Nathan Alexander Pearson is a Major League Baseball pitcher who currently pitches for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Pearson went to Spring Hill, Florida’s Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School.
He hit .318 with nine home runs and 30 runs batted in as a senior, going 9–1 with a 1.75 earned run average (ERA) and 117 strikeouts (RBI).
Pearson continued his education at Florida International University (FIU), where he was a member of the FIU Panthers baseball team.
He was 1–1 with a 2.70 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 19 appearances, including one start. He transferred to the College of Central Florida after a year at FIU.
He recorded a 1.56 ERA and 118 strikeouts in his first year at Central Florida, earning him the JUCO Pitcher of the Year award from Perfect Game.
Pearson was regarded as one of the best prospects in the 2017 MLB draft. On June 28, he signed a $2.45 million bonus with the Toronto Blue Jays after being drafted 28th overall.
Pearson started one game with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays before being promoted to the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians.
Pearson did not allow a run in his first six outings, allowing only four hits and one walk in 13 innings while striking out 16.
He had a 0.90 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and a 0.60 WHIP in 20 innings worked during the regular season in 2017.
Pearson was named the starter for the first game of Vancouver’s best-of-three Northwest League postseason series against the Spokane Indians in early September.
In a 2–1 win over Spokane, he pitched four innings and struck out ten batters.