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Blue Jays Prospect Spotlight: Catching up with Ryan Jennings on his breakout 2024 season
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Photo credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Georges
Dec 18, 2024, 07:17 ESTUpdated: Mar 31, 2025, 14:43 EDT
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It’s hard to find a pitcher in the Blue Jays organization that raised his stock more during the 2024 season than Ryan Jennings did. The former Lousiana Tech Bulldog successfully transitioned from a starter to reliever around mid-season, dominating in double-A New Hampshire as well as in the Arizona Fall League.
The New Braunfels, Texas native has dreams of one day playing in the big leagues for the Blue Jays, a team that was completely off the radar of he and his family when they drafted him in the fourth round back in 2022.
“That was kind of a funny story because my parents like to play games with stuff like that,” explained Jennings, speaking with Blue Jays Nation. “So they put a little chart up and people were buying little spaces to see where I went. My agent, Sam, had this whole board set out for us: who was hot on us, what round they were thinking. The Blue Jays weren’t even on the board anywhere.”
Despite being blindsided by the selection, Jennings has fit into the organization nicely ever since. After a successful five relief outings with Dunedin to end 2022, the six-foot right-hander made his way up to high-A Vancouver by June of 2023. He suffered his first setback there, a nagging arm injury that ultimately kept him off the mound for 13 weeks. Despite the frustration of rehabbing, Jennings found a way to turn the experience into a positive.
“That rehab actually kind of helped a little bit getting some one-on-one time with some coordinators and kind of giving them a front-row seat to how I work day to day and stuff like that,” Jennings explains. “A lot of people kind of took notice of that. And the following year, I got an opportunity to get an invite to big league camp.”

Jennings talks with Blue Jays Nation about his 2024 season

The 2024 campaign was a true breakout season for the 25-year-old, as he registered a 2.13 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 11 starts with Vancouver. That performance led to a mid-season call-up to double-A New Hampshire, where mother nature ultimately dictated a role change.
“When I got called up to New Hampshire, my first outing was against Portland and I got three outs, faced four hitters [including top prospects Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kyle Teel], and then it started downpouring,” Jennings said. “So definitely not the ideal double-A debut, but we ended up throwing a bullpen inside – four innings of just mound work, which is probably one of the best bullpens I’ve ever had. But the plan was to be a starter the rest of the year.”
As Jennings prepared for his next start, he felt some discomfort in his elbow, leading to being shut down for a week. As the All-Star break approached, the idea of moving to the bullpen was introduced by the team.
“They said that we can either send you to Florida and build you up as a starter down there, rehab as a starter, or you can kind of do your rehab as a bullpen arm,” Jennings explains. “They said that’s kind of the fastest path to the big leagues right now. And I told them, ‘the goal is to get the big leagues’, get my foot in the door and see where the career goes after that.”
The move to the bullpen could not have gone much better for him. Through nine relief outings with New Hampshire, Jennings held a 1.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts against just four walks through 9 innings pitched. He carried his momentum into the Arizona Fall League, joining seven other Blue Jays prospects on the Scottsdale Scorpions. Through nine games, Jennings did not allow a run while giving up just five hits and four walks, striking out 14 over 10 innings. He also had the opportunity to shut the door in the 9th inning, notching two saves.
Jennings got the chance to work with former big league reliever Eric Yardley in New Hampshire (Yardley served as bullpen coach), as well as in the Fall League, where he was on the Scorpions coaching staff. Jennings credits Yardley with helping him with his transition to the bullpen.
“Having [Yardley] help me with that transition was really helpful,” Jennings explains. “Understanding what your role is and kind of having an idea on when you’re going to go in the game so you can start your warmup if you need more time for that.”

Jennings discusses how his pitch mix benefits him as a reliever

Starting pitchers often need to rely on a multitude of pitches to get them through a start, compared to relievers who come in for an inning or two. Jennings’ starting experience means that he has developed four pitches that he has confidence in: his fastball, curveball, splitter, and slider.
“It’s weird because you don’t talk to many bullpen guys that have four pitches. That’s kind of the nicest thing switching from starter to reliever.” Jennings said. “I’ve asked a couple of coaches like, ‘Do I need four pitches? Should I scratch one of them?’ We’ve had conversations about how all four are solid pitches. So I think that’s what sets me apart is having those extra pitches, kind of a starter’s repertoire that I can go out and get three or six outs with.”
Although it is nice to have four offerings he can turn to, the right-hander acknowledges that he’s had a few outings where he’s only used two pitches.
“More often than not lately, it’s been fastball-curveball. But it just kind of depends day to day; sometimes the splitter is kind of the go-to off the fastball. And the sliders always kind of been a middle-of-the-pack pitch for me where I can go to it at almost any time.”

Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond

Given Jennings’ dominance in 2024, plus his age, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Blue Jays fast-track him to the big leagues before long. However, the former fourth-rounder anticipates that the team may not be in quite so much of a hurry.
“I’m kind of expecting to take it a little slower with a relief role and kind of get that feel. A lot of times they want to see you go back-to-back days before they start pushing the envelope with you.”
Jennings may not debut in the Major Leagues in 2025, but a recent Baseball America projection tabbed him as the Blue Jays closer in a hypothetical look at the team’s 2028 roster.
“I walked into the training facility and one of my buddies was saying, ‘Hey, what’s up, Mr. Baseball America?'” Jennings explains. “I’m like, ‘What are you talking about’? I hadn’t seen it yet. But I haven’t seen my name on anything like that before. So it was cool to kind of see that and it kind of takes you back a little bit.”
Regardless of the role he ends up with, Jennings is focused on fulfilling his dream of playing in the big leagues. However, if he is a closer someday, he already has his walk-out tune picked out.
“‘Revelation Song’, by Phillips, Craig & Dean. The goal for my career is to kind of point everyone to Christ.” Jennings explains. “So it’s a little mix of Christian faith. And then it’s got a good beat to it, too. So it kind of gives me a good little good little pump.”

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