Assessing the Blue Jays pitching pipeline after trade deadline moves

The Toronto Blue Jays have had very little success under General Manager Ross Atkins in developing starting pitching. Whether it's been guys who haven't lived up to their potential, such as Nate Pearson, or players who have showcased flashes of brilliance before getting hurt, such as Alek Manoah, the Blue Jays pitching rotation has survived mostly thanks to the trade and free agent routes.

In fact, the Blue Jays have had just two home grown players start a playoff game for them in the last ten years. Marcus Stroman got the ball in Game Three of the 2016 ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians, and Manoah was the Game One starter in the Blue Jays 4-0 loss to Seattle in the 2022 Wild Card series. It's a stat that will likely hold up if the Blue Jays do make the postseason in 2025 as a lot will have to happen for one of Kevin Gausman, Chirs Bassitt, José Berrios, Max Scherzer, Eric Lauer and Shane Bieber to not get the ball in a playoff start.

Assessing the Blue Jays pitching pipeline after trade deadline moves

Despite this lack of reliable arms being developed, the 2025 pitching pipeline in the Blue Jays system was giving fans something to dream on. Several young players where rising through the ranks quickly. Names like Trey Yesavage, Johny King, Kendrys Rojas and Khal Stephens were showcasing their talents and putting up eye popping numbers on a nightly basis. Then the trade deadline came and went and the Blue Jays utilized some of that pitching depth to supplement their big league rosters.

Gone were Rojas, Stephens and Juaron Watts-Brown, all pitchers within the Blue Jays top ten prospects, and while the early returns look good, fans will want to see those who remained continue their trajectory. Looking at the new top 30 list per MLB pipeline the Blue Jays still have several impact arms that could make a case for being part of the Toronto rotation within the next few years.

Toronto's No. 2 overall prospect remains Yesavage, who represented the Blue Jays at the MLB Futures Game. Yesavage has climbed three levels of minor league ball this season, in his first year of pro-baseball. While he had a bit of a bumpy start at Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Yesavage looks to be getting back on track. He's got 14 strikeouts in eight innings pitched over his last two outings, giving up just one run, on four hits.

Yesavage has 125 strikeouts in 75.2 innings across all minor league games this season which is the most strikeouts by a pitcher aged 22 or younger in MiLB. There was speculation that Yesavage could be a part of the Blue Jays rotation by the end of this season, and while that could still happen, it's likely he will compete for a legitimate shot at Toronto's 2026 rotation.

King is now the Blue Jays No. 4 prospect and while he's still playing in Lower-A ball with Dunedin, it's not hard to see why he's climbed the rankings this season. His 16.2 K/9 rate leads all of minor league baseball and he's struck out 81 hitters in just 45 innings. He's also allowed just 29 hits, and hasn't given up a home run this year.

No. 5 overall prospect is Gage Stanifer. He won't be turning 22 until November and he ranks third on that aforementioned list, with 111 strikeouts by players his age or younger in MiLB.

Stanifer has moved through two levels of pro-ball this year and he too has yet to allow a home run. He's managed to bring down his H/9 rate since his debut in 2023, sitting at 5.5 this season and while he's given up his fair share of walks, his rate of 5.1 is lower this year than it was last year at 7.5.

The Blue Jays also still have Ricky Tiedemann (No. 3) and Jake Bloss (No. 8) ranked in their top ten, and Brandon Barriera just outside at No. 13. All three of them are recovering from injuries this season with Barriera back into game action in June, they all have the potential to help out sometime in 2026 as well. So while the Blue Jays gave up three pitching prospects at this years deadline, their system still boasts some tantalizing arms that could help supplement the big league roster in the not-so distant future.