The Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system went from one of the worst in Major League Baseball to middle of the pack last season.
That was thanks to several strong performances on the pitching side of things. As you know, Trey Yesavage went from making his professional debut in Single-A to starting in Game 1 of the World Series. Left-handed pitcher Johnny King also had a strong season, as did Yesavage’s piggyback pitcher, Gage Stanifer.
It was the latter that was named MLB Pipeline’s breakout prospect for the Blue Jays last season. Drafted in the 19th round of the 2022 draft, Stanifer’s first two seasons in the Jays system were a bit underwhelming, posting a 6.33 ERA in 2023 and a 6.34 ERA in 2024.
“He opened this campaign back with Single-A Dunedin as Trey Yesavage’s piggyback partner and has been one of Toronto’s many pitching success stories in 2025.”
Gage Stanifer was tabbed as the Blue Jays @MLBPipeline 2025 Breakout Prospect🤩 pic.twitter.com/FFckyBPs5H
— Dunedin Blue Jays (@DunedinBlueJays) December 29, 2025
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The stuff was always there to succeed, as Stanifer features a mid-90s fastball, nasty slider, and splitter. However, he didn’t put it all together until the 2025 season. Beginning the season with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, Stanifer authored a 0.69 ERA and 2.24 FIP in 26 innings pitched, with a 36.9 K% and an 11.7 BB%.
While he pitched out of the bullpen in all seven games, he followed Yesavage and found success doing so. Both were promoted at the same time to the High-A Vancouver Canadians. Yesavage made just four starts at the level, with Stanifer always following him in relief. Eventually Yesavage earned a promotion to Double-A, then Triple-A, and then eventually, the big leagues.
Most of Stanifer’s 2025 was spent with the Canadians, where he posted a 3.20 ERA and 2.30 FIP in 76 innings pitched, starting 14 of the 18 games he appeared in. He had a similar strikeout rate (36.5%) to his tenure in Dunedin, while his BB% sat at 11.7%. In the final weeks of the season, Stanifer got a look with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, where he had a 6.75 ERA and 7.92 FIP in eight innings of work.
There’s an argument that Stanifer is already a top 100 prospect in baseball, as he had the sixth-most strikeouts in the minor leagues with 161, one ahead of Yesavage and three ahead of former Blue Jay farmhand Juaron Watts-Brown. If Stanifer can clean up the walk rate, the sky is the limit for the 22-year-old.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.