C’s Chat – 2026 Vancouver Canadians RHP #20 Nolan Perry – C's Plus Baseball

C’s Chat returns to the starting rotation with 2026 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Nolan Perry.

Hailing from the Land of Enchantment, the Carlsbad, New Mexico native mesmerized opposing batters during his high school days with the Carlsbad Cavemen.

Perry earned Gatorade New Mexico Baseball Player of the Year honours as a two-way standout in 2022. He batted .436 with eight home runs and 34 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases. On the bump, Perry won 10 of 11 decisions with a minuscule 0.42 earned run average over 66 innings. Reaching base against Perry was a major accomplishment because it did not happen very often, as his 0.42 WHIP (walks plus hits divided by innings pitched) would attest to. He struck out 115 batters and walked only nine over 66 innings to help Carlsbad win the Class 5A state championship. That came 25 years after his father Tim Perry pitched at Carlsbad High and he went on to pitch three seasons in the San Diego Padres system.

Originally committed to Texas Tech, Nolan decided to turn down the Red Raiders in favour of the Blue Jays when Toronto selected him in the 12th round of the 2022 MLB Draft on the recommendation of scout Adam Arnold. Agreeing to a $200,000 bonus, Perry began his professional tenure at the Florida Complex League in 2023 where he struck out 51 batters in 38⅓ innings and earned his first two victories.

From the FCL Blue Jays, Perry moved on to the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2024. He recorded a 2.93 ERA and struck out 57 batters over 46 innings, but his season ended in August because of an elbow injury. Perry had to undergo the knife for Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL and that resulted in missing the 2025 season.

Perry’s rehabbing efforts have paid off in a big way in 2026. He was back with Dunedin where he held Florida State League hitters to a .114 batting average. His most dominant start was five innings of one-hit ball and 12 strikeouts against Clearwater on April 16, striking out seven straight batters at one point. That effort led to Perry being named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week for April 14-19. A 1.71 ERA and 32 strikeouts against six walks in 21 innings for the D-Jays was enough evidence for the Blue Jays brass to promote Perry to Vancouver on May 3.

Against the first place Eugene Emeralds at PK Park, Perry showed he was ready for the challenge to face Northwest League hitters after throwing five innings of one-run ball and eight strikeouts in an eventual C’s victory on May 8. His Nat Bailey Stadium debut was one to remember as he struck out 10 batters over five shutout frames, escaping a bases-loaded jam with one out to earn the victory against the Everett AquaSox on May 14.

Perry’s dominance continued in his next road start as he fanned 10 batters over five innings of one-hit ball to get the win at Spokane on May 20. He was named the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week award for May 18-24. Perry followed up that effort in his next home start with a career-high six shutout innings and eight Ks in another win over Eugene on May 26.

MLB Pipeline filed this scouting report on Perry after ranking him as the 17th best prospect in the Blue Jays system.

“The 6-foot-2 right-hander generates a lot of spin on the heater, allowing it to generate decent ride on top of the improved velo. The extra heat has also allowed his breaking pitches to play up. He’s gone to his short 84-87 mph slider as his most-used secondary, utilizing its tight movement to place it well around right-handed bats, but he also drops in a 78-81 mph, 1-to-7 curveball that fools lefties too. After trying to find a changeup before the injury, Perry has worked with a mid-80s splitter that he’s still trying to locate consistently but is a better weapon than his previous offspeed option. Perry’s velocity jump hasn’t come with extra effort in his delivery, and he throws his array of pitches from relatively easy mechanics. His walk rates have been solid early on in ’26 but much of that comes from low-level hitters expanding the zone up-and-armside on the fastball and low-and-gloveside on the breakers. He’ll likely settle into average control, enough to be a back-end rotation option eventually in Toronto.”

C’s Plus Baseball chatted with the 22-year-old Perry during the team’s homestand against Everett in mid-May. This interview has been edited for clarity.

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C’s Plus Baseball – Nolan, thanks a million for this.

Nolan Perry – Yes, sir. Thanks for having me.

CPB – Let’s go back to the draft. You were taken in the 12th round in 2023. What was your draft day experience like?

NP – It was kind of different from other people. It was the third day. I didn’t know what to expect if I was going to get a call. I’ve been talking to the Blue Jays like a month or so. So, I really just wanted to go to pro ball. I didn’t really care about like how much money or whatever I got. I really just wanted to like get here. That’s my dream and the main goal. I just really thought that the facilities and stuff they have here probably are better than like college. And if I did get an injury, which I did, and I’m already here. Tthey have like all the resources to handle it. So, it was definitely a blessing to be here for sure.

CPB – Speaking of the injury, it was a UCL injury. What was that process like for you? I know it’s kind of tedious, but how did it go for you?

