The Blue Jays have a winter full of pitching decisions ahead of them, with Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber, Jameson Taillon, Paul Sewald and Yimi Garcia all headed for free agency. That leaves Toronto with plenty of work to do before next season.
But tucked inside the organization is a name that could change how aggressively the club shops for arms: Nolan Perry. The 23-year-old right-hander has put himself in position to become a real factor in the Blue Jays’ pitching picture for 2027, and maybe sooner than expected.
Perry’s 2026 season was strong enough to earn him a spot among the finalists for the 2026 Minor League Baseball Breakout Player of the Year Award. Toronto highlighted the honor on social media by calling him its top pitching prospect and noting that he had finished his “incredible 2026 season as a Breakout Player of the Year Finalist 👏”
What made the year stand out was the way Perry handled every stop on the ladder. He opened at Single-A Dunedin, where he was dominant over five appearances, logging a 1.71 ERA and 0.67 WHIP while allowing only one home run and striking out 32 batters in 21 innings.
The next stop was High-A Vancouver, and the results stayed solid. Over seven starts there, Perry went 3-3 with a 3.23 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, piling up 46 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.
By the time he reached Double-A New Hampshire, he was still dealing. In nine starts, Perry posted a 2.32 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, gave up just 17 hits, and struck out 39 in 31 innings.
Put the whole season together, and the numbers pop even more: a 2.50 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 32 walks and 117 strikeouts in 82.2 innings across 21 appearances. That performance pushed him up to No. 2 in the Blue Jays’ prospect rankings and into MLB Pipeline’s top 100.
The most likely path has Perry starting 2027 at Triple-A Buffalo, though a quick move would not be a surprise if he comes out firing. That kind of rise would usually come with a catch - injuries in Toronto, or a few big-league arms falling short of expectations - but the upside is obvious.
Perry could end up joining Trey Yesavage as part of the next homegrown wave of pitching talent for the Blue Jays. And if Toronto believes that future is close, it may shape how the front office approaches the offseason. The club may not need to chase pitching quite as hard as it otherwise would.
Still, the lesson from this season is hard to ignore: you can never really have enough big league pitching.
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Blue Jays Face A Tough Louis Varland Decision Before His Value Peaks
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For a club that still has bigger questions on offense and in the rotation, the logic is fairly simple: elite closers can swing games, but they can also be luxury items if the rest of the roster needs attention first. Toronto has to weigh the risk of holding onto a reliever at peak value against the possibility that this is the moment to cash in and address more pressing needs before the market shifts. [Read more 🡒]