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Blue Jays prospect Dayne Pengelly discusses signing his first pro contract and the 2025 season
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Photo credit: © Cincinnati Enquirer-USA TODAY NE
Tristan Morgan
Feb 9, 2026, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 8, 2026, 12:16 EST
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When Dayne Pengelly put pen to paper on a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays last July, the moment felt both surreal and validating.
“It was awesome,” Pengelly said. “Getting to play for my favourite team growing up is pretty cool. That’s a kid’s dream.”
For the right-handed pitcher from Rio Rancho, N.M., the call didn’t arrive on draft night as expected. Once projected to be selected in the 10th round by the Blue Jays, Pengelly watched as the draft passed without hearing his name. Rather than letting the disappointment linger, he kept pushing for an opportunity.
That opportunity eventually came in the form of a free-agent deal with Toronto. Signing as an undrafted free agent, Pengelly entered professional baseball eager to prove his ability. Just months later, that process began to show results with the Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto’s Single-A affiliate.
Road to the Pros
Pengelly’s path to the Blue Jays organization was far from linear.
During his freshman year of high school, his career was nearly derailed when he underwent UCL surgery on his right elbow. The procedure included ligament repair, screw insertion, cartilage removal and nerve relocation. It sidelined him during a critical phase of development and forced him to confront the uncertainty of whether he would ever pitch at a high level again.
“My parents helped me through all of it,” Pengelly said. “They helped me stay motivated and not feel down.”
Support also came from coaches who helped repair his relationship with the game. One of them was Shaun Reed.
“He (Reed) helped me fall in love with the game again and taught me that baseball wasn’t everything in life,” Pengelly said.
Another influential figure was Tim Compos, who helped him stay motivated and eager on the mound during his comeback.
“He (Compos) helped me step up my game and learn to push myself,” Pengelly said. “He helped me really strive to be as good a pitcher as I can be.”
Once healthy again, Pengelly’s velocity increased from the mid-80s to the upper-80s, and once out of high school, he took an unconventional route through college baseball. He began his collegiate career at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2022, balancing baseball with a demanding academic workload, pursuing mechanical engineering with a focus on propulsion aerospace. That season, he appeared in 18 games, striking out 37 batters over 23 innings.
In 2023, Pengelly transferred to Pima Community College, where he continued to develop as a pitcher. He posted a 3.38 earned-run average, striking out 31 batters in 29 1/3 innings while refining his arsenal and mechanics.
That summer, he made the jump to Division I at the University of New Mexico. With the Lobos, Pengelly pitched in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, gradually establishing himself as a strikeout-focused starter.
In 2024, he made 11 starts across 13 appearances, recording 58 strikeouts in 50 innings and leading the team in strikeouts, while his velocity jumped again, now hitting 97mph with his fastball, and scouts began taking notice. With this, he returned to the rotation in 2025, adding another 35 strikeouts over 42 1/3 innings.
While the strikeout totals remained impressive, command continued to be an area of focus for the young hurler. Pengelly finished the 2025 season with a walk rate of 6.4 per nine innings, which saw his ERA climb. Despite the results, his raw stuff, 6-foot-3 build and ability to generate swings and misses were hard to ignore.
Following the college season, Pengelly pitched in the MLB Draft League for the State College Spikes in the summer of 2025. The league is designed to showcase draft-eligible and recently drafted players, and was a place where Pengelley could continue to build as a starter.
Pengelly posted a 3.16 ERA across 25 2/3 innings against some top college talent, striking out 30 batters, now touching 98.5 miles per hour with his fastball. Even more importantly, he showed marked improvement in his control, cutting his walk rate to 3.2 per nine innings.
The performance came at a crucial time and helped secure his free-agent deal with Toronto.

Finding His Footing

Pengelly’s professional career began in Dunedin shortly after the ink dried on his contract. In his first four appearances with the Dunedin Blue Jays, he recorded a 3.18 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP and 15 strikeouts across 11 1/3 innings.
While his walk rate increased slightly to four per nine innings, his outings showed an ability to miss bats and compete against professional hitters. The early results suggested that the adjustments he made in the Draft League were translating to affiliated baseball.
When asked about the most significant adjustment to pro ball, Pengelly pointed to some specifics. For Pengelly, simplifying his approach became a key part of his development and ability to adapt at the professional level.
“It was fastball command,” he said. “The biggest change was just focusing on commanding one pitch and owning it as much as you can, and letting that translate to your other pitches.”
Pengelly’s favourite memory from his first professional season came during his first week in Dunedin, in a doubleheader against the Tampa Tarpons, the New York Yankees’ Single-A affiliate.
He arrived at the ballpark expecting to pitch out of the bullpen. As the first game approached, he began warming up accordingly. Then, just before the first pitch, plans changed.
“We’re warming up, game one’s about to start, and our pitching coordinator comes out and asks what I’m doing in the bullpen,” Pengelly said. “I told him I was getting ready for the game, and he said, ‘Get your ass in the locker room. You’re starting the second game today.’”
Pengelly quickly adjusted, returned to the clubhouse and prepared to start game two. He went on to pitch two scoreless innings, striking out two batters in a clean outing. But more importantly, solidifying himself in pro ball.

Talkin’ Shop

One of the first things that stands out about Pengelly is his delivery, often described as “funky” because of its low arm angle, though the motion was never something he consciously tried to develop. Earlier in his career, trunk tilt caused his arm slot to appear higher, closer to a three-quarters release. However, as he’s developed as a pitcher, his mechanics have adjusted with him.
“It came naturally,” Pengelly said. “I just did what felt comfortable and what put me in the best position to throw hard and have control. Now that I’ve straightened my torso when I release, it’s more of a side-arm slot.”
The delivery creates deception and adds another layer to his fastball-slider combination, like other strikeout-focused starters such as Trey Yesavage, with his over 7 ft release height. That deception, intentional or not, certainly adds an edge to his game and something to keep an eye on in the future. 
Given his strikeout totals across college and pro ball, it’s not surprising that Pengelly’s fastball remains the pitch he trusts most.
“The fastball, at the end of the day, is the pitch I’ve always had,” he said. “But I’m pretty confident in my slider, too.”
Pengelly has also embraced modernity in his pitching through his development in Dunedin, but with some restraint, describing a relatively mature approach to emerging technology. 
“You use the data to see what you’re actually accomplishing,” he said. “There’s a lot you can dive into, but if you try to think about everything at once, you’re not going to achieve anything.”
For him, the wide world of modern analytics is something to build on his instincts and how he feels, rather than letting the numbers take the driver’s seat.

Looking Ahead

Heading into the 2026 season, Pengelly’s focus remains specific and deliberate.
“Getting a really good feel for a four-seam fastball, making some adjustments to my slider and improving my overall command,” he said. “And working on keeping my delivery as consistent as possible.”
With a high-90s fastball, good slider, and a developing splitter paired with his early success in Dunedin, Pengelly has positioned himself as a keen player to watch in the Blue Jays’ lower minor-league system as the 2026 season approaches.
A player once undrafted just a year ago, forced to free agency at just 22 years old, is now one of the most intriguing pitchers on the Dunedin Blue Jays. As Pengelly continues his journey, it’s a testament to his perseverance and trust in the process that got him to where he is today. 
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