The Blue Jays have optioned right-hander Nate Pearson to Triple-A Buffalo, a small setback for Toronto's No. 1 prospect who is still looking to carry his dominance from the Minor Leagues up to the big stage.

Pearson simply didn’t have it in Sunday’s 7-4 loss to the Astros, walking five batters over 2 1/3 innings without recording a single strikeout. Pearson lost the zone entirely at times, and he wasn’t putting himself in counts to use his overpowering stuff for putaway pitches.

That came on the heels of one start in Triple-A that was fairly sharp. On Opening Day in the Minor Leagues on May 4, Pearson threw 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball, walking just one and striking out eight. That’s the type of line that the Blue Jays are used to seeing from the hard-throwing 6-foot-6 righty, but now he heads back to the Minors searching for his best stuff once again.

“We want him to get more consistent,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “Coming off his injury, he made some strides in his first Triple-A outing, but he’s got some work to do. The sky is the limit. This reminds me almost of Vladdy [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.], because the expectations are so high, but he’ll be all right. He just needs to pitch more in the Minor Leagues.”

Pearson missed the tail end of Spring Training and all of April with a right adductor strain. He got back to full health in late April, and it was then a matter of stretching him back out to a full starter’s workload. There has been tinkering with his mechanics along the way, but following Sunday’s outing, Pearson said he felt he should have been executing the basics.

“It’s, ‘See mitt, hit mitt,’” Pearson said. “It’s me vs. me. I obviously think about [the] mechanical stuff, but once I get out there, I try to just compete against the hitter. And that’s about it.”

Lefty Anthony Kay will assume Pearson’s rotation spot. The Blue Jays would love to see a young pitcher grab one of these spots and run with it, but that just hasn’t happened despite multiple pitchers having multiple opportunities. The 26-year-old Kay, for example, has a 10.24 ERA over 9 2/3 innings this season.

This is a step back for Pearson, but if all goes well in Triple-A, it will be a forgotten blip. He’s still just 24 and possesses as much physical talent as anyone in the organization, so the tools are all there, and the Blue Jays have time to let him develop. In a season in which Toronto expects to compete, though, the organization will be eager to see this turn around quickly.

“He’s a young kid, so a couple of bad outings in the big leagues, that shouldn’t affect him that much,” Montoyo said. “All he needs to do is find his release point and find more strikes in the big leagues, and he’ll be all right. It will be good for him to go down there and get some regular work.”

Right-hander Jeremy Beasley has been added to the roster in a corresponding move. Beasley, who was acquired from the D-backs on April 22 for cash considerations, has starting experience in the Minor Leagues but is expected to be used as a multi-inning reliever with the Blue Jays.

Springer approaching another ramp-up period
George Springer, who’s on the injured list with a right quad strain for the second time, has been hitting in the cages but has not progressed to running. That is scheduled to change Thursday, when Springer will add some increased work to his rehab.

Given how Springer’s last activation from the IL went, with a reaggravation soon after, expect the Blue Jays to proceed with extreme caution here. As we’re seeing around baseball this season, soft-tissue injuries can be tricky to put a timeline on. But Springer’s progression should be clearer by the weekend, after he has started the early phase of his running drills.

Extras
• Reliever Anthony Castro (right forearm strain) is “day to day” at this point, Montoyo said, but it’s unlikely he'll be activated in this series in Atlanta that runs through Thursday. He opened the season with 7 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and seems to have found himself after upping his slider usage.

• David Phelps (right lat strain) was set to undergo another MRI exam on Tuesday, and the Blue Jays should have those results soon. His IL stint is expected to last beyond the minimum of 10 days.

• Montoyo said that Jordan Romano is the club’s likeliest closer at this point, but that always comes with a caveat. The Blue Jays prioritize the highest-leverage spot over a traditional ninth-inning role, so if the game is on the line in the eighth, that’s when you’ll see Romano.