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Blue Jays ’24 draftee Khal Stephen fans six over five scoreless innings in pro debut

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Thomas Hall | Last updated Apr 4, 2025 8:30 PM ET

Welcome to professional baseball, Khal Stephen.

The 22-year-old hurler excelled in his pro debut Friday night for single-A Dunedin on Opening Day, shutting down the Clearwater Threshers — the Philadelphia Phillies’ single-A affiliate — over five scoreless innings, punching out six while allowing just a pair of singles and a walk.

Stephen — selected in the second round of last summer’s draft — threw 69 pitches in his debut outing with the Toronto Blue Jays organization, landing 46 of them for strikes.

The right-hander primarily used his four-seamer, throwing it nearly half the time, averaging 93.6 m.p.h. and topping out at 95.1. He also mixed in his curveball, changeup, sinker and cutter.

Welcome to pro ball, Khal Stephen!

The @BlueJays' 2024 second-rounder tallies six strikeouts over five scoreless innings for the Single-A @DunedinBlueJays. pic.twitter.com/H70LW7vjyp

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 5, 2025

Stephen, the Blue Jays’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, kicked off his pro career in exciting fashion by striking out the side on 14 pitches (nine strikes) in the first inning — all coming via fastballs, with two resulting in swinging punchouts. He retired 15 of the total 18 batters he faced before departing after the fifth.

Needless to say, it’ll be exciting to see what the 6-foot-4 righty has in store for an encore during his next outing.

Prior to becoming the 20th selection of the second round in 2024, Stephen concluded his collegiate career during his lone season at Mississippi State, pitching to a 3.28 ERA and 3.58 FIP with 107 strikeouts and only 21 walks in 16 starts. He spent the previous two seasons at Purdue, working as a reliever in his freshman year before transitioning to the rotation as a sophomore in ’23.

Fellow ’24 draftee Trey Yesavage, Toronto’s first-round pick from a season ago, will also begin the ’25 campaign in Dunedin before likely advancing to high-A Vancouver later this season. However, the D-Jays have yet to announce when he’ll make his highly-anticipated pro debut.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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