One reliever to get excited about is currently in Double-A.
The Toronto Blue Jays are starting to see more homegrown relievers in the upper minors. Pat Gallagher is another one of those pitchers, as he’s split his time between High-A and Double-A this season. He’ll be the subject of this week’s Under the Radar prospect, and if you missed last week’s article, we looked at Rainer Nuñez.
Gallagher was selected in the 11th round of the 2022 draft from the University of Connecticut. The right-handed pitcher didn’t make his professional debut until the 2023 season, starting his career with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, where he had a 3.29 ERA and 3.92 FIP in 52 innings pitched. Upon his promotion to High-A, Gallagher made three starts with a 2.38 ERA and 3.26 FIP in 11.1 innings pitched.
In 2024, Gallagher spent his entire season with the High-A Vancouver Canadians, posting a 4.15 ERA and 3.81 FIP in 91 innings pitched, starting 21 of the 22 games he pitched in. That season, he posted a career-low 21.3 K% while maintaining his respectable BB% of 8%.
Moving into a bulk relief role to begin the 2025 season, Gallagher started just one of the 20 games he appeared in with the Canadians in 2025. Gallagher has found success in this role, as he had a 1.13 ERA and 2.51 FIP in 39.2 innings pitched, with a 29.3 K% and a 10.8 BB% with the Canadians. In late June, Gallagher was promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, where he has a 1.93 ERA and a 1.33 FIP in 9.1 innings pitched, with a 30 K% and 5 BB%.
Gallagher isn’t a flame thrower by any means, sitting in the high-80s to low-90s with his fastball. Instead, he controls his five-pitch mix well, generating strikeouts that way. He’s a little bit older for the levels he’s pitched at this season, but he has continued to post good results since moving to the bullpen this season. It’ll be interesting to see how the 25-year-old handles the rest of the season in Double-A
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.