April 30, 2025
Right-handed pitcher Gage Stanifer is putting velocity on display with Low-A Dunedin. Stanifer, who has an upper-90s fastball that he uses to get ahead of hitters before mixing in his off-speed; is pitching well in the early stages of the 2025 season.
Pitching 16 innings to date in 2025; Stanifer has racked up 21 K’s while maintaining a 0.81 WHIP, and a 0.56 ERA.
Currently using a three-pitch mix of: a 4-seam fastball, a slider, and a splitter; Stanifer talks about his off-speed pitches.
“A big focus last year was working on my splitter,” explained Stanifer. “I feel it has come a long way. When I first got here it was just a very average changeup that I didn’t use a whole lot. I feel it has become a pretty good pitch for me where I can get outs and swing-and-miss with it. I also feel my slider has come a long way. The velo is up on it. It’s always doing a good job of getting outs and swing-and-miss.”
Stanifer threw a 2-seam fastball in high school before swapping it out for a 4-seamer in pro ball.
“I threw all 2-seams throughout high school, and it always had pretty good life to it, so we switched to the 4-seam,” stated Stanifer. “It has more consistent carry, it also plays better with my arm slot and other pitches.”
That 4-seam fastball hit 100 mph for the first time during an off-season training session.
“It was always a goal of mine,” Stanifer said of hitting 100 mph. “I didn’t know if it was an unrealistic goal or not for the off-season. Whenever I had a velocity day, I was up to 105 on pulldowns, so I knew it was realistic after that point. I had my first warmup pitch of the day at like 96.5, so I knew I was probably going to hit 100 that day. It was a cool moment!”
Be sure to follow Gage Stanifer, as he continues to put velocity on display in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system.