Blue Jays top prospect Nate Pearson is back to help, an inning at a time

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This article was published 01/09/2021 (1513 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Jays’ biggest issue over the last couple weeks has been a lack of offence, but if this team intends to go on a run over the final month it’s going to need more than just the bats coming to life. There will have to be a lot of quality outings from the pitching staff as well.

Enter right-hander Nate Pearson, the man with the 100-mph arm who received another long-awaited promotion to the majors Wednesday afternoon. Finally healthy after another injury-plagued season, the top prospect has the potential to make an impact down the stretch.

The long-term plan is for Pearson to remain a starter, but he’s needed in a different role right now. The Jays lack depth in the bullpen, especially when trying to protect leads late in games and, while Pearson is just one guy, he can fix one of the club’s biggest weaknesses.

The Jays got a glimpse of what Pearson could do as a reliever last season when he tossed two dominating innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in last year’s wild-card series, striking out five of the six batters he faced. The ability was on display again over the last two weeks when the former first-round pick made six appearances for Triple-A Buffalo.

None of this is going to matter much unless the Jays start scoring more runs during a crucial upcoming seven-game stretch against post-season contenders Oakland and New York but, if they can get the lead, Pearson will become a crucial piece in making sure they don’t give it back.

“Everyone wants to be in a high-leverage situation in a game that matters, and I definitely think I can be one of those guys,” said Pearson, who joined the roster alongside fellow pitcher Bryan Baker as the Jays’ September call-ups.

“But right now, I’m just bringing the bullpen some help, some reinforcements. We’ve got two extra roster spots since it’s September, with me and Baker, I think we’re going to add and complement that bullpen whenever we can.”

Pearson has the skill set it takes to be an elite reliever. The velocity on his fastball and the sharp bite of his slider are the exact tools that teams love to see late in games. The unknown is whether, after years developing as a starter, Pearson can adjust his routine enough over a short period of time to enjoy success in his new role.

During Pearson’s initial rise to the majors, he often talked about being more effective as the game went on. The velocity would start off somewhat low — at least by his standards — before gradually rising and peaking after the third or fourth inning. Like Justin Verlander, the scouting reports suggested if teams wanted to score, they needed to do it before he found a groove.

There may come a time later this month when the native of Florida will become an option to toss multiple innings, but it’s not going to happen right away. All six of Pearson’s recent minor-league appearances lasted one frame and he has yet to pitch on back-to-back days. Montoyo hinted Wednesday that trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Settling into each outing is a luxury Pearson can no longer afford. He’ll be tossed into the fire and expected to succeed. If he doesn’t, the Jays likely will find themselves on the wrong end of the score because a lot of times he’ll be pitching with the game on the line. That comes with a lot of pressure but, considering the lack of reliable options, the Jays don’t really have any choice but to roll the dice.

While unproven in this role, Pearson believes he’s up to the challenge, especially because his approach will be much different coming in to pitch the seventh or eighth inning versus taking the ball at the start of each game.

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“Coming out of the ’pen, the mentality is just different,” said Pearson, who allowed two runs across six innings as a reliever for the Bisons. “You’re facing three guys, or you’re trying to get three quick outs. You’re attacking guys with your best stuff. As a starter, you have to set guys up, play the long game, because you’re going to face guys more than once. It’s just different in that aspect, but it’s been good.”

Pearson still wants to be in the rotation and the Jays want to keep him in that role next year and beyond, but considering the strength of the club’s rotation and the lack of time Pearson had to get stretched out, moving the 25-year-old into a new role was a gamble that had to be made. If it flops, it flops, but it’s worth a shot because, even though Pearson has made a grand total of eight relief appearances during his entire career, he immediately becomes one of Montoyo’s top options late in games.

While the bullpen hasn’t been getting much attention lately, the main reason isn’t improved performance, it’s that the offence has been the bigger culprit of the recent woes. A 3.91 ERA in August is better than what the relievers were doing earlier in the year, but it leaves a lot of room for improvement. Per Fangraphs, the bullpen managed to produce 0.3 wins above replacement last month, which ranked 21st. The teams below the Jays won’t even come close to sniffing the post-season.

For most of this season, the Jays’ bullpen just simply hasn’t been good enough. The additions of Adam Cimber and Trevor Richards helped a bit. The trade for Brad Hand had the opposite effect. The experiment with Pearson could go either way, but the Jays might as well take a shot because they’re playing catch-up in the standings and, at this point, they have nothing to lose.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca