Now that it’s the first day of September, Major League rosters expand from 26 to 28 players, providing teams a bit more depth down the final stretch. Most times, these September call-ups are minor leaguers whose promotion won’t really move the needle, or else they would’ve been up already, but the Blue Jays might be one of the teams that have the most to gain from September call-ups as Ken Rosenthal announced that Nate Pearson is on his way to Toronto. You know it’s a big deal when Rosie tweets it out eight minutes into the call-up period.

Blue Jays promoting RHPs Nate Pearson and Bryan Baker, sources tell @TheAthletic.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 1, 2021

If this doesn’t excite you as a Blue Jays fan, then you’re probably one of those losers who have already given up on this season. Pearson, the Blue Jays’ #2 prospect, has insane potential as a 6’6″ righty who gets it into triple digits on the regular. His fastball isn’t just fast but it’s got some serious life on it, headlining a pretty solid four-pitch arsenal that proves he has the stuff to be a big-league starter. The guy’s been practically untouchable at times.

Nate Pearson was nasty.

The @BlueJays' No. 2 prospect strikes out the side in a 1-2-3 inning of relief for @BuffaloBisons. pic.twitter.com/Y1DwYbduuT

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 1, 2021

Nate Pearson has already pitched for the Jays this season with a start against the Houston Astros in May, where he showed flashes of his potential but was pretty erratic on the mound and got roughed up early, making fans doubt whether he was the real deal or not. But I think that Pearson’s gonna look much more like the guy we’ve seen feast in the minors this time around, especially if he gets eased into it by coming out of the bullpen initially. Jays fans might’ve forgotten about Pearson since stud Alek Manoah leapfrogged him as the Jays’ new hot young arm, but you better not be sleeping on him because he’s got real electric stuff.

What does calling up Pearson mean for the Blue Jays as they try to make a run for a Wild Card spot? Bullpen depth at worst, high-leverage outs at best. I’d like to think that Montoyo is gonna ease him into his role with the big league club, and as Pearson gets comfortable he could very well become an arm that gets called upon when the game is close late or when they need to get out of a jam. Ideally, Pearson would be great as the 7th inning guy for Adam Cimber and Jordan Romano to follow, and the Jays could use a reliable late-inning arm more than ever now that the Brad Hand experiment has officially flopped.

Top @BlueJays pitching prospect Nate Pearson spins a hitless inning of relief for @BuffaloBisons. pic.twitter.com/wKaukFdjAH

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 26, 2021

I think with a month left in the regular season and the rotation pretty set we won’t see Pearson making starts, but I think having him come out of the bullpen down the stretch can still have a big impact on this club. Not only that, but it’ll give Pearson some more invaluable big-league experience to prepare him for a rotation spot down the road. While the Blue Jays are gonna need to hit the fuckin’ ball in order to remain competitive in this last month of the regular season, it’s gonna be great to have Pearson available whenever this club actually has a lead to protect.

Could we see Pearson contribute in the capacity that Aaron Sanchez did in the second half of 2015 when he worked in the bullpen as a shutdown high-leverage guy? I sure hope so. That would be huge for this ballclub when they need to win as many games as possible to stay in the fight.

#Bluejays note: #Bisons closer Bryan Baker getting called up as per @Ken_Rosenthal. Is 4-1, 1.32 in 33 games for Herd. 9-11 in save opps. 40 Ks, 16 BB in 34 IP. Only 17 hits. Opp BA .140, WHIP of 0.97.

— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) September 1, 2021

And joining Pearson is Bryan Baker, who’s been the closer in Buffalo and has been pretty damn good. He came to the Jays via the Seunghwan Oh trade in 2018 and he has got some SERIOUS heat on his fastball. While Pearson is obviously the guy people should be excited about to watch at the big league level, I’m also looking forward to seeing what Baker can do under the bright lights. Dopes like Hand, Tyler Chatwood, and Rafael Dolis have set the bar low when it comes to relief pitching this season, but I think Pearson and Baker provide some real upside for this ‘pen down the final stretch.