Blue Jays: 2025 Arizona Fall League Game 4 recap

It took a while, but the Toronto Blue Jays prospects were back in action in the Arizona Fall League on Tuesday.

Two cancellations, a postponement, and an off-day meant that the Blue Jays’ prospects haven’t played for the Arizona Fall League’s Glendale Desert Dogs since last Thursday. They finally returned to action on Tuesday, falling 5-2 to the Salt River Rafters.

Only two Blue Jay prospects, Josh Kasevich and Cutter Coffey, were in the batting order. Kasevich walked to lead off the top of the second, then stole second base. He made it to third base after Coffey grounded out and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at one.

In the top of the fourth, Kasevich struck out looking after the fifth pitch of the bat was upheld as a strike. Coffey was up to lead off the top of the fifth, hitting a single and eventually coming in to score to tie the game at two, the Desert Dogs’ final run of the game.

It also happened to be the final time either Kasevich or Coffey got on base. In his next at-bat in the top of the sixth, Kasevich flew out, before Coffey grounded into a double play in the top of the seventh. Kasevich struck out swinging in the top of the eighth, as did Coffey in the top of the ninth, the penultimate batter of the game for the Desert Dogs.

Coffey’s single had the fifth-highest exit velocity in the game, as it came off the bat at 106.5 mph. His two groundouts weren’t considered hard-hit, as the exit velocity of the double play ball was 81.7 mph, and his soft liner came off the bat at 37 mph. Kasevich’s lone ball in play was a deep flyout that had an exit velocity of 90 mph.

Although Coffey and Kasevich were the only Blue Jay prospects in the batting order, that doesn’t mean that another Blue Jay prospect didn’t make an appearance. Left-handed relief prospect Kai Peterson made his second appearance of the Arizona Fall League season, striking out two and allowing a hit in what was a scoreless inning.

Peterson mainly threw sinkers, as 13 of his 17 pitches were with the heater. He generated two whiffs on four total swings, while the fastball averaged a tick over 90 mph. Of his four sliders, only one generated a swing, which also happened to be a whiff.