The Blue Jays promoted King from High-A Vancouver to Double-A New Hampshire on Monday.
A third-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, King established himself as one of the Blue Jays' top lower-level arms last season and has continued to dazzle in 2026. The 20-year-old lefty earned the bump up to New Hampshire after posting a 30.6 percent strikeout rate and 3.21 ERA over 84 innings at High-A.
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Blue Jays' Johnny King: Almost unhittable at High-A
Rotowire
King has posted a 1.04 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 25:13 K:BB through 17.1 innings over six starts for High-A Vancouver.
The youngest player in the Northwest League to begin the season, King won't turn 20 until late July, but he's dominating hitters 4-5 years older than him. While the southpaw's control remains a concern, King's given up just seven hits and zero homers so far at High-A while leaning on his mid-90s fastball and nasty curveball. The Blue Jays are building him up slowly given his age -- he has yet to throw more than four innings in any outing this year -- and he'll need to find a reliable third pitch at some point if he wants to avoid a future in the bullpen, but King remains one of the most promising arms in the system.
