Better Know Your Blue Jays 40-man: Nate Pearson

Nate Pearson is a 26-year-old, right-handed pitcher who can’t seem to buy a break.

He was our first-round draft pick in 1987 2017 (actually our second first-round pick, Logan Warmoth was our first first-round pick, who the Mariners took in the MiLB Rule 5 draft back in December). We’ve been talking about Nate for a long, long time. He’s had the odd injury:

• An oblique injury in 2018.
• Followed by a broken arm after being hit by a line drive (costing him the full season).
• In 2020 he had a flexor strain.
• In 2021 it was a hernia.
• He missed the start of 2022 with Mononucleosis.
• Which was followed by a lat strain.

I’m sure I’m missing some.

So in all, he’s pitched in 76 games, 202.1 innings between the minors and majors in the 6 years since he was drafted (Covid wiped out one of those seasons).

A lot of the lost time was from freak things. A line drive breaking an arm? Mono? A hernia? Strains happen, but the other stuff is just bad luck.

Anyway, when he has pitched, he’s been very good. He’s been on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list for the last five years. He’s aged out of the prospect lists, but he still has everything that made him a top prospect. Nate is big, 6’6”, 250. He throws hard (95-99), has a very good 12-6 curve, and has a good slider and a change.

The question continues: Should Nate be a starter or a reliever?

Before last season, it seemed like the answer would be as a starter. We didn’t have much depth in starting pitchers, and the team figured Pearson could be the first one up from Buffalo. Then, of course, he got mono, which was pretty it for the idea of him starting.

Now, I think the idea is he will be a reliever. Maybe a 2-3 inning reliever. I’d be happy with that, other than I don’t know if there is a manager alive that would use a reliever that way. They will say they will, but when the time comes, they bring out the next guy to start the next inning.

Nate pitched out of the pen in the Dominican Winter League. He threw 12 innings, allowed 5 hits, 1 unearned run, 4 walks and 16 strikeouts.

He was two option years left, so we will likely see him go up and down some this year. Steamer is pretty optimistic. It sees him making 49 appearances, 5 starts, with a 4.03 in 71 innings pitched and 79 strikeouts.

The Jays have added a handful of pitchers for the bullpen, so Nate will have to prove himself to make the team.

Want to see his first day of throwing this spring?