Blue Jays Quick Hits: Nate Pearson, Curtis Granderson and more

Blue Jays news and notes from the morning of September 14th, 2018, including the continued success of Curtis Granderson as well as the rehab of a top pitching prospect.

Nate Pearson to Arizona Fall League

According to Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, the Blue Jays are sending top pitching prospect Nate Pearson to the Arizona Fall League, where he will join his fellow Blue Jays youngsters. Pearson, 22, was injured in May when he was hit by a batted ball that ultimately resulted in a broken bone in his arm.

Last season, the Blue Jays first-round draft pick pitched to a stellar 0.95 ERA in 19.0 innings with the Class-A Vancouver Canadians, striking out 26 while walking just five in eight appearances.

Grandy Raking in Milwaukee

Since joining the playoff-hopeful Milwaukee Brewers in late August, veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson has been productive, albeit in limited at-bats. In 17 plate appearances, Granderson has hit two home runs and a triple, while driving in three and striking out four times. Appearing in eight games, the former Blue Jay, Tiger, Yankee and Met has improved his season’s line to a healthy .252/.356/.457 in 313 total ABs.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

Clippard Productive in September

Since the puzzling decision not to trade veteran reliever Tyler Clippard at the August 31 waiver trade deadline, the 33-year-old native of Lexington, Kentucky has been on a solid, though short, run of success in the month of September. In four outings, he hasn’t allowed a run, tossing 3.1 innings, striking out seven and walking just two. With an improved cumulative ERA of 3.68 (entering play Friday night), the former Washington National has put together a nice season as a member of the rebuilding Blue Jays.

A ninth-round draft pick in 2003, he is currently sixth among active pitchers in games played with 693, 23rd among active pitchers in games finished with 186 and 30th among active pitchers in saves with 68.

Guerrero Jr. Tops Lists…Again

In a decision that will surely shock few, Blue Jays prodigy Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has once again topped Keith Law’s list of the best minor league players ($), earning the title of “Prospect of the Year”, which Law touts as being “an easy call” in the column’s headline. Law notes Guerrero’s “exceptional plate coverage” and mature approach as two things that are “beyond anything his father ever developed”.

Pompey on the Block?

In a recent analytical column, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi suggests that former top prospect and current Buffalo Bisons outfielder Dalton Pompey, 25, could be a candidate for either a trade or a release in the near future. The already crowded outfield picture and Pompey’s history of inconsistency and injury make it difficult to see him as a fit on this roster in the near future.