King Earns His Crown in Pro Debut

DUNEDIN, FL - It was only fitting that Johnny King made a royal entrance to the Blue Jays farm system in his 2025 professional debut season.

As an 18-year-old, Toronto’s No. 5 prospect skyrocketed to Class-A Dunedin and ended his year with a 2.48 ERA across two levels, striking out 105 in 61.2 innings.

“Incredibly impressive,” Blue Jays Farm Director Joe Sclafani said of King’s 2025 season. “You can't say enough good things about the kid… the ultimate competitor… he wants the ball. The stuff is elite, it’s electric, and it’s going to be a matter of just honing it in and being consistent in the zone.”

King was only 17 when the Blue Jays grabbed him in the 3rd round last year and handed him an above-slot $1.2 million bonus to forgo a commitment to the University of Miami. Toronto shut him down after the draft and kept him in Extended Spring Training to start 2025. That’s the usual track for a high school arm, especially one who’d just turned 18.

But when Sclafani told him he wasn’t breaking camp with an affiliate, “he wasn't thrilled with me,” Sclafani recalls.

Which checks out. King isn’t wired for idle time. He’s wired to compete.

And he showed it immediately. The six-foot-three southpaw diced up the Florida Complex League to open the summer, firing 11.2 scoreless innings with 19 strikeouts to begin his professional career.

He also made it known he wanted a promotion to Dunedin. So he started asking the coaching staff exactly what it would take and how quickly he could get there. “We need you to get in the zone more,” Sclafani and his staff told King. “You got the stuff and you can dominate people at this level, but you're going to face more advanced hitters over there.”

“The next three or four outings after that, his strike percentage got better and we felt like ‘he’s doing it, he’s working on it, he’s ready,’” Sclafani said.

Soon enough, he was. King earned his bump to Dunedin on June 29. The Michigan-born, Naples-raised lefty showed up with a built-in cheering section. His family made the three-hour drive, and several old travel-ball teammates did too.

A pair of strikeouts in a scoreless 1st inning for Johnny King! pic.twitter.com/3Xh844zfKp

— Dunedin Blue Jays (@DunedinBlueJays) June 29, 2025

He cruised through three no-hit innings in his debut, but hit the exact wall the organization had prepped him for. His command slipped. He walked four, doubling his career high, and finished his Dunedin season with a 7.17 walk per nine rate across 11 games.

Blue Jays Pitching Coach Cory Riordan said the adjustment wasn’t mechanical, but mental. “It was more or less a jump from level to level, and some degree of self doubt, whether guys want to admit it or not, whether their stuff is good enough to play in the strike zone.”

So the work became more classroom than bullpen. The staff showed him video and data proving his pitches play in the zone and worked to build “the base level confidence that no matter where you're pitching, if you throw it over the plate you’ll still get outs,” according to Riordan.

“He’s a phenomenal thrower of the baseball. That’s why he got drafted where he did and has the prospect standing that he does.” Riordan said. Adding, the message to King was “go be an athlete, a really good thrower, and throw the ball over the 17-inch white plate.”

Another major progression was King’s changeup. He barely needed it in high school because his fastball, slider, and curveball steamrolled prep hitters. In pro ball, he needed something that moved the other way, and he’s poured work into making it a plus offering.

TAKE A BOW, MY KING👑@BlueJays No. 5 prospect Johnny King:

4️⃣.2️⃣ IP | 0️⃣ R | 1️⃣ H | 3️⃣ BB | 7️⃣ K pic.twitter.com/M71mw51w4e

— Dunedin Blue Jays (@DunedinBlueJays) September 6, 2025

King has also had strong voices around him.

During Spring Training, he often golfed with Trey Yesavage, Khal Stephen, and Austin Cates, quite the foursome of hurlers. Yesavage climbed from Dunedin to the big leagues and became an October hero. Stephen shot up prospect lists before moving to Cleveland in the trade for former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. Cates put up video-game numbers en route to High-A.

“He was surrounded by a lot of good people and a lot of good coaching that showed him the way,” Blue Jays Pitching Coordinator Ricky Meinhold said. “And to his credit, he listened a lot, and paid attention to the finer details.”

And in the offseason, King trains with Chris Sale, the longtime Naples ace and former Cy Young winner, who passes along both fresh cleats and hard-earned wisdom.