Blue Jays Arizona Fall League check-in: Jake Cook and Aaron Parker keep notching hits

Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 28, 2026, 08:04 EDT
There are just two weeks remaining on the 2026 Arizona Fall League regular season schedule.
This is the third AFL check-in, the first since October 21st. It’s been a mixed bag for Toronto Blue Jays participating in the league, with two having strong weeks, while a few pitchers got hit around quite a bit.
Let’s take a look at what has happened the past week.
Position players
Aaron Parker has continued to excel in limited playing time. This past week, he went 4-10 with four stolen bases, three walks, a double, and three strikeouts. Over 34 plate appearances, Parker is slashing .423/.559/.538 with 11 singles, a home run, and six RBIs. He’s also 5/5 in stolen base attempts.
Parker’s .423 batting average is good for second in the AFL, though he isn’t qualified. Second in batting average among qualified hitters is Jake Cook. In his last three games, he’s 6-11 with two doubles, four strikeouts, and three stolen bases. Over 45 plate appearances, Cook is slashing .390/.444/.439, with his batting average sitting second among qualified batters. That said, he’s rocking a 28.9 K%, which isn’t ideal.
Unlike Parker and Cook, Jake Casey hasn’t had a great season in the AFL. This past week, he went just 1-13 with a double, a walk, and two hit by pitches, but struck out three times. Casey is the polar opposite to Cook and Parker, as he’s batting just .091/.245/.205, with his batting average sitting the lowest among qualified hitters.
This week, former Blue Jay Arjun Nimmala went 1-12 with five walks and six strikeouts. Over 69 plate appearances, he’s slashing .245/.420/.434 with three triples, two singles, and a home run.
Pitchers
It wasn’t a great week for Blue Jays pitchers in the AFL. Yondrei Rojas had the best performance of the bun, but he still gave up two earned runs, two walks, and a hit over two innings of work in his two appearances. However, he registered a save in October 26th’s game. Over seven innings of work, the reliever has a 2.57 ERA and a 20 K%.
Brandon Barriera’s first outing this past week wasn’t great, failing to get an out while walking five and giving up two earned runs. His next outing on October 27th went much better, pitching two scoreless innings while walking one and striking out three. Barriera has a 3.18 across 5.2 innings of work this season, but has walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (five).
Fernando Perez also struggled with command in his lone outing this week. While he picked up the win on October 24th, he allowed two earned runs and walked five, bringing his season ERA to 7.20. He’s walked 10 of the 29 batters he’s faced and has struck out just two.
Jake Bloss had a tough outing on Monday. Pitching one + innings, the right surrendered seven earned runs, giving up a home run, a walk, and striking out a batter. Thanks to the outing, Bloss now has the second-worst ERA among qualified pitchers, owning a 10.57 ERA. His other three starts have been solid at least.
Lastly, Gilberto Batista has had a tough go of things so far in the AFL. His lone appearance was on Tuesday, and he gave up three earned runs over three innings of work. He struck out one, but allowed five hits and a walk, bringing his season ERA to 6.75, eighth worst among qualified pitchers.
Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @CynthiaRDelaney.
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