.

Often, you can look back at a moment as a turning point of the season. That may well be the case on Tuesday when Jonatan Clase of all players hit a three-run blast in the top of the second. The red home run jacket appeared, but so too did a stuffed dragon.

It makes no sense at all, but hey, it’s working for the Blue Jays for whatever reason. After the Giants got on the board in the bottom half of the second, the 2025 Blue Jays showed up and scored five runs in the top of the third thanks to some small ball. In the end, the Blue Jays won this one 9-3, bringing their season record to 43-49 at that point.

Before the Giants even had a chance to bat on Wednesday (spoiler alert: they didn’t do anything with their opportunities), the Jays already hung a five-spot on Logan Webb. With the bases loaded, Daulton Varsho hit an RBI single to get the Jays on the board. That brought up Okamoto, who just barely hit a grand slam, the first of his career.

The Jays didn’t score again until the top of the eighth, but that didn’t matter as Dylan Cease had one of the best games of his career. He was throwing a no-hitter through seven, with the Jays tacking on two more runs in what was a long break for the right-handed pitcher. It took Cease just nine pitches to get through the bottom of the eighth, putting him just three outs away from a no-hitter.

But before he returned to the mound, the Jays tacked on three more runs, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer hit back-to-back home runs. How needed were those two home runs?

Unfortunately, Cease surrendered his first hit to lead-off the ninth inning, one of many times in the Blue Jays history that a no-no was broken up in the ninth. It at least allowed Tyler Rogers to face his old team, generating two fly outs and a pop out to end the game, a 10-0 victory for the Jays.

Just as the season looked doomed, the Blue Jays have pulled us right back in. There’s only one more series left before the All-Star break, and they head south to San Diego to play the Padres for three games this weekend.

Is this stuffed dragon going to turn the season around? Who knows, but if they sweep the Padres like they did last season, the Jays will suddenly be just two games back of .500 once again. With the trade deadline looming, the Jays need to find a way to take all three games.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

Blue Jays 2026 Draft: History of the 403rd overall pick

Ryley Delaney — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:00:45 GMT

Seven players selected in the 13th round by the Toronto Blue Jays have gone on to make the big leagues

One of them, Ted Lilly, didn’t sign but ended up finding his way to the Blue Jays anyway. He was a two-time All-Star, representing the Blue Jays in 2004. Alex Gonzalez was also drafted in the 13th round by the Blue Jays, becoming their starting shortstop for most of the 1990s. Both players ended up playing for the Blue Jays and Montréal Expos.

In the 2026 draft, the Blue Jays’ 13th round selection will be the 403rd overall pick, a spot that has produced an All-Star. Many of the big leaguers that were drafted 403rd overall have a connection to the Blue Jays, or Canada as a whole.

Let’s take a look at the history of the 403rd overall pick.

Marc Bluma, 1999

If you’ve been reading all of these articles, you’d have noticed by now the Jays have the exact same picks this year that they did in 1999, at least from the sixth-rounder (193rd overall) and beyond.

The 13th rounder in 1999 was used to select Marc Bluma, who unsurprisingly, didn’t make it to the big leagues. Following the draft, he joined the St. Catharines Stomps to end the 1999 season, then played for the Hagerstown Suns in 2000. That marked the end of his professional career.

Notable players selected 403rd overall

The Blue Jays American League East rivals, the Baltimore Orioles, have had more success selecting 403rd overall. In 2015, they drafted outfielder Cedric Mullins.

Now 31 years old, Mullins has already had a solid career, especially for where he was picked. The outfielder earned All-Star nod in 2021, the same season he earned MVP votes, won the Silver Slugger Award, and became one of just 51 big leaguers in the 30-30 clubs (30 home runs, 30 steals). Two years later, he represented Team USA at the 2023 World Baseball Classic and also hit for the cycle.

The one thing missing in Mullins’ career is a World Series ring. Well, Cleveland selected a player in 1983 who went on to win two World Series: John Farrell. He had a solid big league career, appearing in 116 games and finishing with a 4.56 ERA and 7.2 bWAR.

Following his career, Farrell did some coaching in college, then joined Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins in the Cleveland organization. He departed Cleveland for the Boston Red Sox in 2007, just in time to win the World Series with the organization.

Of course, Farrell also served as the Blue Jays’ manager in 2011 and 2012. Over 324 games, he led the Blue Jays to a 154-170 record, finishing fourth in the AL East both seasons. Farrell re-joined the Red Sox organization for the 2013 season, famously being traded to their rival, just in time to win another World Series.

During his tenure, the Blue Jays drafted Farrell’s son Shane in 2011. If that name sounds familiar, S. Farrell served as the team’s amateur scouting director from 2020 until 2024.

One of Farrell’s coaches in both seasons he managed was Bruce Walton. Like Farrell, Walton was drafted 403rd overall in the 1980s. He appeared in 27 big league games and had a -1 bWAR, tied for the worst among players selected 403rd overall. Walton was a Blue Jays’ coach from 2002 until 2012, serving as the team’s pitching coach from 2009 until 2012.

In 2003, Walton was the team’s bullpen coach. In that bullpen was Juan Acevedo, who was selected 403rd overall by the Colorado Rockies in 1992. Acevedo appeared in 367 big league games, spending his final 14 with the Blue Jays that season.

Following the 2002 season, the Blue Jays selected outfielder Jason Dubois in the Rule 5 draft. Dubois, drafted 403rd overall in 2000, only played Spring Training games with the Jays before being sent back. He went on to play 86 games in the big leagues.

Aside from Mullins, Rick White has played the most games of any player selected 403rd overall. In fact, he’s one of just 36 players to play a big league game with 11 or more teams. While he never played for the Blue Jays or the Montréal Expos, White played for the Welland Pirates in 1990 and the Calgary Cannons in 1995.

Joseph Odom appeared in 20 games after the Atlanta Braves selected him 403rd overall, with 18 of those games coming with the Seattle Mariners in 2020. A decade before that, Matt LaPorta was traded from Cleveland to Seattle for future Blue Jay Ezequiel Carrera.

LaPorta was selected 403rd overall in 2003 by the Cubs, but elected not to sign. That bet paid off, as the Milwaukee Brewers selected him seventh overall in the 2007 draft. Eventually traded to Cleveland, LaPorta hit his first career home run against the Blue Jays in 2009.

That it’s for players selected 403rd overall who made the big leagues, but there are still a few more notable minor leaguers. Canadian Eric Senior was selected by the Nationals in 2017, but the Toronto product never made it past Short-Season A ball.

The Brewers have picked 403rd overall four times, with three of those selections coming in a four year span. In 1993, they selected Pete Benny, who was joined on the Helena Brewers by 1994 draftee Scott Nate in 1995. They selected Shawn Sonnier in 1996, but he elected not to sign.

Their most recent selection at the spot was in 2019, using it to select pitcher Jackson Gillis, who also didn’t make the big leagues. Five drafts later, Bryce Boettcher was selected 403rd by the Houston Astros. Boettcher signed, but returned to Oregon State (where he was teammates with Blue Jays’ prospect Josh Kasevich) to play football. The Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League selected him 135th overall earlier this year.

The last player of note happened to be one of the first players ever selected 403rd overall. Gil Stafford was also drafted by the Astros, but all the way back in 1971. Stafford played five seasons in the minor leagues, before becoming the head coach of the Grand Canyon University’s baseball program.

Stafford led the team to three NAIA College World Series in the 1980s, with the program eventually becoming an NCAA Division I school. In 2000, he became GCU’s president for four years, then became a Episcopal priest and an author. He’s certainly lived an interesting life.

Other history of a pick…

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.