Juaron Watts-Brown is finding his way at double-A New Hampshire. 
The 23-year-old righty began this season at high-A Vancouver, repeating the level for the second straight campaign, but he received a well-deserved promotion after eight starts with the Canadians. In that time, the 2023 third-round selection pitched to a 3.62 ERA and 2.03 FIP while posting a strikeout rate of nearly 40 per cent across 37.1 innings.
Watts-Brown made his debut with the Fisher Cats on May 24, although he struggled with his command &#8212; missing inside and outside the strike zone &#8212; and allowed a pair of home runs along with three walks en route to surrendering five runs (all earned) in as many innings.
His last two starts have been much better, though.
The young right-hander &#8212; Toronto&#8217;s No. 15 prospect per <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/bluejays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB Pipeline</a> &#8212; took a massive step forward in his second career double-A start, striking out eight &#8212; two shy of matching his career-high &#8212; over six innings of two-run (one earned) ball. He hit a batter and also walked one. But overall, it was a night-and-day difference from his debut outing with New Hampshire.
And that theme continued Thursday night, as Watts-Brown continued to impress in his third start at this level, twirling six shutout frames while issuing just one hit &#8212; a fifth-inning single &#8212; and three walks, punching out five.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
WHOOSH 😵‍💫
2⃣7⃣ straight scoreless innings and 5⃣ waves for JWB 👋👋👋👋👋 (<a href="https://twitter.com/JuaronWatts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JuaronWatts</a>)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DestinationCats?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DestinationCats</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BeyondBaeballNH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BeyondBaeballNH</a> <a href="https://t.co/oowpJ3PzS8">pic.twitter.com/oowpJ3PzS8</a>
&mdash; New Hampshire Fisher Cats (@FisherCats) <a href="https://twitter.com/FisherCats/status/1930777518409183608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It wasn&#8217;t until the third inning that a batter reached safely against Watts-Brown, who retired seven consecutive hitters to begin the contest &#8212; four via strikeout. He also set down his final four batters faced to help preserve New Hampshire&#8217;s scoreless streak, which has now <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/06/06/toronto-blue-jays-aa-affiliate-havent-given-run-30-innings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extended to a franchise-record 30 straight innings.</a>
For Watts-Brown, he&#8217;s completed at least six innings of work in consecutive starts for only the second time in his pro career. The Oklahoma State product first accomplished that feat late last season with Vancouver.
As someone who most scouts have labelled as a future bullpen arm, pitching deep into back-to-back outings is certainly a perfect way to shake that narrative. It&#8217;s also an aspect the Blue Jays organization will be closely monitoring the rest of the way, considering he logged fewer than five innings in five of his eight starts at high-A earlier this season.
Generating swing-and-miss has never been the issue for Watts-Brown, whose four-pitch arsenal includes a mid-90s fastball, changeup, slider and curveball. Those last two offerings are his bread and butter in the strikeout department.
Walks, on the other hand, have been his Kryptonite in the past.
During his inaugural campaign inside the Blue Jays&#8217; farm system, the 6-foot-3 hurler recorded double-digit walk rates at both single-A and high-A, resulting in a combined 13.2-per-cent clip over 103 total innings. But he&#8217;s been far more effective in that regard thus far in 2025.
Before advancing to New Hampshire, Watts-Brown issued two walks or fewer in seven of his eight starts with Vancouver, amounting to a 7.7-per-cent clip. Granted, he&#8217;s taken a minor step back while adjusting to double-A, surrendering seven free passes in three starts. Even so, the way he controlled the strike zone at high-A earlier this season suggests he&#8217;s capable of getting back on track.
If Watts-Brown &#8212; who now carries a 3.18 ERA in three starts with the Fisher Cats &#8212; continues along this pathway, there&#8217;s likely a chance he could find himself in Buffalo at some point down the stretch, which is probably where the organization hopes he&#8217;ll begin the 2026 campaign &#8212; his final season before becoming eligible for the Rule 5 draft.

Juaron Watts-Brown is finding his way at double-A New Hampshire. 

The 23-year-old righty began this season at high-A Vancouver, repeating the level for the second straight campaign, but he received a well-deserved promotion after eight starts with the Canadians. In that time, the 2023 third-round selection pitched to a 3.62 ERA and 2.03 FIP while posting a strikeout rate of nearly 40 per cent across 37.1 innings.

Watts-Brown made his debut with the Fisher Cats on May 24, although he struggled with his command -- missing inside and outside the strike zone -- and allowed a pair of home runs along with three walks en route to surrendering five runs (all earned) in as many innings.

His last two starts have been much better, though.

The young right-hander -- Toronto's No. 15 prospect per <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/bluejays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB Pipeline</a> -- took a massive step forward in his second career double-A start, striking out eight -- two shy of matching his career-high -- over six innings of two-run (one earned) ball. He hit a batter and also walked one. But overall, it was a night-and-day difference from his debut outing with New Hampshire.

And that theme continued Thursday night, as Watts-Brown continued to impress in his third start at this level, twirling six shutout frames while issuing just one hit -- a fifth-inning single -- and three walks, punching out five.

https://twitter.com/FisherCats/status/1930777518409183608

It wasn't until the third inning that a batter reached safely against Watts-Brown, who retired seven consecutive hitters to begin the contest -- four via strikeout. He also set down his final four batters faced to help preserve New Hampshire's scoreless streak, which has now <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/06/06/toronto-blue-jays-aa-affiliate-havent-given-run-30-innings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extended to a franchise-record 30 straight innings.</a>

For Watts-Brown, he's completed at least six innings of work in consecutive starts for only the second time in his pro career. The Oklahoma State product first accomplished that feat late last season with Vancouver.

As someone who most scouts have labelled as a future bullpen arm, pitching deep into back-to-back outings is certainly a perfect way to shake that narrative. It's also an aspect the Blue Jays organization will be closely monitoring the rest of the way, considering he logged fewer than five innings in five of his eight starts at high-A earlier this season.

Generating swing-and-miss has never been the issue for Watts-Brown, whose four-pitch arsenal includes a mid-90s fastball, changeup, slider and curveball. Those last two offerings are his bread and butter in the strikeout department.

Walks, on the other hand, have been his Kryptonite in the past.

During his inaugural campaign inside the Blue Jays' farm system, the 6-foot-3 hurler recorded double-digit walk rates at both single-A and high-A, resulting in a combined 13.2-per-cent clip over 103 total innings. But he's been far more effective in that regard thus far in 2025.

Before advancing to New Hampshire, Watts-Brown issued two walks or fewer in seven of his eight starts with Vancouver, amounting to a 7.7-per-cent clip. Granted, he's taken a minor step back while adjusting to double-A, surrendering seven free passes in three starts. Even so, the way he controlled the strike zone at high-A earlier this season suggests he's capable of getting back on track.

If Watts-Brown -- who now carries a 3.18 ERA in three starts with the Fisher Cats -- continues along this pathway, there's likely a chance he could find himself in Buffalo at some point down the stretch, which is probably where the organization hopes he'll begin the 2026 campaign -- his final season before becoming eligible for the Rule 5 draft.

Juaron Watts-Brown building momentum at double-A after logging consecutive quality starts

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