SURPRISE, Ariz. - Coming off a broken right forearm that essentially robbed him of his 2018 season, Nate Pearson was looking for signs that he was completely recovered as he stood on a Dunedin mound in August.

It didn’t take long to find that evidence.

In his first live batting practice session after the May 7 injury he suffered when he was blasted by a comebacker, a rehabbing Josh Donaldson dug into the box.

Multiple strikeouts of the 2015 American MVP later, Pearson and his 100 mph gas were back.

“One of my first hitters back from breaking my arm was Josh Donaldson, so I was kind of just expecting the worst,” the 6-foot-6, 245-pound right-hander said with a grin while seated in the dugout of Surprise Stadium, where he’s suiting up for the Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League.

“If he takes me deep, so what? He’s a big leaguer, and not just a big leaguer, an MVP and everything. But I was able to get him a couple times and he gave me some great feedback, so I learned a lot and I’m grateful for that experience.”

There’s another intriguing layer to the story, too.

Donaldson was apparently so dismayed by his own performance that it slowed his rehab schedule by a day or two, which is noteworthy because he was only able to make it back into rehab games at the very last minute, otherwise he wouldn’t have been eligible to be traded at the Aug. 31 deadline.

But the anecdote says a lot about Pearson’s stuff.

Rusty as both combatants were that day, it’s easy to dream on what Pearson could become down the road and his meaningless matchup with Donaldson is just an example of the kind of stuff the 22-year-old possesses.

That’s the reason the line drive off the bat of Tyler Gaffney, a former NFL running back who turned back to baseball after winning two Super Bowl rings, was so scary for not only Pearson but the entire Blue Jays organization.

“As soon as it happened I knew it was most likely broken. I was just hoping it wasn’t bad enough to have surgery or something,” recalled Pearson, who also got a late start to his season due to a strained ribcage muscle. “Thankfully, it wasn’t that bad of a break, just six weeks in a cast and it was fully healed. It still took the whole year away from me, but I’m still grateful it wasn’t more serious than it was.”

Pearson was forced to spend a couple days in a soft cast locked at 90 degrees before being fitted for a moulded cast that went up to his elbow.

Despite the good luck when it came to the seriousness of the injury, the 1.2 innings Pearson threw that day for the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays was his only action of the entire year, which is why he’s in the AFL trying to make up for lost time and get ready for an important 2019 season.

Through four starts for the Saguaros, Pearson is carrying around a chunky 11.12 ERA, having allowed 14 earned runs in 11.1 innings.

But that matters little.

The only thing the Blue Jays are concerned with is Pearson walking off the mound healthy each and every time out, as well as building his innings.

The raw stuff is still there, however, with Pearson routinely hitting 101 mph on the radar gun and sitting 96 or 97 with that jaw-dropping power fastball.

“They just want me to stay healthy the whole time I’m out here,” Pearson said. “They’re not looking at my numbers or anything. They just want me to get reps and take whatever they can from this experience. It’s not really focused on results-based, just how my body’s feeling and get ready to go heading into spring training next year.”

Pearson is likely to start the 2019 season in High-A once again, but if the train gets moving like some think it can for the 2017 first-round pick, he’ll be on the fast track.

“I definitely see myself starting in Dunedin again since I only threw 1.2 innings,” Pearson said. “They’re not just going to send me straight to Double-A off that, but, hopefully, start in High-A and work my way up from there.”

While fine-tuning things in the AFL since the 30-game circuit began Oct. 9, Pearson has also enjoyed watching one of his childhood heroes reverse his postseason reputation on the World Series stage with the Boston Red Sox.

There was even a photo circulating of a young Pearson and David Price after a game at Tropicana Field.

“I just remember back from taking that picture, I was a freshman in high school and David Price was just coming onto the scene,” Pearson said with another wide smile. “My favourite memory was when he got the final outs at Tropicana Field to send the Rays to the World Series (in 2008). I was at that game and that’s one of my best memories growing up. I followed him all through his career and watching him deal in the post-season was just awesome. I always wanted him to have that kind of success. I watched every game and it was awesome to think one day I might be there.”​