TORONTO – Justin Lehr joined the Toronto Blue Jays as minor-league pitching director two years ago and immediately made strike-throwing and count leverage a priority in the organization’s development of young arms. 

“With the way technology is on pitch design and the biomech stuff, it can become kind of a trap where you're getting the cart in front of the horse,” he explained during a weekend visit with the big-league club. “The foundation of pitching is always going to be being in good counts, so just being really thoughtful about attacking that before we get into really technical stuff and start laying that on. 

“Not that we're not technical from the outset, because obviously we're analyzing data,” he continued, “but it's tough to make the right adjustments if guys aren't in good counts.”

Horse back in front of the cart, the results of the change are already visible at the big-league level, with 285.1 of the 1,342 innings the Blue Jays have logged so far this season coming from pitchers drafted and/or developed in the system.  At 21 per cent, that’s a sizable jump from last year’s 14.7 per cent (212 of 1,438 innings) and 2024’s 15 per cent (213 of 1,427.1) and the restoration of a pitching pipeline has been vital in this injury-marred year.

Seven Blue Jays pitchers debuted this season, with only Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles and minor-league free agent Tanner Andrews coming from outside the organization. Chad Dallas, Ricky Tiedemann and C.J. Van Eyk have all provided valuable up-and-down innings to support the pitching staff, as did lefty Adam Macko before he was traded at the deadline. Hayden Juenger made two appearances before he got traded while Lazaro Estrada, who debuted last year, covered 13 innings over eight outings, collecting a save against the Philadelphia Phillies on a day the bullpen was depleted. 

In years past, the Blue Jays didn’t have that layer of depth to cover gaps, and it’s helped them stay afloat amid the relentless roster churn.

“I'm really proud of the guys that have come to the big-leagues and helped us compete and win baseball games,” said Lehr. “No matter what their ceiling is, the consistency of guys coming up here and doing a good job is great.”

Younger pitchers in the system made progress, too, with Lehr calling prospects Johnny King, Dasan Hill and Daniel Guerra “the future of our organization,” while noting that “they’re coming on strong.”

With only one week of triple-A games remaining in the season, here’s a look at some of the organization’s top pitching prospects:

Ricky Tiedemann – The 24-year-old made his long-anticipated debut last month after reconstructive elbow surgery in July 2024 halted his rapid ascent to the majors. Still, a spring bout of elbow soreness slowed his progress and he continues to need recovery days around his outings out of the bullpen, but the upside remains clear.

“It's really just been the health that's held him back, because as you saw, the stuff plays in the........

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