Undrafted pitcher hoping to go from school teacher to big leaguer with the Blue Jays

It's been an unusual path in pro-baseball for Nate Garkow. The five-foot-10 right handed was undrafted after a four year career at Point Loma Nazarene. in 39 games (34 as a starter) Garkow's college stats don't jump off the page. He pitched to a 4.30 ERA in 186.1 innings with 201 strikeouts and a 1.34 WHIP.

And after he graduated he was working three full-time jobs while still trying to pursue his big league dreams. He was a substitute teacher, he worked a retail job and he was also pitching with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League.

Former substitute teacher Garkow is hoping to eventually get to the big leagues with the Blue Jays

It's in that league where he impressed Blue Jays scouts. During the 2024 season. Garkow struck out 37 batters in 15.2 innings, allowing just eight walks, four hits and two home runs. His miniscule 0.76 WHIP and commanding 21.6 K/9 rate was enough for Toronto to offer him a deal. Shortly after, he reported to Dunedin where he continued to find success as a reliever by striking out 30 batters in 21 innings of work, pitching to a 2.14 ERA.

Last year, he began the season with the Vancouver Canadians and had mixed success. His strikeout numbers were great, as he punched out 32 batters in 16.2 innings, though he gave up 14 earned runs on 17 hits which ballooned his ERA to 7.56. But the Blue Jays felt he was showing good progress in his pitch mix and decided to move him up to Double-A New Hampshire at the end of May, and Garkow thrived the rest of the way.

In 29 games, Garkow allowed just five runs and 12 hits in 37 innings pitched. He racked up 54 strikeouts and only allowed 17 walks, with a 1.22 ERA. Garkow's 38.6 K% was fourth among all pitchers in Double-A (minimum 30 innings pitched) while his batting average against (.098) was first. He was also sixth in ERA and third in WHIP (0.78). Not bad for a guy who was playing independent ball just three years ago.

Garkow's change-up has been his bread and butter. His fastball only sits in the 88-90 mph range, but it does have a lot of movement. The pitch has a 24 inch vertical break which creates a lot of swing-and-miss, but the change-up looks like his fastball, in terms of speed, before diving away from hitters' bats. This means he can confuse batters as the pitches look the same, they are gearing up to smack a fastball and adjust for that dip in the vertical, and all of a sudden the ball is moving further and further away from them but they are already committed to the swing.

It's a weapon that Garkow will look to continue to deploy as he moves up the depth chart. He is not currently on the 40-man roster, but as we've already seen this spring, the projected roster can change in a heart beat with some injuries here and there. In 2025 the Blue Jays used 29 different relievers during the season and if this year trends in that direction as well, there's no doubt Garkow will be on the list to earning a call up to The Show, even as the Blue Jays continue adding depth to their pitching.