Blue Jays found a diamond in the rough with Braydon Fisher

The Toronto Blue Jays may have found an important reliever for the foreseeable future in Braydon Fisher.

On June 7, 2024, the Blue Jays designated long-time Blue Jay Cavan Biggio for assignment. Five days later, they were able to trade him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for reliever Braydon Fisher. Nearly a year after the trade, it’s looking like a good one for the Blue Jays.

Fisher didn’t have a great 2024 season after the trade, splitting the rest of the season between Double-A and Triple-A, where he had a 4.67 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched, with a 28.83 K% and a 12.9 BB% for a 3.97 FIP. He pitched much better in Double-A (2.76 ERA, 2.83 FIP in 16.1 innings pitched) than he did in Buffalo, where he finished with a 6.38 ERA.

The righty was invited to the Blue Jays’ Spring Training roster, but was reassigned to the Bisons on March 11, 2025. His stint with the Bisons went well, posting a 2.38 ERA and a 2.17 FIP in 11.1 innings pitched, with a 29.8 K% and an 8.5 BB%.

On May 7, the Blue Jays called up Fisher to the big leagues. Since then, Fisher has a 3.29 ERA and a 2.78 FIP in 13.2 innings pitched, with a 34.6 K% and a 3.8 BB%. Somehow, he’s gotten better after a call-up. 

Taking a deeper look at his stats, the 24-year-old has been one of the best relievers out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen this season. All five of the earned runs he’s given up came on his May 31st start against the Athletics, retiring just four outs in what was an eventual win for the Jays.

The rest of his 12.1 innings have come out of the bullpen, where he’s allowed seven hits, given up one walk, and struck out seven en route to a 0 ERA and 0.56 FIP over 10 games. Fisher’s 39.5 K% is the best among relievers with 10 or more innings pitched, and he is the only reliever who hasn’t given up an earned run with 10 or more innings pitched, a sample size of nine pitchers.

Even more impressive is when you compare him to other relievers in the league. Out of the bullpen and not including his one start, Fisher has a 37.2% K-BB%. Only one other reliever with 10 or more innings pitched in baseball has a higher K-BB%, Randy Rodriguez at 38.1%. If we include Fisher’s start, his K-BB% drops to 30.8% for all pitchers with 10+ innings pitched, good enough for eighth in the league.

In fairness, not all relief appearances are created equally. Jeff Hoffman has the 11th highest K-BB%, but has pitched 10.2 innings in high-leverage relief. Fisher has only pitched one inning of high-leverage relief, striking out one of the three batters he faced while allowing a single.

If he continues to pitch well, which is a possibility when looking at his Baseball Savant page, he’ll earn more trust and be tasked with higher-leverage appearances. At the same time, Fisher may be the one who is optioned when Nick Sandlin returns, solely because he’s one of three pitchers with option years remaining; the other two are Brendon Little and Mason Fluharty.

Either way, having a reliever who has posted the stats that Fisher has as a depth option bodes well for the Blue Jays’ postseason chances.