💥 GRAND SLAM! ADRIAN PINTO! 💥 #AtTheNat
Minor League Review: Strong pitching led High-A Vancouver to another playoff appearance
Sep 29, 2024, 20:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 29, 2024, 18:49 EDT
The Vancouver Canadians have been the best Toronto Blue Jays affiliate over the past three seasons.
For the third consecutive season, the team made it to the Northwest League Championship Series, falling 3-1 to Spokane in four tightly contested games. Overall, they finished with a 68-61 record, with a first-half record of 30-33 and a second-half record of 38-28.
To end the month of September, we’re going to take a look at how minor league teams in the Toronto Blue Jays system did in 2024, as well as their top performers. In this article, we’ll take a look at the High-A Canadians.
Position Players
Adrian Pinto’s stint with the Canadians was short, but he certainly had an impact. In just 76 plate appearances, Pinto slashed .300/.355/.571 with three home runs and 12 extra-base hits (21 hits in total). The 5’6”, 156 lbs second baseman finished with a team-best 154 wRC+ (min: 50 plate appearances).
Peyton Williams’ return was a huge help for the Canadians in the second-half, as he finished the season slashing .289/.362/.476 with 11 home runs and 20 doubles for a 133 wRC+. Je’Von Ward signed as a minor league free agent during the season, and he finished with a .279/.393/.443 slash line with seven home runs for a 134 wRC+.
There were also a handful of top prospects that played for the Canadians in 2024. Jace Bohrofen slashed .254/.364/.433 with 14 home runs in 485 plate appearances for a 126 wRC+. Prior to his promotion to Double-A, Dasan Brown slashed .257/.363/.411 with eight home runs in 329 plate appearances, but struggled quite a bit in his first trek to the upper-minors.
GONE FOREVER 🤯 424 foot blast from Jace Bohrofen #AtTheNat
Brennan Orf had a solid season, slashing .240/.358/.419 with four home runs (and triples) in 215 plate appearances for a 120 wRC+. Robert Brooks also slashed .262/.340/.476 with four home runs in 97 plate appearances before earning a call-up to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
Other players with an average or above season were Ryan McCarty (105 wRC+) and Jackson Hornung (104 wRC+). The Blue Jays also placed some trade acquisitions in High-A, namely Cutter Coffey and Jacob Sharp. Nick Goodwin’s 14 home runs led the Canadians.
Pitchers
There were 27 pitchers with 10 or more innings pitched for the Canadians in 2024. Without a doubt, Lazaro Estrada was their best starter this past season, as he finished with a 1.96 ERA and a 3.24 FIP in 41.1 innings pitched, along with a 32.7 K% and a 7.4 BB%. We’ll discuss him in New Hampshire’s article as well.
Kendry Rojas was terrific, finishing the season with a 2.43 ERA and a 3.02 FIP in 55.2 innings pitched, with a 27 K% and a 5.3 BB%. Upon returning from injury in late-June, the left-handed pitcher had a 2.37 ERA and a 2.95 FIP in 57 innings pitched, finishing with a quality start in six of his last seven games.
Kendry Rojas, the @BlueJays' No. 12 prospect, lowers his ERA to 2.43 with a strong start for @vancanadians: 6 IP 1 H 1 R 0 BB 6 K
Ryan Jennings had a 2.13 ERA and a 3.39 FIP in 50.2 innings pitched, along with a 26.5 K% and a 9 BB%. Carson Pierce started nine games and finished with a 2.72 ERA and a 3.12 FIP in 46.1 innings pitched, with a 24.3 K% and a 4.1 BB%. Grant Rogers pitched the third-most innings in the organization in 2024, finishing with 111.2 innings pitched between Single-A and High-A. With Vancouver, he had a 3.11 ERA and a 2.68 FIP in 37.2 innings pitched, along with a 24.3 K% and a 9.1 BB%.
GRANT ROGERS! What a debut! #AtTheNat
Juaron Watts-Brown and Connor O’Halloran were two 2023 draftees who joined the team midway through the season, but both pitchers struggled to end the year. The 2025 Canadians will likely have both of them on the roster.
The Canadians’ bullpen was strong as well. Anders Tolhurst led the team in ERA, posting a 1.73 ERA and a 2.18 FIP in 26 innings pitched, along with a 26.7 K% and a 4.8 BB%. Justin Kelly pitched for the Canadians for the third straight season, finishing his High-A tenure with a 2.55 ERA and a 2.45 FIP in 17.2 innings pitched with a 29.7 K% and a 5.4 BB% before he and Tolhurst joined the Fisher Cats.
Conor Larkin had a solid season, as he had a 2.57 ERA and a 4.21 FIP in 28 innings pitched. Moreover, he had a 31.6 K% and a 14.5 BB%. Alex Amalfi had a strong performance, posting a 3.28 ERA and a 2.36 FIP in 68.2 innings pitched, with a 30.5 K% and a 9.1 BB%. Johnathan Lavallee had a 3.55 ERA and a 3.05 FIP in 38 innings pitched, with a 14.3 K% and a 7.1 BB%.
There were two intriguing relievers that didn’t have the best of seasons with the Canadians. Kai Peterson had a bonkers 42.6 K% and a 19.6 BB% in 31.1 innings pitched with the Dunedin Blue Jays, and finished his Canadians’ tenure with a 4.42 ERA and a 3.58 FIP in 18.1 innings pitched, along with a 32.6 K% and a 16.3 BB%.
The other intriguing pitcher was Bo Bonds, who had a 4.26 ERA and a 3.29 FIP in 12.2 innings pitched with Vancouver. Bonds also had a 33.3 K% and a 9.8 BB%. They are two relievers worth monitoring next season as they reach the upper-minors.
Pat Gallagher finished with the most innings pitched with the Canadians in 2024, as he pitched 91 innings with a 4.15 ERA and a 3.81 FIP.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.