TENTH quality start for Grant Rogers this season 👏👏 6⃣ IP | 4⃣ H | 1⃣ R | 2⃣ K #DestinationCats | #BeyondBaseballNH
How Blue Jays prospect Grant Rogers has quietly pitched the most innings in affiliated ball this season
Photo credit: © Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Aug 23, 2025, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 23, 2025, 11:22 EDT
After a 2024 season that Blue Jays pitching prospect Grant Rogers describes as a “struggle,” the big six-foot-seven right-hander now says he’s pitching with joy again.
And not only is he enjoying himself, he’s also doing it more than any other pitcher in Minor League Baseball, leading all affiliated ball with 130 1/3 innings pitched.
“I mean, I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” said Rogers, speaking to Blue Jays Nation. “It’s been a grind all year, and all the struggles I went through last year, now translating to this year, it’s been night and day, and it’s been a great year.”
How did Rogers turn it around? He credits a spectacular High-A debut at Vancouver in 2024, in which he struck out nine over eight shutout innings, in helping him reconnect with having fun while pitching again.
That and some savvy adjustments to pitch usage to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
“Just last year I focused on throwing a four-seam fastball for most of the year, and then I just started throwing my sinker,” said Rogers. “(That’s) what really gave me success in college. So, I stuck with the sinker, and ever since then, it’s taken off. And just refining all my pitches. I’ve been working on the slider and splitter this year, which have turned (out) really good.”
Rogers has taken off by getting opponents’ batted balls to dive straight into the ground, posting a mammoth 48.5 per cent ground ball rate that’s risen in lockstep with his sinker usage. After relying primarily on a four-seam and cutter in 2024 and hardly throwing a split, he’s also thrown more splitters and sliders this season.
Rogers says these adjustments have helped him find success by “just getting quick and early contact,” allowing the 24-year-old to keep his pitch count down and go six or more innings in 11 of his 16 Double-A starts while never crossing the 100-pitch threshold.
“Weak contact and just going deep in games, trying to help my team win. Put ’em in the best position to win,” Rogers added.
Pitching prospects rising through development systems are generally turning heads with their electric stuff and monster strikeout rates, not by eating innings like Joey Chestnut. Yet Rogers’ pitch efficiency and contact management skills have helped him emerge as one of the most consistent starters in the Blue Jays’ system. He cruised through fourteen high-A starts to finish last season and to start 2025 before the swift call-up to double-A New Hampshire, and the numbers are impressive.
A 2.44 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 24 walks over 77 1/3 innings with Vancouver and a 3.47 ERA with only 15 walks over 90 2/3 innings since getting the call to New Hampshire.
Sure, he also has only 59 strikeouts at double-A this year. But Rogers is unbothered, saying that if he stays around the zone with his offerings and the Ks will come. His process can be nitpicked, but there’s no arguing with the results. Even when making the jump from the lower minors – one that often briefly stifles the progress of young pitchers – Rogers was seemingly unfazed, posting a 2.57 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over his first four starts with the Fisher Cats.
“The execution just needs to be better from High-A to Double-A,” said Rogers. “I wouldn’t say it’s a huge change, but you can tell based off hitters, you can’t get away with as much stuff. And if you can execute, then you should be fine.”
Grant Rogers brought some heat for his AA debut 🔥⚾️ Read more about Wednesday’s game against the Somerset Patriots here ➡️ milb.com/new-hampshire/…
For the Groves, Texas native, the most significant adjustment since being promoted is “staying out of the middle of the zone,” as Rogers noted that hitters at this level have a more consistent approach and ability to punish poorly located pitches.
“I know that’s a basic one,” said Rogers. “Not to toot my own horn, but I’m usually all around the zone. Usually throw a lot of strikes. But I learned real quickly that if you leave it down the middle, they’re gonna take advantage of that and just slap you around the ballpark.”
So how does a pitch-to-contact guy like Rogers balance staying in the zone while not leaving tattoo-able pitches over the heart of the plate?
“Honestly, I mean, you gotta pick a spot,” said Rogers. “You can either go up and in, up and away, down and in, down and away. There’s not much room for error, but in my opinion, I like to throw the sinker – start it right in the middle. And just work it down and in and get easy contact. It’s been pretty good so far.”
Rogers’ approach also aligns with the new philosophy that has taken hold within the Blue Jays’ pitching development system in recent years, with Cory Popham replacing Justin Lehr as their minor league pitching coordinator in 2024. Reports are that emphasis has shifted from a focus on pure stuff to pitchability and count leverage.
“They praise highly on count leverage,” said Rogers. “I mean, getting ahead is really important, and it gets you out of the middle of the zone if you’re down. If you’re behind, then you have to go middle of the zone. They’ve done a really good job.”
We’ve seen a significant surge in notable pitching prospects within the Blue Jays system this season. Rogers went on to mention many of them – Gage Stanifer, Trey Yesavage, and his “good friend” Juaron Watts-Brown, who was recently traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Seranthony Dominguez. Another, Khal Stephen, was traded one-for-one for starter Shane Bieber, who was outstanding in his Blue Jays debut Friday night.
Watts-Brown and Stanifer have also mentioned the organization’s emphasis on staying aggressive in the zone early and working from advantage counts in interviews. For Rogers, throwing early strikes to either get ahead or induce weak contact may have his strikeout total low, but it’s also what’s caused him to be so efficient at hauling innings.
And while it took him a little longer to achieve his first scoreless outing at Double-A, he eventually went six shutout innings on Aug. 16 against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
Grant Rogers dials in his first punchout 👊 #DestinationCats | #BeyondBaseballNH
Yet, he still calls the atmosphere he experienced in Vancouver the “most electric” he’s pitched in and his time with the Canadians as a whole a “10-out-of-10″ experience.
For now, the trust of his coaches is empowering Rogers to go deep into games, and he says his only goals heading into the offseason are “staying healthy and continuing to get better.” But the towering righty does say he hopes to pitch in front of an electric Canadian audience again in the future, only this time with the big-league club in Toronto.