The Toronto Blue Jays’ affiliates are flying out of the gate to begin the season, with some names like Arjun Nimmala, Trey Yesavage, and Alan Roden making headlines to begin the season.

Yesterday, I took a look at the Blue Jays’ prospects from an offensive standpoint and who was leading the charge across some different categories. Now, we turn our attention to the pitching side of things.

It’s a tight race in the ‘innings pitched’ category, with Khal Stephen edging out Grant Rogers by just 1/3 of an inning. Not only is the Jays’ prospect leading the Jays in this category, but Stephen leads all of the Florida State League.

Stephen, the second-round pick of the Jays from last summer’s draft, has been forming a strong 1-2 punch alongside Yesavage in single-A, and pundits are already thinking he might be heading to Vancouver sooner then later. The right-hander owns a 1.78 ERA through seven starts, striking out 41 batters through the 35 1/3 innings of work. He’s allowed just seven runs and one homer off 25 hits and six walks, limiting opposing bats to a .194 average. He owns an impressive 0.88 WHIP and a 1.5 BB/9 in his debut year.

Across his seven outings, Stephen has six outings in which he has gone at least five innings, with a lone appearance capping at 3 2/3 when the Tampa Tarpons ‘torched’ him for three runs off five hits on April 27th. The fans at Nat Bailey Stadium will love Stephen later this summer.

A second-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2023, Watts-Brown made his pro debut last season in Dunedin before a promotion to Vancouver in the summer, where he struggled with his command. He returned to high-A Vancouver to begin the 2025 season and has turned over a new leaf with the Canadians, which has culminated in him leading all Jays minor leaguers in strikeouts.

The 54 punchouts have him sitting with a 15.0 K/9, and he’s honed in on his command, posting a 2.8 BB/9 through 32 1/3 innings and seven starts. He’s amassed a 3.90 ERA and a 1.237 WHIP in the process and continues to establish himself as a go-to arm in the Canadians’ rotation.

Through his seven outings, he’s hit the 10-strikeout mark three separate times and has at least five K’s through each of his starts this year. His strikeout total leads the Northwest League by a large margin, besting the next-best arm by 17 strikeouts.

A free agent signing last summer, Ryan Watson has bullrushed his way to double-A after starting his pro career in the Florida Complex League. Between the three levels last year, he made 13 appearances (10 starts) and walked just 11 batters in that span to the tune of a 1.48 BB/9 and a 4.70 ERA, as he got hit around out of the gate in Rookie Ball before settling in.

This season, Watson was challenged with a promotion to New Hampshire and has hit the ground running, posting a 1.85 ERA across 34 innings and six outings (five starts, and the other relief outing was four innings). He’s continued to hone his command, allowing just four walks in that span while limiting the contact to just 25 hits (6.6 H/9) with a 1.1 BB/9.

The right-hander has three outings where he didn’t allow a single free pass while tossing at least four innings, and his walks have been limited outside of that. In two games, he allowed just one walk respectively, and in the other contest, he allowed two. Diving into the games, two of those walks should have resulted in a strikeout (multiple strikes were called incorrectly based on Gameday), so his walk total should be even better than what it currently reads.

Right-hander Nate Garkow joined the Blue Jays last summer on a free-agent deal after playing independent ball through 2022 and into 2024. Since joining the Jays, the California product has been a strikeout machine.

Splitting time between Dunedin and a couple of outings in New Hampshire, Garkow struck out 34 batters across 24 innings and posted a 12.75 K/9. This season, Garkow has landed in high-A Vancouver and continues to strike out opponents at a high clip, punching out 30 batters across 15 1/3 innings to the tune of a 17.6 K/9. A multi-inning reliever, Garkow has at least one strikeout in each of his outings and in his last appearance on May 8th, he struck out six of the nine batters he faced to lock down the three-inning save. He also has another six-strikeout mark on his record on April 17th, punching out most of the ten batters he faced.

He leads all Jays’ minor leaguers (minimum 10 IP) and the Northwest League (all pitchers) in K/9.

Right-hander Colby Martin is making waves in the Blue Jays’ farm system because he can touch 102 MPH and went from D3 baseball (as an infielder) to a pro opportunity. He’s also posting solid numbers in the Florida State League by not allowing a single run and just one hit through 10 outings and 10 1/3 innings pitched. Through this time, he’s walked five batters and struck out 13 batters while holding opponents to a .031 average, and this has led him to 0.58 WHIP, which leads all Jays prospects.

A 16th-round pick of the Jays last summer, Martin will likely be heading to Vancouver shortly with his three saves in tow. Blue Jays Nation spoke to Martin this past offseason and reflected on his journey to pro baseball.

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