Conversations with the Herd: CJ Van Eyk

By: Brian Frank

Every baseball journey has a beginning. Bisons hurler CJ Van Eyk’s earliest baseball memory came in his hometown of Lutz, Florida.

“Probably going to signups for Little League with my parents,” Van Eyk recently told The Herd Chronicles. “I think I was six years old, and the first team I played on was the Rays at Lutz Little League.”

That day began a baseball career that includes a Florida High School State Championship, a College World Series appearance, and now has Van Eyk on the brink of reaching the big leagues.

Van Eyk fired 175 2/3 total innings last season. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

After starring on the Little League fields of Lutz, Van Eyk attended George M. Steinbrenner High School. His primary position was shortstop—until the end of his sophomore year, when he began to transition to the mound.

“I always had a good arm, and then I kind of figured out that I couldn’t really hit when everyone started throwing 90 (mph) with a good slider,” he said. “So once I figured out I couldn’t beat them, I kind of had to join them—and that’s where we are now.”

Once he was on the mound, he helped lead Steinbrenner to the Florida Class 8A State Championship in his junior season.

“We went 27–5 and won a state championship,” Van Eyk remembered. “So that was probably the highlight of my high school career, for sure.”

Van Eyk was selected in the 19th round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft but decided to forgo professional baseball at that time to attend Florida State University.

“Kind of from a maturity standpoint, I think I kind of really wanted to go to college and experience that,” he said. “But also, a certain amount of money could have swayed my decision. That’s kind of where we were. But it was a number that the Mets ultimately couldn’t get to. So that’s where I ended up—at Florida State, and it was the best three years of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for the amount of money they were asking for anyway.”

He had success right out of the gate for the Seminoles, going 7–0 with a 2.86 ERA and fanning 71 batters in 56 2/3 innings pitched during his freshman season. His catcher that season was current Seattle Mariners slugger and reigning major league home run champion Cal Raleigh.

“He’s the man,” Van Eyk said of Raleigh. “We still keep in touch.”

He added with a smile, “He’s a good dude—but I don’t know if he liked me too much as a freshman. I was still struggling to learn the signs and stuff, and I think I would cross him up maybe one time a game, and he would call time and come out there and give it to me. It was a little intimidating being a freshman and having a junior come and tell you that. But Cal’s a good dude, and he was a good guy to learn from, and he managed our pitching staff very well.”

During Van Eyk’s sophomore season, he helped lead the Seminoles to the College World Series, going 10–4 with a 3.81 ERA in 18 starts while striking out 129 batters in 99 1/3 innings pitched.

“I would say most of our memories happened off the field, whether it was the bus rides and the plane rides and the clubhouse stuff with the guys,” he said of what stands out from his college days. “That kind of rivals the on-the-field stuff. But on the field, probably that Omaha run that we made in 2019, running through the powerhouses of the SEC, beating Georgia at their place, and then going to LSU and beating them at their place, and getting the Omaha bid. That’s probably the highlight of college on the field.”

“It was awesome,” he said of going to the College World Series in Omaha. “It was what you dream of as a college athlete—getting there and being one of the best eight teams in the country and competing for a national championship. It’s cool in the town up there, where there’s really not much going on, and the fans there are really just baseball fans with no real affiliate to a team. It’s like 25,000 to 30,000 strong that come out there and just appreciate baseball.”

After his junior season was cut short due to the pandemic, Van Eyk was selected by the Blue Jays in the second round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft. He was surprised it was Toronto that selected him.

“I hadn’t really talked to the Blue Jays before the draft at all,” he explained. “They weren’t really on my radar. There was a little trouble that happened kind of three or four picks before that, where I thought I was supposed to go. Then my agent called me, and I thought maybe I was going to go back to school. My agent called me around the 40th pick and said the Blue Jays want to take you at 42 for this amount of money—and I was like, okay, let’s go. Then I just went downstairs and clicked on the TV and saw it. It was a fun experience that I had with my family.”

With the minor league season canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, Van Eyk had to continue to work out at home rather than report to one of the Blue Jays’ affiliates.

“If I recall correctly, we weren’t really allowed to do anything,” he said. “Billy (Wardlow), our clubhouse guy on the minor league side down there, drove a dozen baseballs to my house in Lutz, where I could work out and throw where I was working out at the time, since they had the facilities closed. I think we reported there [Dunedin] in the fall under some strict protocols with masks.”

