Gage Stanifer’s rise through the Blue Jays’ system has gone from slow burn to real momentum.
Toronto has promoted the right-hander from Double-A New Hampshire to Triple-A Buffalo, putting the club’s No. 10 prospect and fifth-ranked pitcher one step away from the majors. A big league debut could come as soon as next year.
Stanifer’s path hasn’t been smooth. The Blue Jays picked him in the 19th round in 2022, and early on he looked more like a long-term development piece than a fast mover. In his first two minor league seasons, he logged a combined 6.33 ERA between the FCL Blue Jays and Class-A Dunedin, giving up 72 earned runs while going 4-9.
Then 2025 changed everything.
Stanifer broke out with a 4-0 record and a 0.69 ERA in seven games at Class-A Dunedin, earned a bump to Advanced-A Vancouver, and kept rolling there with a 3.20 ERA in 18 appearances. That was enough to send him to Double-A New Hampshire, where he finished the year with a 2.86 ERA and 2.70 FIP across 110 innings. In 27 games, including 16 starts, he piled up 161 strikeouts and allowed just four home runs.
He opened 2026 back in Double-A and spent the season with the Fisher Cats, where he went 6-0 with a 4.97 ERA in 30 games, 21 of them starts. The strikeout stuff has remained his calling card.
Stanifer has produced an 11.8 K/9 in the minors, though walks have been the issue, with a 5.7 BB/9. That number climbed to 6.3 BB/9 in Double-A New Hampshire.
Even with that concern, the move to Buffalo is another sign that the Blue Jays are seeing real progress. Toronto’s pitching depth has been battered by injuries at the major league level, and that has made every arm in the system matter a little more right now. Among the organization’s other pitching prospects, Nolan Perry and Johnny King are still at Double-A New Hampshire.
MLB.com lists Stanifer’s projected major league ETA as 2027, though he is unlikely to reach Toronto this season. Still, with possible openings coming next year through free agency, retirement, or injuries, he could head into spring training with a genuine shot to push for a spot.
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