Gage Stanifer ranks as Blue Jays Nation’s fourth-best prospect in 2025 mid-season update

There is no bigger debut from a Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching prospect in 2025 than Gage Stanifer.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual mid-season prospect list, where we’ll take a look at the 50 best prospects in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. I’ll look at the player’s stats, what other publications have to say, as well as my own observations of the players.

Stanifer was drafted with the Blue Jays’ penultimate pick in 2022 but has reached another level this season to rank as our fourth-best prospect. If you missed who ranked fifth, you can read about Johnny King here.

Getting to know Gage Stanifer…

Position: Starting pitcher

Throws: Right

Born: November 18th, 2003

Acquired: 19th round, 2022 MLB Draft

Previous ranking: Unranked

The Blue Jays selected Stanifer in the 19th round of the 2022 draft out of Westfield High School, signing him to a bonus worth $125,000. As is the case with all prep players the Jays draft, Stanifer didn’t make his professional debut until the following season, authoring a 6.33 ERA and 4.42 FIP in 42.2 innings pitched, making seven starts in 11 Florida Complex League appearances.

In 2024, Stanifer spent the entirety of the season with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, where he had a similar ERA (6.34) and a worse FIP. With the D-Jays, he walked 18.1% of batters while striking out 23.2% of batters. There was a positive month-long period early in the season, where Stanifer had a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings pitched from May 12th until June 9th. The rest of his season didn’t go as well.

Stanifer looks like a whole new pitcher in 2025. Beginning the season in Single-A, the 21-year-old had a 0.69 ERA and 2.23 FIP in 26 innings pitched, piggybacking with Trey Yesavage. In High-A, Stanifer had a 3.20 ERA and 2.31 FIP in 76 innings pitched, with a 36.5 K% and 11.7 BB%. He even made his Double-A debut recently, allowing four earned runs in four innings of work.

In MLB Pipeline’s mid-season update, Stanifer ranks as their sixth-best prospect. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and touches in the upper 90s. The 21-year-old also features a gyro slider that sits in the mid-80s, as well as a splitter, which is often incorrectly categorized as a changeup. Stanifer’s fastball and slider are graded at 60, while the splitter and control are graded 45.

He’ll begin the 2026 season in Double-A, and with a good season, he could potentially earn a shot in the big leagues if he exceeds expectations.