Blue Jays: Prospect Throws Second No-Hitter of Season

The Toronto Blue Jays have a number of high-end prospects jumping through the system, with Alek Manoah leading the way as a Rookie of the Year candidate this season.  A player that most Blue Jays fans might not know of is Trent Palmer and he is starting to get some recognition.

Palmer was drafted in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft and the club locked him up by signing him to an $847,500 signing bonus.  Palmar pitched his college ball for the Jacksonville Dolphins from 2018-2020 where he posted a 10-6 record over 52 games.  Like many college players, Palmer’s final season was his best as he posted a minuscule 1.30 ERA, along with a 0.61 WHIP over 27.2 innings and he struck out 41 batters to just 5 walks.

The 6’1”, 230 lbs Minnesota native has played his entire first season of professional baseball for the Dunedin Blue Jays in Low-A.  He’s had a productive campaign thus far, as he has posted a 4-2 record over 16 starts with a 3.00 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, while averaging nearly 12 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Blue Jays may have another top pitching prospect as 22-year old Trent Palmer has thrown his second no-hitter of the season.

When Palmer was drafted, Vinnie Cervino from Perfect Game reported that he had a fastball that is up around 98 mph, with one of the best sliders in his college class.  This has led to some impressive outings for the 22-year old this season.

At that start of the season, Palmer was pitching between one to three innings to build up his strength.  In July, Palmer had three consecutive starts where he threw three innings apiece without surrendering an earned run (one unearned) and allowed a total of just two hits.

August 19th is when Palmer really turned heads, as he started the second game of a doubleheader and threw a seven-inning no-hitter, recording double-digit strikeouts (10) for the first time in his early professional career.  Palmer was honored with the Low-A Southeast League Pitcher of the Week award and became the first pitcher since 1979 (Charles Puelo) to throw a seven-inning no-hitter.

You can now expect that Palmer may be earning his second Pitcher of the Week honor next week as he had another unbelievable start this past Wednesday.  Again, Palmer was starting the second game of a doubleheader, and once again, he threw a seven-inning no-hitter, striking out nine this time.

Since the month turned to August, Palmer has posted a 4-1 record with a 2.33 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, while striking out 54 batters over 38.2 innings pitched.  He was not listed on the Blue Jays Top 30 Prospect List to start the season, although he did rank #26 last season, you can bet he is starting to make a push to be on it for the start of the 2022 MLB Season.