Earlier this week, seven Toronto Blue Jays impact prospects earned promotions to the next minor league level, landing them one step closer to the big league roster.
Of the players on the move, Trey Yesavage, Khal Stephen, and Gage Stanifer headed north of the border to the high-A Vancouver Canadians. To make room, Grant Rogers and Juaron Watts-Brown earned tickets to the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, with Ryan McCarty and CJ Van Eyk heading to the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
Here’s how they’ve all stacked up in their first week with their new teams:
Vancouver Canadians
The Jays’ number two-ranked prospect, Trey Yesavage, struggled out of the gate with his command but settled in nicely after his first two innings of work. His first start at the new level on May 20th against the Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants affiliate) saw him strike out ten batters through only four innings of work.
Welcome to High-A, Trey Yesavage!
The @BlueJays' No. 2 prospect fans 10 — including 7 of his last 8 batters — in his debut for the @vancanadians.
4 IP | 2 H | 2 R | 3 BB | 10 K pic.twitter.com/0aUnLiUQXg
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 21, 2025
While he did allow two runs to score, his stuff looked nearly untouchable once he got past some early command struggles. Overall, a solid first outing for the imposing right-hander.
Gage Stanifer got the call out of the bullpen to back up Yesavage, but unfortunately had a rough go in his first high-A outing. Five walks and a three-RBI double in his 3 2/3 innings pinned him with the loss as the Emeralds took the contest 6-4.
Khal Stephen got his start a couple of days later on the 22nd. Similarly to Yesavage, Stephen struggled with his control early on, allowing two walks, two HBPs, and a solo home run through three innings.
He was able to limit the damage in each of his innings, as the solo shot stood as his only run allowed. While his start was shortened due to his elevated pitch count, he showed solid grit and ability to work out of the stretch.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Continuing with the pitching, Grant Rogers made his Fisher Cats debut on the 21st, and he had a very solid outing on the mound.
The McNeese State product faced off against the Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees affiliate) and threw five innings, allowing only three runs (two earned). He walked only a single batter and didn’t allow any home runs while allowing just three hits on the day and striking out five.
He was pinned with the loss, however, as the Fisher Cats’ bats could only manage to score one run, even with their eight hits, in large part due to 13 strikeouts.
Juaron Watts-Brown got the nod yesterday against the Patriots and had a bit of a rough outing, allowing five hits and five earned runs with two homers mixed in. He also walked three batters and struck out five across his five innings. He pitched to a 61.6% strike rate and was tagged with the loss.
Buffalo Bisons
Adding on to the list of respectable first outings, CJ Van Eyk’s first time on a triple-A mound went pretty well, even though the Lehigh Valley IronPigs beat the Bisons 5-4 on May 20th.
Van Eyk got the starting nod, tossing five innings of three-run ball. Like the others mentioned before, he did struggle with command, allowing three walks and a solo homer, but managed to fight through and hand the game off to the bullpen tied at three. He struck out three batters.
CALL UP X2!🚨
Join us in congratulating both CJ Van Eyk and Ryan McCarty on their promotions to the Buffalo Bisons! 🦬
Good luck from everyone here at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats! 😼
#destinationcats #beyondbaseballnh 🛩️ pic.twitter.com/qRBMoHDKgQ
— New Hampshire Fisher Cats (@FisherCats) May 20, 2025
Ryan McCarty, as the sole bat listed here, has made two appearances for the Bisons so far. Playing second base, he went 1-3 at the dish in his first game, but made the one knock count, using his speed to leg out a triple and later scoring. In his second game yesterday, he struck out in the third inning and was then hit by a pitch in his second appearance. He later scored on the effort, and that would be his last at-bat, as Alan Roden pinch-hit for the infielder late in the game. Fielding-wise, McCarty got the nod at third.
Expect to see more of all the prospects listed here in June, as they all have the potential to make serious impacts on their respective teams in June and beyond.
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