The calendar has flipped to May, which means we now have a month’s worth of sample size to dissect—both on the MLB side and in the minor leagues. There’s enough volume to start drawing some conclusions, even without having the full picture of how things will ultimately play out.

The focus for this piece will be on the minor league side, where the Blue Jays have multiple feel-good stories bubbling under the surface across all affiliates.

At the Triple-A level, before his call-up, Yohendrick Pinango was once again showcasing elite exit velocities while pairing them with strong plate skills. His 23% strikeout rate sits below the league average for the level. Charles McAdoo is off to a strong start as well, alongside Josh Kasevich—both of whom could factor into the Blue Jays’ big league plans at some point this year.

In New Hampshire, Sean Keys is tearing the cover off the ball, posting a 1.095 OPS and 174 wRC+ over his first 24 games. Jace Bohrofen slugged seven home runs in April while producing a .990 OPS and 152 wRC+. On the pitching side, Gage Stanifer has missed plenty of bats (30.7 K%), but has also struggled with command, walking 18.2% of hitters.

In A-ball (both High-A and Low-A), Arjun Nimmala was dominating Northwest League pitching and has since been promoted to Double-A New Hampshire, where he’s expected to debut Tuesday night. Nolan Perry was overpowering A-ball hitters and earned a promotion to Vancouver over the weekend, while Austin Cates also moved up from Vancouver to New Hampshire. Meanwhile, the Dunedin Blue Jays lineup is stacked with JoJo Parker, Blaine Bullard, and Juan Sanchez at the top of the order.

Rather than revisiting the names you already know, I want to highlight two players who have been flying under the radar this year while producing strong results backed by solid underlying metrics.

Eddie Micheletti Jr. is a 24-year-old outfielder from Wilmington, Delaware, selected by the Blue Jays in the eighth round (247th overall) of the 2024 amateur draft out of Virginia Tech.

He made his professional debut that same year, closing out the season with Dunedin. In 20 games, he posted a .292/.422/.458 slash line, along with two home runs, seven RBIs, a 14.4% walk rate, a 15.6% strikeout rate, and a 155 wRC+.

The following year marked Micheletti’s first full professional season. He appeared in 106 games with High-A Vancouver, hitting 14 home runs while walking (16.8%) more than he struck out (15.1%). His .375 OBP led the Canadians, and he produced a 124 wRC+ in a ballpark known to suppress offense for left-handed hitters.

This year, Micheletti has once again moved up a level, beginning the season in Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Through his first 23 games, he’s slashing .265/.396/.470 while continuing to display elite plate discipline (15.8% BB / 19.8% K). He’s also hit four home runs.

Micheletti Jr. has flown under the radar since the day he was drafted. He’s not often mentioned alongside some of the system’s bigger names, yet he’s consistently produced at every level with underlying data that supports the performance. This is a really good player—one who has quietly built a strong track record over the past two years. He’s a name I’ve circled as a future solid big leaguer, whether that’s with the Blue Jays or elsewhere.

Dylan Watts, a native of Renton, Washington, was drafted by the Blue Jays in the seventh round (202nd overall) of the 2025 amateur draft out of Auburn. The 21-year-old was an underslot signing, allowing the team to save money for a later “home run swing” in the draft—Blaine Bullard in the 12th round.

Don’t let that underslot label fool you—there’s a lot to like about the young right-hander, who appears to be transitioning into a starting role in pro ball.

During his college career, Watts was primarily a reliever. Across 32 appearances from 2023 to 2024, he made only five starts. He posted a 7.12 ERA in 2023 and a 7.39 ERA in 2024, so it clearly wasn’t the surface stats that drew the Blue Jays’ attention.

So what did? His stuff.

Watts was a name that generated buzz over the winter, alongside Karson Ligon, as two arms who could break out in pro ball. The reports highlighted his advanced pitch mix and ability to move quickly through the system—and so far, those reports have held up.

Watts features a five-pitch mix, headlined by a four-seam fastball that averages 95.4 mph. It features elite cut/ride action and a steep -4.9 vertical approach angle, allowing it to play exceptionally well in the upper part of the strike zone. He’s also demonstrated strong command, posting a 61.8% zone rate.

His changeup is his best secondary pitch. With 16.6 inches of induced vertical break separation from his fastball, it tunnels extremely well. Add in 14.2 inches of arm-side run, and it becomes a devastating weapon against left-handed hitters. The results have been outstanding—hitters are chasing it 52.6% of the time and whiffing at a staggering 61.5% rate.

What makes Watts especially intriguing is his ability to manipulate the baseball. At just 21 years old, he already features multiple pitches that break both glove-side and arm-side. This gives him a strong foundation to neutralize platoon splits. His sinker and changeup are effective against left-handed hitters, while his four-seamer, cutter, and slider give him plenty of weapons to attack righties.

Through his first 12 2/3 professional innings, Watts owns a 4.26 ERA, but his 21.8% K-BB% suggests positive regression could be on the horizon. The stuff is electric, and his ability to miss bats is undeniable. While the Blue Jays initially selected Watts as a cost-saving pick, they may have ended up hitting two home runs in the 2025 draft.

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