C’s Chat – 2025 Vancouver Canadians RHP #27 Khal Stephen – C's Plus Baseball

Taking to the mound for this episode of C’s Chat is 2025 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Khal Stephen.

Born in Danville, Illinois, Stephen was an athletic force in baseball, football and basketball at Seeger High School in West Lebanon, Indiana where he earned 11 varsity letters. His football exploits saw him score five touchdowns and kick all five extra points to account for all of Seeger’s scoring in a victory during his 2020 junior season. He transitioned to the defensive side of the ball as a safety in his senior season of 2021 and was named the Lafayette Journal & Courier’s Area Defensive Player of the Year after racking up five interceptions and making 95 tackles.

In baseball, Stephen was a standout two-way player as well. In his senior year, he won all seven of his decisions, posted a 1.35 earned run average and nearly averaged two strikeouts an inning by fanning 100 batters while walking only seven in 51⅔ innings. In the batter’s box, Stephen hit .541 with 14 doubles, six triples, six home runs and 40 runs batted in. Stephen’s high school career totals would have been even more impressive had COVID not cancelled his junior season. In his 2019 sophomore campaign, Stephen was 6-3 with a 1.24 ERA and a 99-18 K/BB total in 56⅓ innings.

Stephen would remain in Indiana by attending Purdue University in West Lafayette, about 45 minutes northeast of home. His freshman season in 2022 did not go as smoothly as he would have liked, but he led the Boilermakers in relief appearances with 23, earning two saves and winning three games while striking out 38 batters in 33⅔ innings.

Things went much better for Stephen in summer college ball as he returned to his birthplace to pitch for the Danville Dans of the Prospect League. He won the Roland Hemond Pro Prospect of the Year award after going 4-0 with a 2.02 ERA while punching out 36 batters against four walks in 26⅔ innings.

In 2023, Stephen joined Purdue’s starting rotation and became the Friday night starter, winning seven of 11 decisions and having a 66-30 strikeout/walk total in 76 innings. Up next was a trip to the Cape Cod League and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, where he put together another solid summer performance. In 26⅓ innings, Stephen struck out 27 batters and walked 11 to go with a 2-2 record and a 2.73 ERA to earn a spot on the 2023 Third Team All-Big Ten squad.

The 2024 season led to a change of college address as Stephen entered the transfer portal to attend Mississippi State where he would be teammates with switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, who would become Seattle’s first-round pick a few months later. Stephen lived up to the team’s Bulldog moniker by going 8-3 with a 3.28 ERA, 107 Ks against 21 BBs and a 1.01 WHIP (walks-hits/innings pitched) in 96 innings. That led to plenty of hardware for Stephen, which included First Team All-SEC and Third Team D1 Baseball, ABCA (American Baseball Collegiate Association) and NCBWA (National College Baseball Writers Association) All-American honours and was also named to the Charlottesville All-Regional Team.

Heading into the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft, Baseball America rated Stephen as the 105th-best prospect.

“A 6-foot-4, 215-pound righthander, Stephen has an excellent pitcher’s frame and throws from a higher three-quarters slot. He has a deep mix of four distinct pitches, though he relied on his fastball/slider combination for about 85% of his usage this spring. The fastball sits in the 91-94 mph range and gets up to 96 with above-average ride and carry at the top of the zone. He did a nice job establishing the pitch for strikes and helping to set up his low-to-mid-80s slider that flashes gyro action at times and more sweeping life at others. Stephen throws a mid-80s changeup as his primary secondary against lefthanders, and will also mix in an occasional upper-70s curveball. Stephen’s solid blend of quality stuff, size and starter performance should get him selected early on day two if he isn’t taken on day one.”

The Toronto Blue Jays had an even higher opinion of Stephen by selecting him with their second-round pick, 59th overall, on the recommendation of regional crosschecker Brandon Bishoff. After receiving a $1,116,750 signing bonus, Stephen reported to the Jays draft camp in Dunedin but did not make his pro debut until 2025.

