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Minor League Review: Triple-A Buffalo was decimated by call-ups to Toronto this season
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Ryley Delaney
Sep 30, 2024, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 30, 2024, 13:50 EDT
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The 2024 Buffalo Bisons essentially became the 2024 Toronto Blue Jays. Overall, Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate finished with a 68-80 record, with their .459 winning percentage being the second-worst in the 20-team International League. In the first half, they had a 37-37 record, while their second-half record sat at 31-43. 
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 the final installment of the series, we’ll take a look at the Triple-A Bisons.

Position Players

Many of the position players we’ll look at in this article played for the big league team at some point or another. Spencer Horwitz was their best player this season, slashing .335/.456/.514 with four home runs in 259 plate appearances for a 160 wRC+. Alan Roden was named their Player of the Season, as he slashed .314/.406/.510 with nine home runs in 286 plate appearances. While the outfielder didn’t get a call-up to the Blue Jays this year, it’s only a matter of time.
The 2024 season was Nathan Lukes’ third with the Bisons, and he slashed .333/.403/.469 with seven home runs in 231 plate appearances for a 132 wRC+ after suffering an injury during spring training. Alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Luis De Los Santos is the longest-serving member in the organization. This season with Buffalo, he slashed .260/.375/.441 with six home runs in 154 plate appearances for a 117 wRC+, earning a call-up to the Blue Jays after the trade deadline. 
Addison Barger’s big league tenure hasn’t been great, but he tore up Triple-A as he slashed .260/.391/.466 with nine home runs in 249 plate appearances for 128 wRC+. Steward Berroa hit a career-high 10 home runs in 300 plate appearances for the Bisons and also had a cup of coffee in the big leagues with Toronto. Leo Jiménez also had significant time with the big league team but slashed .271/.416/.466 with seven home runs in 226 plate appearances for a 131 wRC+ with Buffalo.
For the first time since 2019, Orelvis Martinez didn’t lead the organization in home runs as he served an 80-game suspension for PED usage. The third baseman finished the season slashing .267/.346/.523 with 17 home runs. With that being said, Damiano Palmegiani led the minor league system with home runs, hitting 21 dingers (19 of which were with Buffalo) while slashing .210/.311/.381 in 501 plate appearances.
Riley Tirotta had a breakout season and slashed .240/.360/.425 with 12 home runs in 342 plate appearances with the Bisons. Overall, he finished with 15 home runs this season. Will Robertson also hit a bunch of home runs, managing 19 of them in 464 plate appearances while slashing .226/.319/.429 for a 92 wRC+. His 31.3 K% was on the concerning side. Josh Kasevich finished the season with the most doubles in the Blue Jays organization, hitting 28 doubles and six home runs, three of which were with the Bisons. Overall, Kasevich slashed .325/.382/.433 with an 8.1 BB% and a 14.5 K% with Buffalo.

Pitchers

Paxton Schultz led Bisons pitchers with the most innings pitched, hurling 92 innings with a 4.11 ERA and a 4.05 FIP, with a 28.4 K% and an 11.2 BB%. Luis Quiñones registered a record of 11-0, posting a 5.15 ERA and a 4.26 FIP in 73.1 innings pitched, along with a 24.5 K% and a 15 BB%.
Sticking with bulk relievers, Nick Fraze had a 3.79 ERA and a 4.94 FIP in 35.2 innings pitched, along with a 22.3 K% and an 8.9 BB% as he split time between Double-A and Triple-A. Andrew Bash started 16 of the 27 games he appeared in, finishing the season with a 2.97 ERA and a 4 FIP in 78.2 innings pitched.
Unfortunately, the Bisons lost a lot of their starting pitching depth, which in turn impacted the Blue Jays. Former top Blue Jays prospect Ricky Tiedemann only pitched nine innings with the Bisons, posting a 6 ERA and a 10.46 FIP before requiring Tommy John surgery.
Chad Dallas also underwent Tommy John surgery, but pitched 61 innings with the Bisons, amassing a 6.34 ERA and a 5.54 FIP with a 17.8 K% and an 8.5 BB%.
There are some interesting relievers on the way though. Hagen Danner finished the season with a 3.15 ERA and a 4.24 FIP in 34.1 innings pitched, along with a 23.3 K% and an 8.9 BB%. He spent time on the injured list but is still on the Jays’ 40-man roster.
Speaking of the 40-man roster, left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert had a brief tenure in the big leagues but finished his 2024 season with a 3.86 ERA and a 4.09 FIP in 53.2 innings pitched with the Bisons. Fellow lefty Mason Fluharty had a 3.63 ERA and a 4.15 FIP in 67 innings pitched, along with a 27.4 K% and a 9 BB%.
Hayden Juenger had a solid season, posting a 4.19 ERA and a 4.20 FIP in 68.2 innings pitched, along with a 21.7 K% and an 8.8 BB%. Connor Cooke had a rough season, as the 24-year-old finished the year with a 4.55 ERA and a 5.56 FIP in 31.2 innings pitched, along with a 20.3 K% and an 18.9 BB%. 
Eric Pardinho finished his season with a 5.34 ERA and a 4.89 FIP in 28.2 innings pitched with the Bisons, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. For the second time in 2024, Pardinho went an entire month without giving up a run, as he had a 1.32 FIP in 12 innings pitched from August 17 until his final appearance on September 20. 
Although he didn’t pitch 22 innings like his first run of scoreless baseball from April 24 until June 21, Pardinho struck out 34.9% of the batters he faced, walking just 2.3% of them. Pretty incredible run from the former top 100 prospect.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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