No. 2 prospect Yesavage promoted to High-A alongside dominant pitching duo

TORONTO -- It’s a good time to be a baseball fan in Vancouver.

The Blue Jays are promoting No. 2 prospect Trey Yesavage (No. 71 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list) to the High-A Canadians, a source told MLB.com, along with No. 10 prospect Khal Stephen and Gage Stanifer, who have formed one of the most dominant pitching trios in the Florida State League through the first six weeks of the season.

Yesavage, the Blue Jays’ first-round pick in 2024, 20th overall, is expected to start for the Canadians on Tuesday. This trio will join No. 1 prospect Arjun Nimmala (No. 59 overall), who is off to a red-hot start at the plate in Vancouver.

It’s been clear for a while now that Yesavage is too talented for Single-A as he’s overwhelmed hitters at times, but this start in Dunedin was all part of the plan for the Blue Jays. Vancouver’s placement in the Northwest League can naturally lead to some cold, rainy weeks to open the season, and while Nat Bailey Stadium is one of the best atmospheres in Minor League Baseball, Vancouver isn’t exactly a pitcher’s paradise in the early days of April.

The organization used Yesavage’s start in Single-A to establish a stronger foundation with his week-to-week routines and the early feedback has been excellent. The 21-year-old posted a 2.43 ERA with a whopping 55 strikeouts over 33 1/3 innings for the Dunedin Blue Jays, some of the most dominant pitching we’ve seen from a top prospect since Nate Pearson’s peak years in the Minor Leagues.

Vancouver is the next stop for Yesavage, but it might not be the last one. There’s still plenty of season left and Yesavage is coming off throwing 93 1/3 innings for East Carolina in 2024 in his final NCAA year, so there’s a lot of runway left for him and he could still see a stint with Double-A New Hampshire if all goes well.

Stephen, the Blue Jays’ second-rounder from 2024, has been just as impressive.

Another big, strong right-hander, Stephen has posted a 2.06 ERA with 48 strikeouts over 39 1/3 innings, with just seven walks. Stephen was highlighted by many on the Blue Jays' player development staff in Spring Training as an arm on the rise in this system, and that’s been spot on. Like Yesavage, he’s still got plenty of development ahead of him in 2025 and could move quickly through the system as a 22-year-old.

Stanifer is the surprise of the bunch, given that he started the season unranked on our Top 30 list, but that won’t last long. Stanifer has typically followed Yesavage in games -- an impossible piggyback for opposing lineups -- and put up a 0.69 ERA with 38 strikeouts over just 26 innings.

This kicks off what should be a busy stretch of promotions for the Blue Jays’ farm system, which is off to an encouraging start, particularly when it comes to lower-level pitching. It feels like we’re finally seeing more of the benefits of the Blue Jays’ new development complex, particularly when you look to a pitcher like Stanifer, who was drafted out of high school in the 19th round of the 2022 Draft and has suddenly catapulted himself into the conversation as one of the most exciting arms in the system.

There have been some success stories at the top on the relief front, too, with Mason Fluharty, Braydon Fisher and the recent promotion of Ryan Jennings to Triple-A Buffalo. Jennings has been pitching in multi-inning stints, but he could now stay in the one- to two-inning range as the Blue Jays explore his potential ceiling after he posted a 2.86 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 22 innings at Double-A.

It hasn’t all been good news, of course, including this week’s news that No. 6 prospect Jake Bloss would be undergoing surgery to repair the UCL in his right elbow, but the system as a whole is finally generating a sense of momentum that the Blue Jays have been stuck searching for in recent years.

Star power can change narratives around player development quickly, and with Yesavage now joining Nimmala in Vancouver, the Blue Jays have their two best shots at a star in one place.