NP – It was definitely long. I had to be patient through it all but the beginning was kind of rough not being around baseball. Just kind of working on getting my strength back, range of motion. But after like the sixth month, I started to get in the weight room. Started to feel like a baseball player again. Started to toss little plyos (weight, sand-filled balls) around. And then once I started throwing, I felt pretty good. And then when I got in the live BP, it just felt a lot different than like before TJ (Tommy John surgery). So, it just felt really good.

CPB – What was the one piece of advice you got that got you kind of through the whole thing?

NP – Yeah, definitely don’t take the easy way out. And there are long days of rehab over and over the same things. Definitely just you have to do it. And it’s definitely a process and it’s well worth it for sure.

CPB – You mentioned the Player Development Complex. Was there something you learned about yourself? I don’t know if you’re an analytics guy as far as maybe your delivery or how your pitches work. Anything like that?

NP – Not really analytics. I would say just having a consistent routine definitely helps me in like the day-to-day. Especially on the mound having a plan. That’s definitely helped me a lot.

CPB – What is your routine when you get ready for a start?

NP – It’s really pretty simple. I usually just get here like three hours before a game. I’ll listen to music pretty much the whole time. And then I’ll go in the weight room, stretch out. And then we’ll have our catcher and middle infield meeting. And then I’ll come out here and do a dynamic warm-up. Try to just get the legs moving. And then try to adapt to like the weather, whatever it is. And then I’ll do some bands, some plyos. Then some med balls to get like the blood flowing a little bit and then I like to long toss before. Try to stretch it out and then go to the mound. And then it’s game time after that.

NP – What was your first taste of pro experience like where you pitched in Florida Complex League and Dunedin. What did you take away from that experience before, unfortunately, going on the shelf?

CPB – Yeah, honestly, the FCL was kind of rough. I kind of got hit around a little bit and kind of walked a lot of people. Like my first couple years, I walked a lot of people. So the big thing for me is probably just being in the zone. Establish my fastball in the zone and everything. If I establish my fastball in the zone, everything else pretty much plays well off of that. So just trying to focus on doing that.

CPB – What is your pitching repertoire right now?

NP – Got a fastball, curveball, slider, and a splitter.

CPB – Fastball, four-seam or two-seam?

NP – Four-seam.

CPB – How would you rank your pitches in order?

NP – I’d say one fastball, two curveball, three slider, and then four split.

CPB – So you’re working with two breaking balls. The curveball, is it, 12 to 6 or 11 to 5? How would you describe it?

NP – Sometimes when I’m trying to just throw it in there for a strike, it’d be like a 12 to 6 curveball. But for like a strikeout pitch, I just pretty much just rip it. And then whatever happens, I just rip it. So it’s pretty much that. But I like to get it in the 12 to 6.

CPB – Did you figure out the curveball yourself, or did someone teach you?

NP – Actually, my Dad taught me. He used to play minor league baseball a while ago. He taught me that back in high school. And then I kind of just developed it better on as I went on. I changed the grip up a little bit last year because it was more like a sweepy version. And then I kind of got into like a 12 to 6.

CPB – The slider, how’d you learn that?

NP – Actually in rehab with Gomez (Blue Jays rehab pitching coach Anthony Gomez). I was learning how to throw like a gyro. I mean, I threw a slider before, but it was kind of like a bigger, slower one. So I got the gyro and then just kind of trying to develop that right now.

CPB – And the splitter. (Blue Jays assistant pitching coordinator) Cory Riordan is a big backer of that pitch and Kevin Gausman uses it. What’s the challenge of trying to throw a good splitter?

NP – Honestly, for me, it’s trying to not let my wrist bend backwards. So kind of just trying to like flip my wrist down and like get my knuckles kind of to the catcher, I would say.

CPB – What is your general game plan though when you’re on the hill?

NP – Definitely to establish the fastball in zone and have at least a couple up in the zone, plus down in the zone so they know that’s there. And then pretty much work my other pitches off of that, like just whatever like I see on the swing or something. And then if I don’t really know what I see, I usually just trust the catcher and then trust my stuff that I can get it there and get it out.

CPB – I want to ask you about your start to the season. You started out with Dunedin, won (Florida State League) Pitcher of the Week. What was working for you that day?

NP – Really, pretty much everything was working that day. I felt really good, was in a good mental space. And then me and the catcher were on this like a good plan together. So yeah, that’s pretty much it.

CPB – I believe you struck out seven in a row. What was that like? You must have just been in the zone and just feeling it.

NP – Honestly, I didn’t really know how I was doing. I was kind of just in the zone, just trying to focus out. And then I guess it just works out.

CPB – You get the call to Vancouver. How’d you find out about it?

NP – It was after, I think it was a Thursday game. I think we just lost actually in Dunedin. And then I came back in the locker room and then coach Ryan (Dunedin Manager Ryan Casteel) called me into his office and then told me I was going to Vancouver. So it was pretty cool. I was very excited.

