Big Large Adult Son Update: Bichette, Pearson, Pardinho, and more!

Whenever the Jays lose an ugly and frustrating game, like the one last night in that abandoned Costco in Florida, I feel inclined to fire up the ol’ machine and fire off some words in regards to the Large Adult Sons in Toronto’s system. Let’s see what everyone is up to.

Somewhat stuck behind Vlad’s massive shadow (not just because he’s thiccc but because he’s hitting the ball like he’s unlocked a fuckin’ cheat code) in New Hampshire has been Bo Bichette. After smashing the ball at a level comparable to Vlad last year, Bichette has had a slightly slower start to his first round of Double-A ball than us greedy prospect enthusiasts might have hoped. But over the past few games, Bo has started to catch fire.

He’s had two multi-hit performances in his last three games and he’s got his OPS up to .797. Another cool thing when it comes to Bo’s development with the Fisher Cats this season has been his massive stolen base numbers. We already know that his glove is coming along nicely, but Bichette has also swiped 20 bags in 25 attempts through 60 games this season.

I think there’s a huge positive to be found in this recent streak by Bichette. After a stupidly good start to his pro career, Bichette struggled to start this season. He handled the adversity, made adjustments, and seems to be coming out of it just fine.

And then an update on some lesser-known Blue Jays prospects. Ryan Noda, the Moneyball he-gets-on-base guy of Toronto’s system, was one of two prospects named to the MLB Pipeline Team of the Week. Noda is killing it this year in Lansing. Though he doesn’t hit for power, Noda is operating with a .450 on base percentage through 53 games in his second professional season. The other prospect named to the list is 17-year-old Miguel Hiraldo who’s crushing the Dominican Summer League in his first pro season. Through his first 34 plate appearances, Hiraldo has 13 hits, two homers, and three walks. It’s a small sample, sure, but encouraging nonetheless.

Another prospect always worth mentioning is Kevin Smith, who’s sort of this year’s Bo Bichette. Smith, who’s in his first full pro season, has now been with High-A Dunedin for a couple weeks and hasn’t missed a beat. Smith tore up the Midwestern League and is now tearing up the Florida State League. Through 11 games with Dunedin, Smith has a .347/.411/.490 slash line.

Sean Reid-Foley just had far and away his best start since being promoted to Triple-A Buffalo. The righty fireballer tossed seven three-hit innings while picking up nine strikeouts. His first three starts weren’t good, but Reid-Foley’s dominant outing is encouraging.

New Large Adult Son alert! Eric Pardinho, who was one of the most hyped international free agent signings of last year, is set to start his professional career with the rookie league Bluefield Blue Jays. That’s an advanced start for a 17-year-old, but Pardinho, who could chuck the ball 95 miles-per-hour when he was 15, is an advanced player. He’s going to be an interesting one to follow this summer.

Nate Pearson was pegged to be a breakout prospect for the Blue Jays this year after dominating short season ball in Vancouver last year. Unfortunately, his season has been derailed so far due to injury. Five weeks ago, Pearson suffered a forearm fracture after taking a line drive in the arm. The Jays are taking their time with the pitcher, though, so it’ll likely be a while before we see him back in action.