Pearson brings heat in Grapefruit debut

LAKELAND, Fla. -- With all of the uncertainty that has surrounded Nate Pearson in the past year, one constant will remain unchanged as the Blue Jays’ abbreviated Spring Training winds down over the next couple of weeks: The big right-hander will continue to be stretched out to be a starter. The only question that remains is where exactly he’ll land when it’s time to break camp.

Even with a few unanswered questions regarding his ultimate role, Pearson welcomes this particular narrative. In the past year, most of the conversations about him have been more about his injuries and less about the upper-90s fastball that skyrocketed him through the organization and made him the club’s top pitching prospect a few years ago.

If Pearson was looking to move the conversation along in his favor, he achieved that during his first outing of the spring on Monday vs. the Tigers at Joker Marchant Field. Pearson, who entered the game in the third inning of the Blue Jays’ 3-1 win, regularly touched the mid-90s with his fastball and reached as high as 99 mph as he struck out leadoff man Akil Baddoo. He needed just three pitches (two heaters, followed by a curveball) to whiff veteran slugger Miguel Cabrera to open the fourth.

“I think some of the guys said, ‘Only 99?’ Pearson said with a small grin. “It felt good. I threw some heat in there a little bit toward the end and just built off it.”

"Nate threw strikes,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “He threw strikes with his breaking pitches, behind in the count. It was a good outing. It was good to see.”

All four pitches in Pearson's arsenal were on display and working flawlessly during his 27-pitch outing. Clearly, Pearson views himself as a starter. Long-term, the Blue Jays do, too. It’s just a matter of what to do with the 6-foot-6, 250-pound righty in the more immediate future.

A healthy, effective spring still might not be enough to crack a rotation that appears to be five strong, but it’s likely Toronto might need a sixth starter in the early goings of the regular season. The Blue Jays open with games on 10 consecutive days and have just one off-day in April. A truncated Spring Training season could lead to starters not being fully stretched out before it’s “go” time. That may open up an opportunity for Pearson.

There is little doubt in Pearson’s mind where he belongs.

“I think I’ve always been a starting pitcher,” he said. “It’s all I’ve done since I got to pro ball. Obviously, I went into the ‘pen in the last year, but I have starter stuff. I have four pitches. Usually, guys in the bullpen have two pitches.”

Pearson also has an added weapon -- health. That's still a relatively new concept for the 25-year-old.

The 2021 season was rough. He navigated through groin issues early and late in the season and weathered a shoulder ailment in the middle. His offseason began with surgery to repair a sports hernia that could have been the cause of some of the underlying pain that might have contributed to his ineffectiveness.

“Anytime you have some of those underlying things going on that it takes trying to figure out exactly what is going on, it can affect your routine, your delivery and some of the things you’re trying to do,” Toronto pitching coach Pete Walker said. “The sports hernia is something that kind of affected him throughout the season. Getting that resolved, I think, is really important. Hopefully, it’s a thing of the past, and this year, he can just focus on pitching again.”

Pearson described the hernia as “something that was always there.” It took a toll on his performance and also chipped away at the mental side of his game, too.

“It took a little bit of the fun away for a while,” he said. “Now I'm healthy and the game of baseball is so fun. I definitely got that itch to go back out there. It's been good.”

If Monday’s performance was any indication, Pearson may be in for more good times as the season gets rolling.

“The one thing we have to remember about Pearson -- he needs to keep pitching,” Montoyo said. “He’s always had setbacks. He's still young. He's got a good arm. He needs to keep pitching, and we're going to give him a chance.”