He made his professional baseball debut with the High-A Vancouver Canadians in 2021, where he made 19 starts and adjusted to life as a professional baseball player.

“It was tough,” he said. “I wasn’t really prepared for it in terms of it not being the ACC anymore. That’s the first thing I said when I got there—Wow, this is not the ACC anymore. Everyone kind of told me that—wait until you get to pro ball, it’s going to be different. You’re not going to be flying around on nice planes and eating nice food. That was kind of a rude awakening, and I saw it for the first time. But it was cool to kind of just get acclimated.”

Following the season, he had to undergoTommy John surgery on his pitching arm.

“It’s not really something you plan for at all, being an athlete—but it’s something that you think is a what-if in the back of your mind,” he said. “It ultimately happened, and you just kind of take the punches as they come. It was an adjustment, because I’d never really been hurt or had to miss time off the field. The Blue Jays did a good job of managing the rehab process and keeping my head on my shoulders and keeping us in a good spot mentally to be prepared to come back and help the club.”

Walking with catcher Ali Sanchez in 2025. Photo Credit: Brian Frank: The Herd Chronicles

In 2023, Van Eyk returned to the mound, working his way through the Blue Jays’ system. He made two rehab starts for the FCL Blue Jays and pitched in six games for Low-A Dunedin before finishing the season by making four starts at Double-A New Hampshire.

“Sometimes it just kind of feels like you’re throwing something at the wall and hoping it sticks,” he said. “It’s tough getting your feet back wet again after really not throwing in competition for 22 months, or whatever it was. Just kind of finding yourself again, finding your mechanics. Everyone has the compete in them—that’s kind of what we’re born with and what makes us athletes—but just being able to do that at a high level and a level that your body is able to trust yourself doing it at again.”

After New Hampshire’s season concluded, he headed to the Arizona Fall League, where he pitched in five games, including two starts, for the Surprise Saguaros. He finished with a 2.51 ERA in 14 1/3 innings pitched.

“That was probably, at the time, the second most fun I’d ever had in baseball after college,” he said. “That was just cool to be able to show up with a bunch of guys that are pretty good prospects. I think it kind of holds you to a higher standard there because you don’t want to be the weaker link. It just makes you play better. You kind of rise to the occasion.”

“There are beautiful golf courses there,” he added. “Being a starting pitcher, we had a lot of time off that we were able to play golf and just enjoy the Arizona weather and atmosphere. I had a blast out there.”

Van Eyk pitched at New Hampshire in 2024. He began the 2025 season back with the Fisher Cats before being promoted to Triple-A Buffalo in mid-May. He ended up firing 126 innings between the two levels.

“I struggled a little bit in the first half to hit the ground running and find myself as a pitcher,” he said. “I think in the second half I figured it out and was able to make a bit of an adjustment with my ERA and walking guys and stuff.”

When the minor league season ended, Van Eyk headed for Mexico, where he pitched for Aguilas de Mexicali in the Mexican Pacific Winter League, racking up another 49 2/3 innings—giving him a total of 175 2/3 innings pitched for the calendar year. In nine starts for Mexicali, He had a 2.90 ERA with 53 strikeouts and a 1.268 WHIP.

“I felt good and wanted to show the club that I could throw big league innings as a starter,” he said. “Just to show them that I can handle the workload and just kind of fine-tune my stuff down there, work on getting righties out a little bit better.”

“El mejor momento de mi vida,” he continued. “It was awesome. Best time of my life, I would say, playing baseball, besides college. The food was awesome. The fans were crazy—they’re just so into it. That's kind of really the only sport they have in their city, so everyone comes out when they can, and it’s just a great, great time. There’s a party after the game. It’s almost like the baseball game is the pregame, and there is a party afterward, which is insane.”

Back in Buffalo this season, Van Eyk is excited about the potential this year's Bisons team has.

“I think we’re going to win a lot of games,” he said. “I think we’re going to hit the ball pretty well. If we can get some hitters out as a pitching staff, I think we’ll win some games.”

Now on the cusp of reaching his dream, the biggest step of Van Eyk's baseball journey, which began as a boy back in Lutz, is still yet to come.

“The goal is obviously to be in the big leagues,” he said, “but you just have to take it day by day and just live in the moment.”