Blue Jays prospect Javen Coleman is dominanting in Dunedin

Javen Coleman is a left-handed reliever hailing from Sherman, Texas. He attended LSU and was a swingman for them for four seasons, missing time in 2022 and 2023 due to Tommy John. Originally drafted in the 16th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023, he did not sign and instead returned to LSU for another season after winning the College World Series alongside Dylan Crews, Tommy White, Thatcher Hurd, and Paul Skenes. It was an unceremonious 2024 for Coleman; he appeared in 12 games (7 starts) and produced a 5.19 ERA/5.70 FIP across 26 innings while walking batters at an atrocious 17.8% clip. For his college career, he authored a 5.72 ERA across 78 2/3 innings with 98 punchouts.

The Blue Jays saw some things they liked under the hood because they signed Coleman as a UDFA days after the 2024 draft concluded, and through his first 15 2/3 professional innings in 2025, the results are eye-popping.

Coleman is currently running a 2.87 ERA/1.16 FIP/1.89 xFIP while striking out 45.9% of the hitters he’s faced and walking a minuscule 8.2% to the tune of a 2.87 BB/9. You combine the two, and that’s a K-BB ratio of 37.7% – truly video game numbers.

His bread and butter pitch is his sinker that averages 93.8 MPH with 18.3″ of IVB, 11.3″ of horizontal break, while also producing -4.7 VAA. Hitters have whiffed on this offering at an elite clip (39.5%). His repertoire also features a 4-seam fastball, slider, and changeup. The latter of which he’s used the fewest of all his pitches, but has produced elite results against right-handed hitters.

The Texas product is 23 years old, meaning he’s on the older side for the level he’s pitching at. A promotion to Vancouver or New Hampshire should be on the horizon for him, and we’ll get a better idea then if the early success he’s experienced is fact or fiction once he faces more established bats.