Blue Jays Prospect Weekly: Perry Strikes Out 15 at Double-A, Keys Gets His September Call
By Hannah Wells ·
Blue Jays Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Blue Jays farm system.
Nolan Perry Puts on a Show in New Hampshire
Nolan Perry (AA, RHP, Rank: 6) delivered a standout pitching performance in the Blue Jays system this week, going 8.2 innings at Double-A New Hampshire while allowing just 2 earned runs on 4 hits, walking 4, and striking out 15. The 28 swinging misses he generated on 145 pitches underline what his season-long 35.6 percent whiff rate has been signaling all year: this is a bat-misser at an advanced level. Over the last 30 days at Double-A, he is sitting at a 3.22 ERA across 22.1 innings with 26 strikeouts, 34.6 percent whiff rate, and a strikeout rate of 28.9 percent of batters faced. For a 23-year-old right-hander working through his first extended Double-A stretch post-Tommy John, the sustained swing-and-miss against upper-level bats is the most important data point in the file.
The projection still reads reliever, likely a multi-inning or high-leverage piece built around a mid-90s four-seamer with above-average ride and a slider that genuinely tunnels off it. His command grade sits at 50, and the walk totals this week (4 free passes in 8.2 innings) are a reasonable reminder that the control picture is not fully settled, particularly at Double-A where hitters are more willing to work counts and exploit ball-ball sequencing. His season walk rate of 10.0 percent of batters faced is elevated but not disqualifying; at High-A it was 8.7 percent, and the jump to Double-A has nudged it to 13.1 percent in his time there. The changeup and cutter are still more texture pitches than weapons, which means advanced lineups with a plan can try to wait him out. But when Perry is commanding the four-seam up and burying the slider below the zone, 8.2 innings and 15 strikeouts demonstrate his potential. He has a case to be the best pure stuff arm in the upper levels of this system right now.
Keys Earns His September Spot After a Monster August
Sean Keys (AAA/MLB, 3B, Rank: 17) was recalled to Toronto on September 1 after spending August systematically dismantling Triple-A pitching. Over the last 30 days at Buffalo, he slashed .384/.500/.721 with 7 home runs, 23 RBI, and a 15.0 percent walk rate across 107 plate appearances, pulling his swing rate down to 41.5 percent in the process, well below his season average of 46.6 percent. That combination of selective aggression and production is the version of Keys the profile needs to survive at the next level. Combined across Double-A and Triple-A this year, he has hit 30 home runs with 87 RBI and a .579 slugging percentage, numbers that sit considerably above what a 50 hit/55 power projection would normally produce.
The tension in the profile has not changed. His MLB cup of coffee this year (44 plate appearances, a .214 average, 15 strikeouts) is the counterargument that matters most, and the 34.1 percent strikeout rate at the big-league level reflects what happens when advanced pitchers execute on the stiffness in his hands and the holes that a loft-oriented swing creates against premium velocity and quality breaking balls. His season contact rate of 72.6 percent has held flat from 2025, which is not a development signal in either direction. The second-division regular projection at first base is still the realistic outcome, with a legitimate question about whether this is a Quad-A profile or a genuine corner bat who just needs volume at the highest level. The September opportunity will at least put more data on the board, and at 23 with a 30-homer season behind him, he has earned the right to answer that question in a big-league uniform.
Quick Hits
- JoJo Parker (A+, SS, Rank: 1) · went 4-for-24 this week with 2 doubles, an RBI, and 7 walks against 7 strikeouts. The raw hit total was low, but the 7 walks tell the more relevant story for a 20-year-old with a 60 hit tool. Over the last 30 days at Vancouver, Parker is slashing .337/.455/.482 with a 16.8 percent walk rate and a swing rate of just 40.1 percent, the most disciplined stretch of his season. The power (zero home runs at High-A so far) remains the thing to watch; he has 13 on the year at Low-A but has yet to pull one over the fence since his promotion, and generating more loft without sacrificing contact is the next developmental step for a profile that already controls the zone about as well as any teenager in the system.
- Jake Casey (A+, OF, Rank: 35) · hit 2 home runs and drove in 7 across 25 plate appearances, his 13th and 14th long balls of the year at Vancouver, adding 6 walks to go with 6 strikeouts. Casey's last 30 days are a power outlier even within his own season: 8 home runs, 32 RBI, and a .594 slugging percentage in 114 plate appearances at the High-A level. The contact rate has dipped to 67.4 percent over that span as his swing rate has climbed to 50.2 percent, so he is trading some zone coverage for impact. He is a plus runner with a plus arm, and if the power keeps playing this way, the 50 hit/50 power grades on his preseason report look increasingly conservative. Double-A will be the real test of whether the loft-oriented swing holds up against sharper breaking balls.
- Johnny King (AA, LHP, Rank: 4) · was sharp in his Double-A start, pitching 4.2 innings of shutout ball, allowing 3 hits, issuing 1 walk, and striking out 8. The 14 swinging misses on 71 pitches fit the 35.1 percent whiff rate he has carried across both High-A and Double-A this year. His Double-A ERA sits at 1.50 through 4 starts, and the walk rate (14.1 percent of batters faced at that level) has ticked up compared to his full-season line but was barely a factor this week. The hammer curveball is the put-away pitch; the command of the four-seamer is the variable that determines a three-start stretch versus a sustainable profile. Still, 8 strikeouts in 4.2 innings against Double-A bats from a 20-year-old left-hander is not a number to look past.
- Cutter Coffey (AA, 3B, Rank: 25) · had his best week in some time, going 5-for-21 with a double, a triple, a home run, and 4 RBI. The pop is welcome given the context: over his last 30 days at Double-A he is batting .191 with a 32.0 percent strikeout rate and a contact rate of 67.1 percent, and his season strikeout rate of 33.0 percent reflects a Double-A adjustment that has been harder than last year's High-A showing. The 60 arm and usable third-base defense keep the floor reasonable, and a 50 raw power grade means the extra-base potential is real when the timing mechanism clicks. One good week does not reframe the 2026 struggles, but the homer and triple in the same stretch is at least a reminder that the offensive upside has not vanished.
- Gage Stanifer (AA, RHP, Rank: 9) · delivered 3 innings out of the pen, allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits, walking 2, and striking out 7. The season ERA of 4.88 across 96 innings at Double-A has been a difficult number to work around for a pitcher with a 60-grade slider, but the 35.8 percent whiff rate over the last 30 days and 7 strikeouts in 3 innings this week confirm the bat-missing ability is still present. The walk rate over the last 30 days (20.6 percent of batters faced) is the piece that keeps suppressing the results; pairing that with an 18.8 pitches-per-inning season mark, Stanifer's command has undercut a legitimate strikeout arm all year. The slider is good enough to miss bats in the upper minors. The question is whether the command firms up enough to let it do so consistently.
- Brandon Barriera (A+, LHP, Rank: 31) · had a rough outing at High-A Vancouver, going 3.1 innings while allowing 1 earned run on 5 hits, walking 2, and striking out just 1. His strike rate on the night was 12-of-54 pitches, a number that reflects the broader command picture dragging his 2026 line. His season strike rate of 40.8 percent ranks among the worst in the system, and the 15.8 percent walk rate across all levels this year is a reminder that the 45 command grade is being felt in game results. The stuff, particularly the slider, still flashes enough to justify patience given his age and injury history, but the walk and strike-throwing issues have been consistent enough that the relief projection is looking more realistic by the week.