The Toronto Blue Jays really need one of their recent draft classes to hit.

There have been a handful of players selected by the Blue Jays in the 2024 draft who have already made their minor league debut. Of course, a few of them are considered top Blue Jays prospects, namely Trey Yesavage, Khal Stephen, Johnny King IV, Sean Keys, and a few others. And even one was traded, as Nick Mitchell was involved in the Andrés Giménez trade in the off-season.
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With the 2024 draft class’ full-season professional debut just around the corner, let’s take a look at a few players who could be fast risers in the Blue Jays organization in 2025.
<h2>Aaron Parker</h2>
Once a catching factory, the Toronto Blue Jays don’t have a lot of prospect catchers in their organization any longer.
With the 187th pick (sixth-round) in the 2024 draft, the Blue Jays selected Aaron Parker from UC Santa Barbara. His 2024 season with the school was impressive, slashing .379/.460/.632 with 12 home runs in 224 plate appearances for a 167 wRC+, with a 12.1 BB% and a 17 K%.
Shortly following the draft, Parker was placed on the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, slashing .235/.380/.519 with five home runs in 100 plate appearances for a 154 wRC+, with a 17 BB% and a 27 K%.
On the defensive side of things, Parker threw out four of 21 base runners and allowed one passed ball in his 93.2 innings behind the plate. With the need for catchers at all levels of the Blue Jays minor league system, don’t be surprised to see Parker rise up the ladder pretty quickly, likely with a start in High-A.
<h2>Johnny King IV</h2>
There are a handful of starters that fit the bill of a fast riser. The most obvious one is the Blue Jays 2024 first-round pick, Trey Yesavage, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/top100/trey-yesavage-702056">who is projected to be in the big leagues in 2026 by </a><a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/top100/trey-yesavage-702056">MLB Pipeline</a>. Similarly, Khal Stephen could see a quick rise.
In the 2024 draft, the Blue Jays selected a handful of pitchers from high school, like Troy Guthrie in the 11th round and Carson Messina in the 12th round. However, I chose Johnny King IV as the fast riser for this article.
There’s a lot to like about King IV. Standing at 6’4”, 210 lbs, the 18-year-old features a 94-95 mph fastball with projection remaining, as well as three average or above secondary pitches, a 55-graded slider, a changeup that he has a good feel for, and a curveball. The command is a bit worrying, but he has the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter according to his <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/2024/bluejays/johnny-king-803516">MLB Pipeline </a><a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/2024/bluejays/johnny-king-803516">scouting report</a>.
He’ll likely start the 2025 season in the Florida Complex League, which starts in early May. However, his final month or so could be spent in Single-A, if not sooner. From there, who knows how quickly he’ll move up the minor league ladder, but it could be quick.
<h2>Colby Martin</h2>
One reliever to keep an eye on in the 2024 draft class is right-hander Colby Martin.
The 23-year-old split his time in college between the NCAA’s Division III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, where he had a 4.441 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched with a 43.1 K% and a 15.3 BB%. With that being said, his numbers with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays after the draft weren’t great, posting a 7.27 ERA and a 6.90 FIP in 8.2 innings pitched, with a 16.7 K% and a 29.2 BB%.
Sometimes you have to look beyond the stats though. The right-handed pitcher features a high-90s fastball that has touched 102 mph in the past, with a sinker and changeup. His delivery is easy and he doesn’t need to put that much effort to reach his impressive velocity.
One similar pitcher the Blue Jays have selected in recent seasons was Kai Peterson, who the team selected with their last pick of the 2023 draft out of junior college. The left-handed pitcher didn’t pitch professionally until the next season but found solid results (namely his 42.6 K%) in Single-A before being promoted to High-A. Martin could have a similar path in 2025.
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As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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The Toronto Blue Jays really need one of their recent draft classes to hit.



There have been a handful of players selected by the Blue Jays in the 2024 draft who have already made their minor league debut. Of course, a few of them are considered top Blue Jays prospects, namely Trey Yesavage, Khal Stephen, Johnny King IV, Sean Keys, and a few others. And even one was traded, as Nick Mitchell was involved in the Andrés Giménez trade in the off-season.
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&nbsp;

With the 2024 draft class’ full-season professional debut just around the corner, let’s take a look at a few players who could be fast risers in the Blue Jays organization in 2025.
<h2>Aaron Parker</h2>
Once a catching factory, the Toronto Blue Jays don’t have a lot of prospect catchers in their organization any longer.

With the 187th pick (sixth-round) in the 2024 draft, the Blue Jays selected Aaron Parker from UC Santa Barbara. His 2024 season with the school was impressive, slashing .379/.460/.632 with 12 home runs in 224 plate appearances for a 167 wRC+, with a 12.1 BB% and a 17 K%.

Shortly following the draft, Parker was placed on the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, slashing .235/.380/.519 with five home runs in 100 plate appearances for a 154 wRC+, with a 17 BB% and a 27 K%.

On the defensive side of things, Parker threw out four of 21 base runners and allowed one passed ball in his 93.2 innings behind the plate. With the need for catchers at all levels of the Blue Jays minor league system, don’t be surprised to see Parker rise up the ladder pretty quickly, likely with a start in High-A.
<h2>Johnny King IV</h2>
There are a handful of starters that fit the bill of a fast riser. The most obvious one is the Blue Jays 2024 first-round pick, Trey Yesavage, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/top100/trey-yesavage-702056">who is projected to be in the big leagues in 2026 by </a><a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/top100/trey-yesavage-702056">MLB Pipeline</a>. Similarly, Khal Stephen could see a quick rise.

In the 2024 draft, the Blue Jays selected a handful of pitchers from high school, like Troy Guthrie in the 11th round and Carson Messina in the 12th round. However, I chose Johnny King IV as the fast riser for this article.

There’s a lot to like about King IV. Standing at 6’4”, 210 lbs, the 18-year-old features a 94-95 mph fastball with projection remaining, as well as three average or above secondary pitches, a 55-graded slider, a changeup that he has a good feel for, and a curveball. The command is a bit worrying, but he has the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter according to his <a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/2024/bluejays/johnny-king-803516">MLB Pipeline </a><a href="https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/2024/bluejays/johnny-king-803516">scouting report</a>.

He’ll likely start the 2025 season in the Florida Complex League, which starts in early May. However, his final month or so could be spent in Single-A, if not sooner. From there, who knows how quickly he’ll move up the minor league ladder, but it could be quick.
<h2>Colby Martin</h2>
One reliever to keep an eye on in the 2024 draft class is right-hander Colby Martin.

The 23-year-old split his time in college between the NCAA’s Division III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, where he had a 4.441 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched with a 43.1 K% and a 15.3 BB%. With that being said, his numbers with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays after the draft weren’t great, posting a 7.27 ERA and a 6.90 FIP in 8.2 innings pitched, with a 16.7 K% and a 29.2 BB%.

Sometimes you have to look beyond the stats though. The right-handed pitcher features a high-90s fastball that has touched 102 mph in the past, with a sinker and changeup. His delivery is easy and he doesn’t need to put that much effort to reach his impressive velocity.

One similar pitcher the Blue Jays have selected in recent seasons was Kai Peterson, who the team selected with their last pick of the 2023 draft out of junior college. The left-handed pitcher didn’t pitch professionally until the next season but found solid results (namely his 42.6 K%) in Single-A before being promoted to High-A. Martin could have a similar path in 2025.

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As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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Three Blue Jays prospects from the 2024 draft class who could be fast risers

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Eric Lauer (56) follows through on a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

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