Toronto Blue Jays: Nate Pearson’s time has not yet come

The Toronto Blue Jays could use reinforcements for their pitching staff. With Hyun-Jin Ryu on the Injured List, and only two active pitchers who have even made three starts, bringing in another healthy arm would make sense. After all, ten different pitchers already made at least one start for the Blue Jays in their first 23 games.

Despite a need for arms, Nate Pearson will not be a part of the solution just yet. He has been activated and optioned to Triple-A, where he will head to Trenton.

Nate Pearson’s time has yet to come with Toronto Blue Jays

Pearson did have a brief debut with the Blue Jays last season, although it did not go as well as anyone would have hoped. He posted a 6.00 ERA and a 1.500 WHiP in his 18 innings, striking out 16 batters, but issuing 11 walks and allowing five homers. It was not nearly the debut that Pearson or the Blue Jays had hoped for.

He has also battled injuries in his brief time in the majors. Pearson was held to those 18 innings due to a flexor strain in his elbow. He also missed a large portion of spring training due to a right groin strain, which he aggravated as he attempted to work back to health. It is possible that the flexor strain contributed to his less than stellar debut, especially as the Blue Jays still have high hopes for their prized pitching prospect.

A consensus top 100 prospect for the third consecutive year, there are questions about his future in the majors. His upper 90s fastball and devastating slider are weapons, as seen when he dominated the Rays during his two innings in the postseason. He also has a curve and a change, with the changeup being the better of the offerings since he can throw it for strikes. However, his inability to remain healthy, and questions of whether or not he can hold up under a starter’s workload, hamper his future projections.

At this point, the Blue Jays still view Pearson as a starter. As such, it makes sense that Pearson would start the season in the minors so that Toronto could build him back up to a starter’s workload. Whether or not he can handle that remains to be seen.

Nate Pearson is heading to the minors to start the season. Even though the Toronto Blue Jays need pitching help, his time has not yet come.