Buffalo 1 Memphis 4 - game 1
Buffalo 1 Memphis 3 - game 2
Binghamton 3 New Hampshire 1
Vancouver 4 Tri-City 5
Clearwater 8 Dunedin 4
Three Stars
Third Star - Sam Shaw
Second Star - Jonatan Clase
First Star - Khal Steven
NOTES
At the end of last season I discussed how the information environment around minor league baseball had changed since we started writing these. As we now have more real time data and video the MLU is often old news by the time it gets published. So for 2025 I am not necessarily going to write "how the game was won or lost". Rather I will make some comments of things I noted in that nights games. I might mention all teams or I might just mention one. We will see how it goes.
Several of the Jays top 30 prospects were assigned to Buffalo to start the season. When you combine them with the usual mix of veterans, hopes were high for a good season. It hasn't worked out that way. Buffalo lost two games on Friday and are now 1-5.
The hottest hitter in the lineup has been Jonatan Clase. He was 3-4 in game one and had a pinch hit single in game two. He is hitting .474 with a 1.091 OPS.
Orelvis Martinez was sick to start the season and he hasn't found his form yet. He had one hit and one walk between the two games but struck out four times.
New Hampshire had to wait until the sixth inning for their first hit, they finished with three hits and struck out 12 times.
CJ Van Eyk is back to starting. He was charged with two runs in 4.2 innings, but it was more of the same, he walked two hitters and they scored the two runs when the next hitter doubled. The lack of command is why it seems that Van Eyk is destined to be a reliever. It could be that the high number of pitching injuries has forced Van Eyk into a starting role.
Ryan Jennings went two innings. A hit batter was the only base runner. He struck out four.
Vancouver's bullpen could'nt hold a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning. Arjun Nimmala was 0-3 with a walk.
Khal Stephen made his pro debut (ignoring the prospects game in spring). He threw five shutout innings, two hits, one walk and six K's. That's about as good as you could expect. He threw 69 pitches, 46 strikes and 23 balls. Stephen had 14 whiffs (swings and misses). Nine of those were with his four seam fastball. Per statcast he used six pitches. A 4 seam fastball, sinker, cutter, a curveball, changeup and a slider. His fastball averaged 93.6 mph. His debut was about as good as you would hope for.
Sam Shaw, from Victoria, didn't have a good year in 2024 but remained on some top 30 lists. He homered in his first game of 2025, a 105 MPH shot, and finished 2-3. Shaw looks to reestablish himself as a prospect.
The Jays took Tucker Toman off the field last summer to rework his swing. When he returned close to the end of the season the change didn't work and his performance was no better. Now he has had an off season to work on it more and he is facing his presumably last chance to stay in the system. He was 1-4 on Friday.