CPB – So you fly, I guess it’s from Tampa. How did you get here to Vancouver?

NP – I flew into Denver and then I flew to Eugene actually last week. And then the long bus ride back here this last week.

CPB – That first start in Eugene against the first place Emeralds. Pretty good debut. What was that like pitching in Eugene?

NP – It was nice. It’s definitely a nice facility there. The first couple innings, I was a little sped up from just being up here and being in a different environment. But after those first two innings, I kind of settled in and then got back to being myself.

CPB – Then (on May 14), five shutout innings, 10 strikeouts. What was it like pitching here at The Nat for the first time?

NP – It was electric, you know. These fans are great. I can’t say much more. It was awesome.

CPB – Do you try to block out the crowd noise? Because it does get pretty loud in here at times but you were able to keep your focus.

NP – Yeah, really when I’m on the mound, I really don’t hear much. But yeah, definitely coming in, I definitely hear the fans and it’s pretty cool to see.

CPB – I just want to talk about the fifth inning. You were cruising along for the most part. Then you had the bases loaded, but you still managed to get out of it. What was the mindset, you know, going through that? I know the pitch count was getting up there. Juanmi Vasquez was just warming up. But how’d you get through that? Take us through that fifth inning.

NP – Yeah, I wasn’t really thinking about the pitch count. That inning, I kind of got away from being myself. I was trying to be a little too cute around the zone. And then when coach Yardley (Eric Yardley) came out there and talked to me, kind of like reset me. I kind of just wanted to get in the zone and just let them hit it and see how far he could hit it and see what happens. It definitely worked out. Especially at this ballpark, the ball doesn’t travel where it fell.

CPB – It must be nice to pitch in a pitcher’s park like this. How does that affect the way you pitch?

NP – Honestly, not really. I’m kind of just trying to focus on what I do best and what got me here to the point. So I pretty much just try to focus on that.

CPB – Getting to the fun stuff here. As far as strikeouts go. Do you like called strikeouts or swinging strikeouts?

NP – I like swinging strikeouts a lot more. It’s a lot more fun to see.

CPB – When you got to the organization, was there anybody you hit it off with right away?

NP – Yes, Kelena (Kelena Sauer) and Carson Pierce. I was in rehab with them actually. It’s been nice to be around together. Our first outing actually, we all threw together so it was pretty cool.

CPB – Funniest teammate?

NP – It’s a tough one. Probably Duran (Edward Duran), but he’s not here. Manny’s (Manny Beltre) pretty funny. Chirinos (Kendry Chirinos) is funny.

CPB – Chirinos has come up quite a lot in this category. I also wanted to ask if you have a favourite major league team growing up?

NP – Yeah, I actually liked the Angels. I used to watch Mike Trout a lot.

CPB – Just wondering, are you related to anybody in baseball we might know?

NP – Not really related to anybody, but I grew up around Trevor Rogers on the Orioles. He went to my hometown, Carlsbad, New Mexico. I looked up to him going up to high school. So, that was pretty cool to see that he got up here from a small town. Looking to do the same thing.

CPB – And the final question I want to ask is about uniforms. The Canadians have a lot of different ones. I know you just got here, but there’s the Nat uniform, red, black, gray, blue, white. Do you have a favourite?

NP – I like the classic white on white. It’s definitely a clean look. So I always pick that. It’s a good look.

Nolan Perry File

Born – September 2, 2003, in Carlsbad, New Mexico
Height/Weight – 6’2’’, 195 lbs.
Bats/Throws – Right/Right
Uniform Numbers – Wore number 57 for the Florida Complex League Blue Jays in 2023. Wore number 33 in 2024 and number 35 in 2026 for the Dunedin Blue Jays.
Instagram – @nolanperry_
Twitter – @nolanperry101
Mound Music – “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Professional Debut – June 6, 2023, for the Florida Complex League Blue Jays at FCL Phillies. Pitched 4.1 innings with two runs allowed and seven strikeouts.
First Professional Strikeout – June 6, 2023, for FCL Blue Jays at FCL Phillies. Struck out Lou Helming swinging.
First Professional Win – June 20, 2023, for FCL Blue Jays at FCL Yankees.
C’s Debut – May 8, 2026, at Eugene. Pitched five innings of one-run ball and struck out eight.
First C’s Win – May 14, 2026, versus the Everett AquaSox. Pitched five shutout innings and struck out 10.
Fun Fact – Perry is just the second player drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays from Carlsbad High School in New, Mexico. The first was second baseman Brian Hall who was taken in the 10th round of the 2004 MLB Draft.
The More You Know – Perry was a teammate of current Dunedin Blue Jays pitcher Dayne Pengelly in Connie Mack World Series travel ball.