The Blue Jays confirmed the report that Pearson will start Wednesday's game in Washington, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

EDGE Analysis

This had been reported previously, but it was a scoop from one reporter. Manager Charlie Montoyo confirmed the report after Monday's game. Pearson has been one of the Blue Jays' best, most deserving starters all offseason, spring and summer, but the team will manipulate his service time by delaying his debut seven days. He has a 70-grade fastball, plus breaking ball and improving changeup and could hit the ground running in pro ball. While this is technically a "home" game for the Blue Jays, the game will be in the Nationals' home park.

Pearson will be called up to start Wednesday against the Nationals, Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet reports.

EDGE Analysis

Pearson was evidently not considered big-league ready on Opening Day but is suddenly ready less than a week later, which happens to be the first day on which the Blue Jays can call him up while denying him a full year of service time. The highly-touted prospect has appeared in just three Triple-A games, but his overall 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 30.7 percent strikeout rate in 25 starts across the three highest levels of the minors last season certainly suggest he'll have a good shot to hit the ground running in his major-league debut. While the Blue Jays are technically the "home" team, the game will take place in Washington.

Pearson will be promoted to the Blue Jays' active roster July 29, Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet reports.

EDGE Analysis

This isn't too surprising, since keeping Pearson down for the first week of the season gives the Blue Jays an additional year of control over the right-hander. Regardless of Pearson's role following his promotion, he figures to pitch a healthy amount of competitive innings during the abbreviated 2020 campaign so he can push up over 100 innings in 2021.

Pearson seems like a lock to pitch in the majors at some point this season if he stays healthy, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Given Toronto's track record, it is likely to manipulate Pearson's service time despite the fact he is already one of the team's five best starting pitchers. If he is kept in the satellite camp for seven days before getting the call, the Blue Jays will gain an extra year of team control. While Toronto is not a likely contender this season, it is imperative to get Pearson as many competitive innings as possible in 2020 so that he can push up over 100 innings in 2021. He had a 1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in seven innings this spring.

The Blue Jays included Pearson as part of their 60-man roster pool that was announced Sunday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Pearson is perhaps the most prominent name among the Blue Jays' non-40-man-roster players who earned a spot in the pool, which currently stands at 58. Though Toronto intends to develop Pearson as a starting pitcher, his triple-digit fastball and quality secondary offerings could make him an immediate weapon out of the bullpen if the big club is satisfied with its rotation options and wants to limit the right-hander's innings count. The possibility remains that the Blue Jays may opt to forgo using the 23-year-old in the big leagues entirely in 2020 as a means of delaying the start of his service clock.

Pearson would almost certainly be part of a proposed taxi squad for the Blue Jays if the minor-league season is canceled, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Toronto front office has made it clear the organization's top pitching prospect won't be rushed into major-league action, but if there's no minor-league season, Pearson's only route to competitive innings in 2020 will be with the Jays. Even if the 23-year-old does begin the season as part of a taxi squad, he may be limited to simulated games under the supervision of the coaching staff until he's deemed ready to take the next step. Given Pearson's dominant performance this spring against big-league hitters, he could push his way into the rotation picture quickly, but expect the Jays to be cautious with him.

The Blue Jays still intend to let Pearson prove himself at Triple-A Buffalo before promoting him to the majors, which could push his big-league debut to 2021 if there isn't enough time in a shortened 2020 season for him to do so, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

"We have to make the decision on what we feel will be best for his development," general manager Ross Atkins said this week. "Rewinding to three weeks ago, we thought that would be starting the year [with Pearson] in Triple-A. I would say that we most likely will still feel that way, but there's still so much more to the equation and so much more information to come." While there's an argument to be made that the team's top pitching prospect should get called up sooner, as he could make a bigger impact in the standings during a shortened campaign, the Jays remain committed to his long-term development and won't speed up the process. Given how he looked this spring, Pearson could easily dominate the International League for a few weeks out of the gate before forcing his way into the Toronto rotation. Any struggles or setbacks, however, and he could miss his window to debut in 2020.

Pearson won't have an innings cap this season, Andrew Stoeten of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

During a radio interview Tuesday, Jays president Mark Shapiro made it clear that while the club would keep a careful eye on Pearson's workload, the plan was still for the right-hander to get in as many innings as he could handle this year. "The one thing I think that is important and we had a lot of conversation about - both with him and on our own - is [if you] go in with a plan where you're trying to save innings on the back side - that's got a good chance to backfire on you," Shapiro said. "If something happens, (like) a twisted ankle, (or he's) hit by a pitch and breaks a bone, all of a sudden you look up and (it's) another year where you didn't get a lot of innings in. So we're going to go out of the box, treating this guy like everybody else, and letting him amass his innings. And if at some point, if fatigue sets in - we're not setting an innings limit, per se - but if fatigue sets in we'll adjust at that point and back it up." Shapiro's comment about "trying to build a foundation for this guy to establish the routines and physical strength and understanding and knowledge to be healthy at the major league level and be able to pitch 200 innings" is another strong clue that Toronto intends to have him return to Triple-A rather than begin the season in the bigs, but Pearson's performance this spring has made it clear he already has the talent to dominate in the majors.

Pearson threw two perfect innings against the Pirates on Sunday, striking out three and hitting 100 mph with his fastball, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Jays' top pitching prospect wasn't just facing minor-league scrubs either, as his strikeout victims included Bryan Reynolds and Josh Bell. Pearson has struck out six of the nine batters he's faced this spring and has yet to allow a baserunner, but so far the organization isn't budging from its plan to send him back to Triple-A Buffalo at the end of camp. "He's got to deal in Triple-A first," manager Charlie Montoya said Sunday. If Pearson keeps dominating the Grapefruit League, the clamor to have him begin the year in the big-league rotation will grow louder, but even if he's forced to spend a few more weeks in Buffalo, it seems only a matter of time before he'll force his way onto Toronto's staff.

Pearson struck out the side in his only inning of work Tuesday in a split-squad game against the Yankees, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

He needed only 12 pitches to send Tyler Wade, Miguel Andujar and Mike Tauchman packing. "Man, his life on his fastball is everything," catcher Reese McGuire said after the game. "That's definitely his go-to pitch for everything. But slider, curveball, everything kind of mixed in, changeups. It was almost closer-like in that first inning. Just pumping fastballs, pumping everything right by everyone." Pearson, the Jays' top pitching prospect and the No. 34 overall fantasy prospect, almost certainly won't begin the season in the majors, but his big-league debut could come early in 2020 after the 23-year-old right-hander posted a combined 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 119:27 K:BB in 101.2 innings between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A last season.