MLB: 5 American League East prospects to watch for in 2020
By Nick Stevens
Toronto’s Nate Pearson opened a lot of eyes at last year’s MLB Future’s Game.
Currently ranked as the top prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays system and the eighth-best prospect in baseball, RHP Nate Pearson should see significant time in the major leagues this year, joining a long list of exciting young players in Toronto, including the trio of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio.
With a recent injury to starter Chase Anderson putting his immediate future in a bit of limbo, the Blue Jays could turn to Pearson and plug him into the starting rotation to start the year. While Pearson is without a doubt one of the best pitchers on the roster, it’s more likely that Pearson spends a week or so in Buffalo before getting his call-up.
Service time manipulation is a point of contention right now, but the Blue Jays are sure to exercise this option with their top prospect.
Once Pearson is in the majors, AL East lineups better be on notice. Standing at 6-6 and 250 pounds, Pearson possesses one of the more powerful fastballs in baseball and is a true top of the rotation candidate with three other plus-pitches in his repertoire.
He saw action across three minor league levels in 2019 (A+/AA/AAA), going a combined 5-4 with a 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, .176 batting average against and 119 strikeouts across 101.2 innings pitched.