Stephen started his pro career with Low-A Dunedin and it did not take him long to move up the organizational later. After winning all three of his decisions with one save, a 2.08 ERA and a 47-8 K/BB mark in 391/3 innings, Stephen and fellow righthanders Trey Yesavage and Gage Stanifer were promoted to Vancouver on May 20.

After getting in a couple of starts at the end of May which included a win versus Eugene at Nat Bailey Stadium on the 28th, Stephen turned up his game a notch in June. It started with an 11-strikeout effort at Tri-City, allowing just two runs with no walks over six innings in an eventual victory on June 3. In back-to-back starts, Stephen pitched a combined 11 innings with just one run allowed versus Spokane and won both of his decisions on June 10 (6IP 0R 9K) and June 15 (5IP 1R 2K). He followed that up with six more shutout innings at Eugene to win his third straight start on June 22, scattering three hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Stephen ended the month with 5⅓ stanzas of one-run ball and eight strikeouts against Tri-City on June 29. That culminated in Stephen winning the Northwest League Pitcher of the Month award after an ERA of 0.95 and 33 strikeouts against six walks in 28⅓ innings.

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C’s Plus Baseball spoke to the 22-year-old Stephen during the C’s homestand against Spokane in June. This interview has been edited for clarity.

C’s Plus Baseball – Let’s take it back to how your baseball career got started. How did it all start for you? What got you involved in the sport?

Khal Stephen – Yeah, I mean, I’m the youngest. I’ve got two older brothers (Khade and Khayne), so kind of just growing up with those guys and my family, and we’ve all been very sporty growing up. I played three different sports—football, basketball, baseball—so just being around it all the time and going to my brothers’ games, that’s how I got started.

CPB – I have to ask about your football background. I read that you were a two-way player, you were a safety, and there’s one game where you did all the scoring, touchdowns and extra points. That really speaks to your athleticism, but what was that like, being so good at three sports like that?

KS – I come from a small town, a small area, not a lot of players, so your athletes are on the field at any time you can have them out there. Just being able to be in the right place at the right time is kind of how it worked out.

CPB – What is it that you liked about football? Was it something you might have wanted to continue, or did you figure baseball is definitely the way to go?

KS – Yeah, for sure. I mean, it’s a lot of fun to be out there with your guys. Obviously, baseball is a team sport, but football is kind of something special. You’re down there in the trenches with your guys, it’s just, you’re really, really together, and I think I love that. Competing is what I live for, and being able to do that with my friends is great, but definitely for the pro route, baseball was my ticket.

CPB – So you go to Purdue. How did you wind up there?

KS – The recruiting process starts early in baseball, but ultimately, it was being close to home. Purdue’s kind of my backyard. It’s like a 40-minute drive, and I grew up a Purdue fan. We went to the basketball games, football games and baseball games. It was just something that was special to me, and to be able to be there and represent my state. For my family to be close and come to my games, it was definitely special for me to be there.

CPB – During high school, you really got to experience what it was like to pitch in front of scouts for the first time. Was it ever a consideration maybe to look at turning pro then, or was Purdue just definitely in your sights?

KS – Yeah, it was kind of like, for me, it was really cool, being from a small town, smaller school, that’s a rare sighting, to have people like that to come out to games, and they actually came to a couple of football games. I really enjoyed my time at Purdue, but it kind of just came down to like the scouts wanted me to be better, they needed to see me, you know, and kind of develop a little in college, so that was the route I went.

CPB – Purdue, I know it was a bit of a tough transition your freshman year, but things really turned around for you the next year. What was the key to your success?

KS – I think like the biggest thing to me is like, I had a lot to learn as a freshman, like playing baseball and baseball only, and just the transition of now you’re playing 50-some-odd games, and you’re throwing through the fall, you’re throwing through the winter. There’s just a lot to learn, and you know, you’ve got to balance your body, you’ve got to be on good schedules, like that was the biggest thing. So just figuring out how to be mature and be a pro about my weeks and stuff like that.

