3 Buffalo Bisons pitchers who are next in line for a promotion to the big leagues
Unfortunately, with injuries to the starting rotation and bullpen arms like Brendon Little and Jeff Hoffman having brutal stretches to start the season, there is still plenty of baseball left and some more room for opportunities.
With the Buffalo Bisons’ season also approaching 24 games into their season, we have seen players like Eloy Jimenez make the roster and make their impact felt, making it hard to decide corresponding moves when the likes of Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios, George Springer, and co. are all hopefully do back in the coming games. Some names in the Bisons are slowly appearing on the Blue Jays’ radar, and it would not be surprising to see some get the chance to pitch in the majors shortly.
Yariel Rodriguez
The big concern with Rodriguez was how he ended last season, as the second half was a lot less consistent when it came to his command and allowed more walks across the second half of the season. After a tough ALDS and ALCS, where he had a 10.13 ERA across two and two-thirds innings, he was removed from the postseason roster for the World Series. This led to his DFA.
Fast forward to 2026, and the Cuban product has pitched to a 3.86 ERA in seven games in Triple-A, including starting a game as an opener. Across the minor leagues, Rodriguez has the second-highest swinging strike percentage with 21.7% of his pitches generating whiffs in the batter’s box. He’s due $7 million this season, so with names like Tommy Nance starting to struggle, we could see Rodriguez return to the majors should the team want to add a fresh arm to the bullpen as the Blue Jays head into May.
Blue Jays MiLB leaderboard – Swinging Strike % (min. 5 IP)
1. Eminen Flores – 21.9%
2. Yariel Rodriguez – 21.7%
3. Johnathan Todd – 19.6%
4. Jack Eshleman – 18.8%
5. Daniel Guerra – 18.7%
6. Nolan Perry – 18.3%
7. Brendan Celucci – 17.5%
8. Kelena Sauer – 17.4%
Chase Lee
A name that many Blue Jays fans forget, as this transaction fell way under the radar amid the numerous moves the Jays made this season.
So far with the Bisons, Lee has pitched to a 1.46 ERA across eight games in Buffalo and recorded 10 strikeouts over that span as of writing. In his last outing against the Columbus Clippers, he struck out the side over an inning of work, leading to a 5-3 Bisons win.
With Tyler Rogers being the primary submarine side-arm pitcher in the bullpen, the team may look to try to add another side-arm pitcher who also has two minor league options left. The big difference between Rogers and Lee is that Lee generates strikeouts (36 in 2025), while Rogers focuses more on soft ground ball contact. Plus, his nickname is ‘The Viper’. How can you not love that?
Chase Lee. Frisbee sweeper. Punches Gleyber’s ticket.
Michael Plassmeyer
While Joe Matinply and Mason Fluharty are the Blue Jays’ primary left-handed relievers as of now, the team is always looking to add pitching depth. In the context of left-handers, Brandon Little is likely the next name on the depth chart, especially since he’s found his groove since being optioned to Triple-A on April 5th.
Plassmeyer himself is not overly flashy; his fastball only reaches 88 MPH, but he also factors in a slow-average slider, as well as a changeup, sinker, and cutter. Despite the small sample size with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022 and 2023, his changeup saw a great whiff rate of about 35% across both seasons, proving he is very reliant on batters chasing his stuff once he hits his spots in the strike zone. While Little leap frogs him slightly with the 2025 he had, Plassmeyer is another low-leverage option should the team want to stay in-house for a left-hander with good swing and miss stuff.