The Blue Jays hottest pitching prospect just moved to New Hampshire

Right-handed pitcher Gage Stanifer is the hottest pitching prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, at least according to an article on the MLB website last week. The Blue Jays organization picked up the 21-year-old in the 19th round of the 2021 draft and Stanifer started 2025 as a reliever with Toronto's Single-A affiliate, the Dunedin Blue Jays.

While in Dunedin, he picked up four wins and two saves before being called up to the Blue Jays' High-A affiliate, the Vancouver Canadians. In September, he was called up to the Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

His first appearance with the Canadians wasn't his best. He was handed a loss after giving up four runs in just over three innings in a 6-4 loss to the Eugene Emeralds. From there, however, he seemed to find his groove. In four appearances as a reliever, he picked up two saves.

In mid-June, Stanifer moved to the starting rotation for Vancouver. In his first start on June 12th, he had a tough first inning, giving up three runs on four hits to the Spokane Indians. He managed to find his footing and only gave up one hit over the next three innings. He finished the game with ten strikeouts, and the Canadians won 10-6.

August was the strongest month of Stanifer's season. In his six starts, he only gave up seven runs, while striking out 42. Between August 13th and 24th, he picked up three straight wins and went six innings in all the games.

Stanifer's final start with the Canadians was on August 30th against the Hillsboro Hops. He had eight strikeouts in five innings of work. Despite giving up five hits, he didn't allow a run, and Vancouver won the game 2-0. His ERA in August was 1.69, well below his ERA for the season (2.80).

Stanifer was rewarded for his exceptional play by being called up to the Fisher Cats. He made his first Double-A start on Friday against the Somerset Patriots. Similar to his debut with the Canadians, it wasn't Stanifer's best. He gave up four runs in four innings as the Fisher Cats lost 4-0.

While Stanifer's first Double-A start left much to be desired, if his play in Vancouver is anything to go off of, he's just warming up. Blue Jays fans should keep an eye on this exciting prospect working his way through Toronto's farm system.