CPB – Between 2022 and 2023 at Purdue, you’re in the Prospects League pitching for Danville and you had an excellent season there. What turned it around for you?

KS – I think the biggest thing was I grew up and my whole life was a starter. My first year at Purdue, I was kind of on the brink. I went into a closer role, and so it was just a little different, there’s a lot to learn, there’s different pressures in those situations. Going into the summer, I went back to a starter role, and just kind of got into a groove, and things were working from there.

CPB – And 2023 was pretty good. What was that like pitching the Big Ten in your two years with Purdue?

KS – It was great, I enjoyed it, the atmosphere was solid. I wouldn’t change it forever, but definitely it was nice to get back in the starter role. Just get back to a routine and know what day you’re going to throw, and kind of take some stress off the body, that kind of thing.

CPB – Then you go to the Cape Cod League, and the Jays seem to have a preference for guys who succeed in the Cape. What was the difference between pitching in Danville and pitching at the Cape?

KS – Yeah, I think the Cape’s beautiful, it’s like a piece of history in baseball, and it was an honour to be there. I think summer ball is just awesome. I don’t know that everyone would say that, but I think the majority would. You’re just hanging out with the guys, going to games, playing when your name gets called. But I think something that was a little different about the Cape is when you showed up, there was a buzz about, like, ‘Oh, this team’s got this guy, and this guy,’ like, there’s some more names and it’s just like a slightly different atmosphere, knowing, ‘Hey, this is this guy,’ or something like that. Just being up for the challenge and being ready to go for those kind of situations.

CPB – For college players, you have the ability to go through the portal, you don’t have to sit out a year like you used to in the past, you can just go right away. What led to your transfer to Mississippi State?

KS – The true story is I was going back to Purdue, and I wasn’t intrigued by anything else. I went out to the summer (league), had a good summer, and my pitching coach (Chris Marx) took a different job, and it kind of opened things up. It was kind of all of a rush, because the portal’s got due dates or deadlines, and I had two days to make a decision. I kind of took a little leap of faith, hopped in there and didn’t know what to expect. I was after a place where I had a legit chance to pitch on the weekend, a good environment for the year coming up, and somewhere that I was going to really develop. I felt like there was a legit relationship between me and the staff, so that was kind of how I fell with Mississippi State.

CPB – When you look back at your time there, what did you take away from there?

KS – I think, like, just being able to be prepared, looking at some numbers and stuff like that, and then just having a really good plan with the pitching coach, and with our catcher, and being on the same page about things. They’re confident in you, it just builds the confidence in yourself, so I think just trying to will that all together, and then just go up there and compete, and do what you do.

CPB – The SEC is one of the power conferences. Was it a big transition from the Big Ten?

KS – I think it’s a little different. Definitely, in every lineup, there’s probably two to three guys that you make a mistake, and you’re going to know about it. I think just being able to hone in, the entire time you’re locked in, but definitely a couple batters will come up, and you really know you’ve got to make a pitch, so I think just being able to adjust, and understand that. But at the same time, you’re still out there with eight other guys, they’re going to play great defence, and just trust your team. It’s still baseball at the end of the day, you got to trust your stuff.

CPB – The draft process, what was the build-up for you before you found out that the Blue Jays were the ones to take you?

