Futures Game Open Thread

The annual MLB Futures Game kicking off the All-Star events from Cleveland is tonight at 7:00 PM eastern, available streamed live on MLB.com.

Full rosters are here, with a new format this year of AL vs. NL instead of USA vs. the World, which should lead to more balanced competition since the USA tended run away with it most years.

Nate Pearson is the only member of the Blue Jays organization selected, though it should be fun seeing how many times he hits triple digits since he’ll be airing it out for one inning. The Jays are hardly alone in this regard as one of 15 teams with a lone representative; Tampa, Seattle, Miami, Detroit and Seattle each have three (though Tampa’s total includes the promoted Brendan McKay).

Pearson is scheduled to pitch 5th for the AL, so he’ll likely appear sometime around in the 8:00 hour, likely the 5th inning if everything goes at planned but perhaps earlier if an earlier pitcher(s) have a rough inning(s).

UPDATE: Big Nate put on a show, needing 13 pitches to go three up, three down on two swinging strikeouts and a routine groundout to third. His seven fastballs ranged from a low of merely 98.9 MPH to a high of 101.7 MPH. Half of the six swings against him came up empty, on two sliders at 89 and a fastball at 101. All 13 pitches (though the fourth pitch looked to me like a changeup, not a slider):