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Blue Jays Minor League Report: Vancouver Canadians fall short of finishing first in first half
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Photo credit: Vancouver Canadians PR
Ryley Delaney
Jun 20, 2025, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 20, 2025, 16:49 EDT
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It just wasn’t meant to be for the Vancouver Canadians.
This is the June 17 – June 19 edition of the Minor League Report, where we look at how the last three days have gone for each of the Toronto Blue Jays’ affiliates. We’ll look at the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, High-A Vancouver Canadians, Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, FCL Jays, and their two DSL teams in this article. If you missed Tuesday’s article, you can read it here.
Let’s dig in!

Bisons drop two of three to start the week

On Tuesday, the Buffalo Bisons’ comeback bid fell short, falling 5-4 to the Worcester Red Sox. Will Wagner, Joey Loperfido, and Yohendrick Pinango hit doubles in the game. Lazaro Estrada started, going four innings with one earned run against and four strikeouts. Hunter Gregory had a rough outing, giving up three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.
The Bisons got back in the win column on Wednesday with a 14-1 win. The rehabbing Nathan Lukes had a great game, going 3-4 with a home run and five RBI. Rainer Nunez hit his sixth home run of the season, and Loperfido hit another double. Max Scherzer made the start in a rehab appearance, striking out eight in four and one-third innings pitched. Next up for Scherzer could be an MLB start.
Thursday saw the Bisons fall 9-4. Loperfido hit his third double of the week, and Pinango hit his second double in Triple-A. Anders Tolhurst had a rough start, giving up four earned runs in three innings of work.

Fisher Cats are on a three-game losing streak

It hasn’t been an ideal start to the week for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. In the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, they fell 5-3 to the Somerset Patriots as they blew a 3-1 lead. Charles McAdoo hit a double and a triple in this game. Juaron Watts-Brown made the start, pitching four and two-thirds innings with eight strikeouts and four walks, giving up one earned run.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Fisher Cats fell 6-1. Trey Yesavage made the start, giving up four earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched, striking out four and walking three. McAdoo hit his 11th double in this game.
Thursday saw the Fisher Cats fall 5-1, as they registered just three hits, giving them 10 over the first three games. Cade Doughty, Ryan McCarty, and Eddinson Paulino hit singles. Grant Rogers made the start, going six innings with three runs (one earned) given up and striking out seven.

Canadians fail to book their ticket to the Northwest League Championship Series

It was an important week for the Vancouver Canadians, as winning their first three games would mean they finished first in the first half to make their fourth consecutive Northwest League Championship Series.
Things started well for the Canadians, defeating the Eugene Emeralds 12-8. Victor Arias, Eddie Micheletti Jr., and Arjun Nimmala all hit home runs, while Sean Keys, Je’Von Ward, and Cutter Coffey hit doubles, the latter hitting two. Jackson Wentworth pitched 2.2 innings with four strikeouts and gave up three earned runs. Bo Bonds picked up the win, striking out three in his innings and a third pitched. The Everett AquaSox won their game, meaning the Canadians’ magic number dropped to two.
Destiny was taken out of the Canadians’ hands as they fell 8-1 to the Emeralds on Wednesday, paired with a 9-3 AquaSox victory. Arias hit his 12th double of the season, and Cutter Coffey had a three-hit game. It was a tough start for Gage Stanifer, as he gave up two earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched, striking out four.
The Canadians needed a win on Thursday, and they got just that as they defeated the Emeralds 9-5. Aaron Parker and Carter Cunningham each hit home runs, while Parker, Micheletti Jr., and Ward hit doubles. Chris McElvain gave up five earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched. Pat Gallagher picked up the win, striking out five in 3.1 innings, while Jonathan Todd struck out the three batters he faced in the ninth.
Unfortunately, the AqauSox defeated Spokane 8-3 on Thursday, taking the first half due to having a better head-to-head record. The Canadians will still have a chance to earn their fourth consecutive Northwest League Championship Series berth if they finish with the best record in the second half. Still, it was an impressive run of 23 games where the Canadians went 20-3.

D-Jays drop two of three

The Dunedin Blue Jays fell 2-0 on Tuesday to the Clearwater Threshers, bringing their season record to 33-30. Jean Joseph and Kendry Chirinos each had two-hit games. Colby Holcombe made the start, giving up two earned runs in five innings of work. Ryan Burr made a rehab appearance, and Javen Coleman struck out two in his inning of work.
It looked as if the D-Jays were going to win on Wednesday, but the Threshers walked them off to win 6-5. Canadian Bryce Arnold hit his eighth home run of the season, while Joseph, Yhoangel Aponte, and Jacob Lojewski hit doubles. Hayden Juenger made a rehab appearance, striking out two in two innings of work. Colby Martin struck out three in two innings of work.
The D-Jays got back in the win column with a 7-2 victory on Thursday. Peyton Powell hit his first professional home run, as well as a double and a single. Austin Cates made the start, striking out seven in five scoreless innings.

FCL Jays lose first two

On Tuesday, the Florida Complex League Blue Jays fell 4-1 to the FCL Tigrs. They registered just three hits, one of which was Drew Jemison’s second home run of the season. Connor Overtson made the rehab start, going two innings with one unearned run and three strikeouts. Sann Omosako gave up three earned runs in four innings of work.
In the second game against the FCL Tigers, the FCL Blue Jays fell 11-5. Alex De Jesus hit the team’s lone extra-base hit, a double. Junior Arias and Aldo Gaxiola each had a two-hit game. Brandon Barriera made the rehab start, giving up four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. Holden Wilkerson struck out six and gave up an earned run in four innings of work.

DSL Blue Jays Jays Red and Blue split first two games

Both the Dominican Summer League Blue Jays Blue and Blue Jays Red split their first two games of the week.
Starting with Red, they were blown out 17-0 by the DSL Rangers Red, falling to 4-7 for the season. Randy Soto hit the team’s only base hit, and he walked twice. Antony De Los Santos, Josue Loreto, and Wilfredo Cordero were the only pitchers to throw a scoreless outing. 
They returned to the win column with a 5-4 victory. Elikaner Coronando, Kennew Blanco, and Nestor Urbina hit doubles, the latter hitting two. Juan Sanchez had a three-hit game, and Urbina had a four-hit game. Bryan Borbon pitched 2.2 innings with two earned runs allowed and six strikeouts. Victor Espiritu struck out four in two and one-third innings, and Luis Victorino struck out four in two clean innings.
As for the DSL Blue Jays Blue, they fell 7-6 to start their week. Yeicer Crespo hit his first career home run, and J.T. Bain hit a double. Crespo and Darwin Nunez had two-hit performances. Juan Ramirez and Edwin Francisco were the only two pitchers to fire a scoreless outing.
Blue won just their third game on Thursday, as they defeated the DSL White Sox 5-1. Rafael Flores hit his first career home run and had a two-hit performance in the win. Deiker Pineda pitched five innings, striking out seven and giving up an earned run in what was a strong start. Enyer Dominguez pitched two scoreless innings for his first career save.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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