KS – I mean, the whole thing is, you finish ball, and then it’s like a month and some odd days, so you’re kind of a like floating around, ‘Am I supposed to be pitching? I’m supposed to be throwing.’ So there’s a little bit of ambiguity there, but for me, when it came down to it, I was with my family. We had a little get-together for day one, we were kind of not sure where I was going to land, that kind of thing. The story is actually kind of funny, because we’re all sitting around the TV, the picks are going off, the day’s kind of coming to an end, it’s like, ‘Man!’ So I’m sitting there, my phone rings, and it’s my agent, and I go to take a call, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, it’s going to happen.’ And as he calls me, I won’t say who it was, but another team had called me, all right, and I was like, ‘I don’t need to talk to my agent, I need to talk to this guy, right?’ So I go to answer it, and I had stepped out of the room to take the phone call, and (it was a) short conversation. I come back in, and anyways, I’m like, ‘He just wanted to talk, I’m not going with them.’ Then my family’s like, ‘Man, what the heck?’ And then, boom, my face is on the TV, and the room just erupted. I didn’t even know who took me, it was like, ‘Here I am.’ My agent was trying to call me to say, ‘Hey, we made the deal.’ And I hung up on him, and here’s my face on the TV, oh my God. My Mom, my Dad, my family, my girlfriend, I get through the circle of hugs, and like, ‘So where are we going?’ It was a really cool process, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

CPB – Did you have any inkling that the Blue Jays were interested in you beforehand?

KS – Yeah, I mean, the process is a lot of conversations, Zoom calls, phone meetings, stuff like that, but I had a really good conversation with them during the draft combine, and they were on my radar. But it wasn’t like I was hoping and praying when their pick came. I was just, you know, trying to be excited and hopeful wherever I landed, but definitely, it was special to be picked here.

CPB – Basically, it was a red shirt freshman year, I guess, when you look at your first pro season, but you did go to draft camp. What was that process like getting acquainted to pro ball, and then going to the Player Development Complex?

KS – Yeah, I think the biggest thing is like, you’re a kid showing up to this beautiful program, there’s so much stuff there. A lot of it is just like, being comfortable, it’s ours to use. It’s so nice, stuff’s so nice that you’re like, ‘Hey, can I do this? Hey, can I use that?’ They’re trying to get comfortable with us, we’re trying to get comfortable with them. Probably the biggest thing is just learning new faces, and who’s your coaches, who’s your teammates, that kind of stuff, and then just meeting with your class. They did a good job with getting our class together, we did some camaraderie stuff, so it’s important to know who you came up with, and that kind of thing. That was like the biggest takeaways for that month and a half.

CPB – Speaking of camaraderie, who did you hit it off with right away, as far as your draft class, or anybody in the organization?

KS – The easiest thing for me, I got drafted with my (Mississippi State) teammate, Colby Holcombe, so like, we were automatically boys when we showed up. But funny enough, I got to know some of the younger guys pretty well, some of the high school draft guys, Carson Messina, Troy Guthrie, and Johnny King. We made a good group, we went golfing a handful of times, so just being able to mingle with all those guys, and then there’s a couple guys (outfielder Nick Mitchell and catcher/first baseman Brock Tibbitts) from IU (Indiana University) that got taken. I played with them, you know, a couple times growing up. It was a little odd how many faces I knew from our class, but yeah, it was nice.

CPB – So heading into 2025, what was the process or the plan for you coming in and getting ready for this season? What did the Blue Jays tell you to do, and how did you go about the offseason?

KS – My biggest thing was just, I mean, health is so important, and going from a 60-game season to a 145-game season, what we have here. Just understanding the longevity of it, and just being able to be ready every single time has been my biggest thing. I’ve been healthy, I’ve been very blessed to be healthy, but that’s been my biggest thing. As far as pitching goes, just staying ahead of batters, like really trying to compete for that first pitch, and pitching off of it, so just putting myself in good situations to go deep in games.

CPB – They say strike one is the best pitch, because that really kind of sets the tone, doesn’t it?

KS – Yeah, absolutely, and just being able to get in a situation where you can put guys away, and you don’t have to risk three ball counts, and potential walks, so just being able to attack early to the right guys, and pitch around mistakes when you make them.

CPB – I want to ask you about your pitch mix. I’ve heard four or five pitches, but can you run down your pitch mix?

KS – Right now, it’s fastball, slider, curve, cutter and splitter.

