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Blue Jays: 5 pitching prospects off to a great start
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Apr 21, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 21, 2026, 16:24 EDT
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A big part of the Toronto Blue Jays’ success in 2025 was thanks to breakouts in their farm systems.
Not only did young players find their way onto the big league team, but several breakout prospects were dealt ahead of the trade deadline, like Kendry Rojas and Juaron Watts-Brown. It’s looking like the farm system is trending in the right direction once again.
There have been plenty of hitters who have impressed, such as upper-minor prospects like Yohendrick Piñango, Charles McAdoo, Sean Keys, and basically all of the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats hitters. Blaine Bullard, JoJo Parker, and Carter Cunningham have impressed down in the lower-minors.
However, there have been a handful of pitching prospects who have impressed in the early goings of the season. Let’s take a look at them.

Nolan Perry

No prospect has impressed quite like Nolan Perry. Like Gage Stanifer, who broke out last season, Perry was drafted in the later rounds of the 2022 draft. The 22-year-old found success quicker than Stanifer, authoring a 2.93 ERA and 4.25 FIP in 46 innings pitched in Single-A during the course of the 2024 season.
Unfortunately, Perry underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2025 season. Beginning his season with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, he has a 1.38 ERA and 2.45 FIP in 13 innings pitched. A big part of his success has been his strikeout numbers, as Perry has a 47.8 K%.
There are just 10 players in the system who’ve pitched 10 or more innings, and Perry’s K% is by far the highest. Another encouraging sign is that Perry’s BB% dropped from 18.8% in 2024 to just 8.7% over three games. Perry was terrific in his most recent outing on Thursday, striking out 12 over just five innings of work. His lone blemish was giving up a double, but got out of that inning rather quickly en route to winning the Florida State League’s Pitcher of the Week.
The 22-year-old has two different variations of his fastball, a four-seamer and a sinker. Both pitches have a ton of spin and average tick over 94 mph. Perry also features a curveball, slider, cutter, and a changeup, at least according to Statcast data.

Daniel Guerra

I mentioned Perry’s pitching performance on Thursday where he struck out 12 over five innings of work. That just barely overshadowed Daniel Guerra’s start on Thursday, where he struck out 11 in five innings of work. Guerra didn’t allow a hit, walking two batters and also earning his league’s Pitcher of the Week.
Signed as an International Free Agent prospect in 2022, Guerra had a rather unremarkable start to his professional career, aside from posting a 0.84 ERA in 21 innings in the Dominican Summer League in 2022. In 2023, he had a 5.19 ERA, then a 5.56 ERA in 2024.
It wasn’t until last year that the 6’6”, 230 lbs righty began to break out, finishing the season with a 3.40 ERA and 4.57 FIP in 82 innings pitched, with a 24.2 K% and 11.2 BB%. That said, Guerra has found another gear in 2026, as he has a 3.14 ERA and 3.18 FIP in 14.1 innings pitched. More impressively, his K% sits at 40.4%, while he still has a high walk-rate of 12.3%.

Johnny King

Johnny King broke out in 2025, authoring a 2.48 ERA and 3.18 FIP in 61.2 innings pitched in the Florida Complex League and Single-A. In the FCL, he had a 41.8 K% and a 7.1 BB%. While he was still striking batters out in Single-A (38.1 K%), his BB% ballooned to 38.1%.
Still, the Blue Jays were aggressive with the left-handed pitcher they drafted in the third round of the 2024 draft, sending him to High-A to begin the season. He had a rough debut on April 7th, going just one inning with two walks, two hits, an earned run, and three strikeouts.
That said, King has responded in his last two starts. On April 12th, he went three innings, allowing just one hit, two walks, and striking out five. In his most recent start on April 18th, King allowed an unearned run in his three and one-third innings, walking two and striking out seven.
Through three starts, King has a 1.23 ERA and 1.97 FIP in 7.1 innings pitched. The FIP in particular is impressive given that his walk rate is still pretty high, sitting at 15.6%. King has struck out 46.9% of the batters he’s faced so far this season.

Danny Thompson Jr.

The Blue Jays drafted Danny Thompson Jr. in the eighth round of the 2025 draft out of UNC Greensboro, signing him to a bonus of just $5,000. He looked fantastic in his professional debut last season, authoring a 0.66 ERA and 3.40 FIP in 13.2 innings pitched. Somehow, Thompson has been even better in 2026.
Promoted to the High-A Vancouver Canadians to begin the 2026 season, Thompson Jr. has appeared in three games and has yet to give up an earned run. But it’s not just that, Thompson Jr. is rocking a 45.2 K%, while authoring a respectable 7.1 BB%.
The 23-year-old righty has pitched in a bulk-relief role for most of this season, going three and one-third innings in his first outing, then four innings in his second outing. Interestingly, Thompson Jr. started his most recent outing, going four innings with one hit allowed.
Thompson Jr. was used as a bulk reliever in college, starting just two of the 44 games he pitched in. It was a similar case for Devereaux Harrison, but the Blue Jays allowed him to start in his first full professional season. I wonder if the Jays will do the same with Thompson Jr.

Chad Dallas

Drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, Chad Dallas’ debut in 2022 wasn’t great, posting a 4.60 ERA and 5.50 FIP in 88 innings pitched in High-A. Repeating the level to start the 2023 season, he rebounded with a 2.03 ERA and 2.88 FIP in 26.2 innings over five starts. Dallas was then promoted to Double-A, where he had a 4.10 ERA and 4.41 FIP in 96.2 innings pitched, finishing the season with a 27.9 K% and 9.5 BB%.
Heading into the 2024 season, Dallas had some helium and was seen as a starter who could make an impact on the Blue Jays that season. Unfortunately, Dallas’ 2024 was hampered due to injury and poor performance once reaching Triple-A, authoring a 6.34 ERA and 5.54 FIP in 61 innings pitched. At the end of the season, Dallas received Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2025 season.
Dallas made some waves in Spring Training, striking out six of the 10 batters he faced while not issuing a walk. He’s carried that momentum into his return to Triple-A, as he has a 1.35 ERA and 2.03 FIP in 13.1 innings pitched. Additionally, Dallas has a 28.3 K% and 7.5 BB%.
It seems like a possibility that the 25-year-old could make his big league debut at some point this season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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