Canadians pitcher Pearson throws 100mph
Canadians righty, who idolized MLB Hall of Famer, brings bulldog mentality to the mound
Nate Pearson is a hard-throwing throwback. The Vancouver Canadians right-hander, a first-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in June’s draft, had the Keizer, Ore., crowd buzzing Sunday when he clocked 100 mph three times in his two-inning Northwest League pitching debut.
It’s natural to make comparisons with high-end prospects like that. For instance, you could link Pearson with New York Mets’ fireballer Noah Syndergaard, especially considering he also did a turn with the C’s in 2011.
Pearson connects more with the old school, though. He’s a Nolan Ryan guy.
Pearson, 20, was born three years after Ryan pitched the final game of his 27-year MLB career in 1993, but Pearson has eaten up every YouTube clip he can find of the now 70-year-old Hall of Famer.
“I’ve always loved his mentality, how he approached the game,” said Pearson, a 6-foot-6, 245-pounder picked 28th overall by the Blue Jays out of Central Florida Community College. “Nolan Ryan is who I model my game after.
“Once I started throwing hard, I started to look at Hall of Famers and what they did to be successful and what I could take from them to help me be successful. Nolan Ryan was so dominant on the mound having that kind of bulldog mentality.
“I was always a fan of all the great baseball players, but Nolan Ryan especially. No one could beat him.”
Pearson is from Oldsmar, Fla., which is about 15 minutes down the road from the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin. He received little draft interest as a high school senior, in part because of injury trouble, which included surgery to insert a pin in his pitching elbow. He maintains he’s had no arm trouble since.
Pearson spent a season at Florida International University before transferring to Central Florida. Along the way, he built up his body and worked on his arm strength.
During a fall bullpen session at a junior college showcase for scouts in Lakeland, Fla., Pearson hit 100 mph. He had been peaking in the 92- to 93-mph range 1½ years earlier. He started to rocket up draft rankings.
“It was surreal,” Pearson said of seeing triple digits on the radar gun for the first time. “It was obviously a milestone for me.”
By all accounts, he’s more than just a hard thrower. In its pre-draft scouting reports, Baseball America stated Pearson’s change-up “now projects as a plus pitch, showing late fade when he locates it down in the zone.” He also employs a slider and curveball.
Baseball America said scouts feel best about the slider moving forward and C’s play-by-play man Rob Fai had it hitting 87 mph with some bite.
Pearson does sound partial to the curve still.
“Yeah, it’s a 12-6, like the one Nolan Ryan threw,” he explained of the big, bending breaking ball.
The Blue Jays inked Pearson with a $2.45-million signing bonus, so they’re going to be careful with him during his time in Vancouver. He threw 81 innings for Central Florida already this year and went 5-2 with a 1.56 earned-run average and 118 strikeouts.
Right-hander T.J. Zeuch, the 21st overall pick by Toronto last year, made six appearances with Vancouver last summer totalling 23 innings for comparison.
“I knew I had potential. I knew I was projectable,” Pearson said when asked when he realized being a high draft pick might happen.
“I kept working hard. I learned how to take care of my arm. I went the JUCO route and it’s all gone up from there.”