CPB – Fastball, four-seam or two?

KS – Four seam, yep.

CPB – What would you say is your out pitch?

KS – I would say the fastball primarily, like just competing with the heater. The splitter’s come a long way. This is my first season throwing it. I worked on it in draft camp, came back with it in spring training, and it’s been really good. It’s kind of turned into a weapon for me, so like being able to protect the heater is probably what’s given me success right now, and not having to rely on it so hard.

CPB – Was there anyone who taught you the splitter? Kevin Gausman is definitely known for it.

KS – Yeah, I mean, there’s a lot of guys around the program that help. Austin Cates from my draft class, we were catch-play partners in the draft camp, and I was throwing two different variations of a changeup, trying to get something to work, and like his splitter’s nasty, and we were catch-play partners. I was like, ‘Hey, I’ll try this out.’ It’s been really successful, so I would honestly say him.

CPB – The slider, is it a gyro slider or a sweeping slider, or how do you classify it?

KS – I would say the cutter is more like a gyro slider, like a power slider, and then my slider’s more just like a true, like kind of sweepy slider, yeah.

CPB – Your Dunedin debut. You really put up some solid numbers, including a shutout appearance in your first start. What was working for you in Dunedin?

KS – Definitely, I was more heater heavy to start out the season, and I think just competing at the top of the zone, it was missing barrels, and like, when it’s working, why go away? Definitely my time in Dunedin was more fastball-heavy. It wasn’t like as pitchy as, as it has been more recently. I think just being able to compete with those other pitches, and being able to throw like three, and four, and five different pitches with confidence has been able to just open up my arsenal and build confidence for myself, but also give the hitters like more fits, and more pitches they have to have in the back of their mind.

CPB – You also had to pitch with the ABS system in Dunedin, and now it’s just actual umpires here in the Northwest League. Has that been a big adjustment for you?

KS – I don’t know about a huge adjustment, but it’s definitely noticeable, and it’s no disrespect to the staff. I mean, it’s a hard job, but there’s definitely a handful when you’re out there, you’re like, you kind of missed those days but that’s baseball, and that’s how it’s always been. I think the only adjustment is just like, you got to learn your guy, you got to understand the zones, just like it’s always been, so that’s my take on that.

CPB – Your first start here at Nat Bailey Stadium, I know it didn’t get off to the best start, your first pitch was taken for a double, then you fell behind 2-0 to the next hitter. (Catcher) Aaron Parker came out to visit you on the mound, but you really settled down after that, you’re able to grind your way through five innings, and eventually the team won. Were you really amped up pitching here in front of the fans? What do you remember about that start?

KS – Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, it’s just about competing, and sometimes they get you, and it’s just a matter of working around it. I think that’s where my game has been pretty solid, like maybe I make a mistake, maybe they make a great swing, and it’s just your job to limit the damage. This stadium though, I will say it’s great to play here. The Bark in the Park was fantastic, it was unreal to play in a stadium where they’re engaged in the game, and there’s a buzz in the stadium at all times. It’s definitely important to the team and it’s special to us for sure.

CPB – Did you hear the barks in the crowd, or were you just too zoned in?

KS – Yeah, yeah, it’s funny. You’re always locked in as a pitcher, but maybe here and there you hear something funny, like yesterday I can remember there was a 2-0 count, and I’m coming set, and it’s like, I hear all this yapping, and I’m like, ‘What is going on? You gotta dial in on that glove?’ But yeah, it was kind of funny.

CPB – Getting to your routine. You start a series opener, and then a series closer, and then last week, you pitched on seven days rest. Was that a really big disruption to your routine?

KS – I don’t think so. I think the biggest thing is just be ready, and whatever that means for you that day, that week, you just gotta find a way to get it done. I think a routine is great as long as you don’t get stuck in it, like you gotta be able to adjust, and that kind of thing and that’s the best kind of routine. It’s just understanding what your body needs, and to be ready to get out there, but I think if you were to ask me, seven days is pretty nice. You get a little more time to freshen up the body. But at the end of the day, it’s just about doing what you can with your team to be ready to be out there.

CPB – Before you got to Vancouver, how did you find out about the promotion because you, Trey Yesavage and Gage Stanifer all got the call at the same time, how did that go down? I know sometimes managers like to have fun before, before giving the news.

KS – Yeah, so we had called a team meeting. We go in the lunch room, and we go to have a conversation, and before the season started, we met together, we went over some goals, and so Coach Gil, or Coach Kim, he started the meeting off with like, ‘Hey, these are our three goals, how do you guys assess how we’ve been doing so far?’ So he started off like it was a real meeting, and then he kind of turned it into, well, somebody embodies these three things, and then he goes on to talk about Trey, and ‘Congratulations, Trey! You’ve been promoted!’ And then he talks a little bit more about the other things, and then he goes on to talk about me, and goes on to talk about Gage, so it was kind of ‘What are we doing in here?’ We’ve never had one of these meetings, and then we’re talking about the season, and he talked about our promotions, so it was pretty cool.

CPB – The one thing I read about you in your bio, I believe, was on the Purdue website, saying your favourite TV show is Trailer Park Boys, which of course is shot in Canada? How did you get find out about that show?

KS – I don’t know, I was probably a sophomore in high school, and after a basketball game, or football game with the guys. It’s 10:30, we’re hanging out at my parents’ place, and we throw something stupid on the TV, and watch it till we fall asleep. It’s just a goofy show, and if you watch it, you understand, but it’s just funny.

CPB – Ricky, Bubbles, Julian, do you have a favourite?

KS – Probably Ricky, just because he’s a psycho, but yeah, it’s all good fun.

CPB – Final question I want to ask. Vancouver has lots of different uniforms, red, black, white, gray, blue, do you have a favourite?

KS – Honestly, I can’t wait to play in the Lumberjack jersey. That’s what I’m looking forward to. The photos are hilarious, and I think that’s the one I’m fired up for.

CPB – I believe the routine is the starting pitcher gets to choose which uniform, so obviously a big fan of the white as well?

KS – Yeah, I think the white on white at home is just classic look and I like that.

Khal Stephen File

Born – December 21, 2002 in Danville, Illinois
Height/Weight – 6-foot-4, 215 pounds
Bats/Throws – Right/Right
Uniform Numbers – Wore number 14 for Purdue in 2022-2024. Wore number 17 for the Danville Dans of the Prospect League in 2022 and number 21 for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League in 2023. Wore number 14 for the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2025.
Mound Music – “Till I Collapse” by Eminem.
Twitter – @KhalStephen
Instagram – @khal.stephen
Professional Debut – April 4, 2025, for Dunedin at Clearwater Threshers. Pitched five shutout innings, striking out the side in the first inning and racking up six Ks.
First Professional Strikeout – April 4, 2025, Dante Nori of Clearwater. Toronto, Ontario native is the son of former Toronto Raptors assistant coach Micah Nori.
First Professional Win – April 16, 2025, for Dunedin versus the Lakeland Flyer Tigers. Pitched five shutout frames with five punchouts.
First Professional Save – May 15, 2025, for Dunedin versus the Bradenton Marauders. Pitched four innings and struck out seven.
C’s Debut – May 22, 2025, at the Eugene Emeralds. Allowed one run in three innings and struck out four.
First C’s Win – June 10, 2025, versus the Spokane Indians. Pitched six shutout stanzas with nine strikeouts.
Now You Know – Before drafting Khal Stephen and Colby Holcombe in 2024, the last time the Toronto Blue Jays drafted two pitchers from Mississippi State was in 2013 when they selected righthanders Kendall Graveman and Chad Girodo in the eighth and ninth rounds. Both made their MLB debuts with Toronto in 2014 and 2016, respectively.