TRACK RECORD: Pearson pitched mostly out of the bullpen for Florida International as a freshman before transferring to the JC of Central Florida in 2017. While there, his stock climbed. The Blue Jays drafted him 28th overall that year and signed him for $2,452,900. In 2018, a back injury prevented Pearson from pitching until May 7. He returned, threw 1.2 innings, then didn’t pitch again during the regular season when a line drive fractured his forearm, though he came back for the Arizona Fall League. In 2019, Pearson made a case as the best pitching prospect in the minors as he rose three levels to finish the year in Triple-A.



SCOUTING REPORT: Pearson has an extra-large frame and an elite fastball. He sits in the upper 90s, regularly touches triple digits and has climbed as high as 104 mph in the AFL in 2018. His fastball rides up and explodes with late life in the zone. One of the biggest leaps forward for Pearson came with his slider. It was a slurvy, low-80s pitch in college that he sharpened after his first year. Now it’s a legitimate out pitch, earning plus or better grades and flashing plus-plus potential with power and late tilt. Pearson hasn’t needed to use his changeup much, but it gives him a third legitimate weapon as a solid-average pitch, while his curveball is more of a fringy pitch he mixes in every once in a while. Pearson fills the strike zone and has an athletic, efficient delivery that he repeats well. That all points to a durable starter, but questions remain. His 101.2 innings were a career high, though he hasn’t missed time due to operations or issues with his throwing arm. However, the Blue Jays kept Pearson on a restrictive workload. He alternated between starts of five and two innings by design for most of his Double-A time, though he threw 90-plus pitches in five of his final seven starts, including 100-plus pitches in two of them. The fact that Pearson throws with so much velocity on every fastball also gives some scouts concerns about whether that’s a durability risk.



THE FUTURE: If Pearson shows he can handle a starter’s workload, he can be a frontline arm with potential to be a No. 1 or 2 starter. He’s probably headed back to Triple-A to begin 2020, but he’s one of the Blue Jays’ five best starting pitchers right now and should be in Toronto by midseason. SCOUTING GRADES FB: 80. SL: 60. CHG: 55. CB: 45. CTL: 55. BA GRADE 70 Risk: Medium