Every baseball player’s path to professional baseball comes with different stories and experiences along the way. In Blake Purnell’s case, the 24-year-old took an unconventional way to join the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization in May. After spending three seasons in the SEC at the University of Florida, Purnell had to grind through the MLB Draft League, the American Association, and eventually the Independent League before having his contract selected by the Blue Jays, where he has since joined Single-A with the Dunedin Blue Jays.
At times, it would have been easy for Purnell to lose sight of his goals as he grinded his way through different leagues in North America. Speaking to Blue Jays Nation in an interview, Purnell touched on how the experience of getting his contract purchased from the Sussex County Miners by the Blue Jays captivated all the work he’s put into his career to this point. “There were definitely a lot of dark days because, over time, you think, is the work I’m putting in really worth it, or is it working out for me in my best interest?” Purnell said an interview over Zoom. “You just have to have the right support system around you, whether it’s family or friends, and continue believing in God. I had faith, stuck to my guns, and believed everything was going to work out in the end.”
Since joining Dunedin, Purnell has made eight appearances (seven starts) and has gone 2-4 with a 6.29 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. Over 34.1 innings pitched, Purnell has picked up 28 strikeouts, and in both of his wins, the right-hander went five innings and allowed only one earned run.
“He (Blake) and I started working together about a year ago, and we had the idea, along with one of his pitching coaches, to start throwing over the top again,” said Joseph R Guzman, MLBPA Certified Agent at Empowerment Sports Group. “This past offseason, I recommended that he go to the Frontier League with Sussex County, since they have such a strong track record of getting guys seen and ultimately signed.
“He had about 3-4 teams that had shown interest. I remember him calling me and asking what it looked like. I told him that it could happen at any moment, to keep his head down and keep working hard — and he did just that.”
Purnell’s first career win at the professional level came on June 6 after turning in a pitching line of 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K during a Blue Jays’ 6-2 win over the Daytona Tortugas. Purnell spoke about what it meant to achieve that feat for the first time at the professional level.
“It meant the world,” Purnell said. “It was definitely a lot harder than I thought it would have been to get at first. I’m just taking every day as it comes; I appreciate everybody around me helping out, and it meant a lot when everyone was congratulating me. It made me feel accepted and wanted here.”
After getting off to a strong start over his first three outings, in which Purnell posted a 3.95 ERA, the righty ran into trouble in June when he experienced his first stretch of struggles at the professional level. Across four June starts, Purnell went 1-4 with a 9.77 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP.
After experiencing a tough month, Purnell bounced back in his first start of July. Purnell turned in a pitching line of 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, en route to picking up his second win in a Blue Jays’ 7-1 win over the Jupiter Hammerheads. Even following his tough June, Purnell touched on how he’s worked to get himself back to the level he knows he can pitch at.
“Just take everything day-by-day, and don’t stray from what we’ve been trying to accomplish and build,” Purnell said. “Every day is going to be a grind. It’s not going to take a day for what we work on to start working in-game. I just need to trust the process and know that everything is going to work out.”
PRESENTED BY THE BLUEJAYSNATION NEWSLETTER
