Trent Palmer

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Toronto Blue Jays #30 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Palmer stood out over the summer of 2019 in the Cape Cod League where he made seven appearances for Wareham and earned an All-Star nod that summer. He made just four starts for Jacksonville during the 2020 spring before the season was canceled due to the pandemic. It was enough for the Blue Jays to select Palmer with the 77th overall pick in the third round. Palmer signed for an above-slot bonus of $847,500 and made his professional debut the following spring with Low-A Dunedin, where he made 16 starts and compiled a 4-2 record with a 3.00 ERA--with 83 strikeouts over 63 innings. He broke camp with High-A Vancouver in 2022 and made six starts before he was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire. While there, Palmer made seven starts before he sustained an elbow injury in early July. He underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2022 and is unlikely to pitch in 2023.
  
  Scouting Report: Palmer is a large-bodied, low-slot righthander with an unusual operation and long arm action that hides the ball well. His pitch mix consists of three pitches: a sinking fastball at 92-94 mph that touches 97 at peak; a low-80s slider that generates ride like a cutter with the horizontal movement of a sweeper; and a high-70s changeup with heavy tumble and fade. Prior to Palmer's injury he possessed one of the best sliders in the minor leagues on pure stuff alone, though he struggled to command it for spells in 2022.
  
  The Future: Palmer is likely to return at some point in 2024, and with his Rule 5 eligibility clock ticking, he could end up fast-tracked to the bullpen when he is back on the mound.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 40.
• 
  Ranked Toronto Blue Jays #25 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Palmer was a reliever as a freshman at Jacksonville, split time between starting and relieving his sophomore year and took off as a full-time starter as a junior before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the season. The Blue Jays drafted him in the third round and signed him for $847,500. Palmer made his organizational debut at instructional league in the fall.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Palmer has a sturdy, heavy build that helps him generate a lot of power but he will have to maintain. His fastball comes in at 92-97 mph and he can both sink it or throw a four-seamer up in the zone. It will play better if he can improve its spin efficiency. Palmer's mid-80s slider flashes aboveaverage potential and he has worked to mix in more of his splitter. Palmer has a repeatable delivery and showed better control as a starter than he did as a reliever at Jacksonville.
  
  THE FUTURE: The Blue Jays will develop Palmer as a starter. He'll make his pro debut in 2021 at one of the Class A levels.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #165 prospect in 2020 draft
  Palmer’s first year as a full-time starter with Jacksonville got off to a great start as the righthander struck out 41 batters and walked just five over 27.2 innings in his first four starts. He was getting plenty of scouting attention for his early season performance after running his fastball up to 97 mph last summer in the Cape Cod League. On the Cape, Palmer appeared in seven games as a reliever and posted a 1.45 ERA in 18.2 innings with 21 strikeouts and eight walks. Palmer threw much better strikes this spring than he previously did as a reliever with Jacksonville in 2018 and 2019, and scouts think of him firmly as a top 200 prospect because of his improvement. This spring his fastball sat mostly in the 92-95 mph range, touching 96, and he’s mixed in two above-average secondaries in a slider and a changeup. His slider is a firm breaking ball in the 84-87 mph range. At 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, Palmer will need to maintain his body moving forward, but he’s shown a repeatable delivery that should give him every opportunity to start.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Palmer stood out over the summer of 2019 in the Cape Cod League where he made seven appearances for Wareham and earned an All-Star nod that summer. He made just four starts for Jacksonville during the 2020 spring before the season was canceled due to the pandemic. It was enough for the Blue Jays to select Palmer with the 77th overall pick in the third round. Palmer signed for an above-slot bonus of $847,500 and made his professional debut the following spring with Low-A Dunedin, where he made 16 starts and compiled a 4-2 record with a 3.00 ERA--with 83 strikeouts over 63 innings. He broke camp with High-A Vancouver in 2022 and made six starts before he was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire. While there, Palmer made seven starts before he sustained an elbow injury in early July. He underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2022 and is unlikely to pitch in 2023.
  
  Scouting Report: Palmer is a large-bodied, low-slot righthander with an unusual operation and long arm action that hides the ball well. His pitch mix consists of three pitches: a sinking fastball at 92-94 mph that touches 97 at peak; a low-80s slider that generates ride like a cutter with the horizontal movement of a sweeper; and a high-70s changeup with heavy tumble and fade. Prior to Palmer's injury he possessed one of the best sliders in the minor leagues on pure stuff alone, though he struggled to command it for spells in 2022.
  
  The Future: Palmer is likely to return at some point in 2024, and with his Rule 5 eligibility clock ticking, he could end up fast-tracked to the bullpen when he is back on the mound.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 40.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Palmer stood out over the summer of 2019 in the Cape Cod League where he made seven appearances for Wareham and earned an All-Star nod that summer. He made just four starts for Jacksonville during the 2020 spring before the season was canceled due to the pandemic. It was enough for the Blue Jays to select Palmer with the 77th overall pick in the third round. Palmer signed for an above-slot bonus of $847,500 and made his professional debut the following spring with Low-A Dunedin, where he made 16 starts and compiled a 4-2 record with a 3.00 ERA--with 83 strikeouts over 63 innings. He broke camp with High-A Vancouver in 2022 and made six starts before he was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire. While there, Palmer made seven starts before he sustained an elbow injury in early July. He underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2022 and is unlikely to pitch in 2023.
  
  Scouting Report: Palmer is a large-bodied, low-slot righthander with an unusual operation and long arm action that hides the ball well. His pitch mix consists of three pitches: a sinking fastball at 92-94 mph that touches 97 at peak; a low-80s slider that generates ride like a cutter with the horizontal movement of a sweeper; and a high-70s changeup with heavy tumble and fade. Prior to Palmer's injury he possessed one of the best sliders in the minor leagues on pure stuff alone, though he struggled to command it for spells in 2022.
  
  The Future: Palmer is likely to return at some point in 2024, and with his Rule 5 eligibility clock ticking, he could end up fast-tracked to the bullpen when he is back on the mound.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 40.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  May Update: Pitching from an extremely low slot, Palmer has an unusual operation that produces a tremendous amount of horizontal movement on all of his pitches. He struggles to command his slider and changeup consistently, but when he gets each in the zone he&#39s extremely difficult for hitters to barrel. All of his pitches produce over a foot of horizontal movement, which depending upon the pitch could be to the arm or glove side. If Palmer can tighten up his strike throwing he could develop into a back-end starter, but more than likely he can fit into a multi-inning relief role providing an unusual look out of the pen.
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Palmer was a reliever as a freshman at Jacksonville, split time between starting and relieving his sophomore year and took off as a full-time starter as a junior before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the season. The Blue Jays drafted him in the third round and signed him for $847,500. Palmer made his organizational debut at instructional league in the fall.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Palmer has a sturdy, heavy build that helps him generate a lot of power but he will have to maintain. His fastball comes in at 92-97 mph and he can both sink it or throw a four-seamer up in the zone. It will play better if he can improve its spin efficiency. Palmer's mid-80s slider flashes aboveaverage potential and he has worked to mix in more of his splitter. Palmer has a repeatable delivery and showed better control as a starter than he did as a reliever at Jacksonville.
  
  THE FUTURE: The Blue Jays will develop Palmer as a starter. He'll make his pro debut in 2021 at one of the Class A levels.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Palmer was a reliever as a freshman at Jacksonville, split time between starting and relieving his sophomore year and took off as a full-time starter as a junior before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the season. The Blue Jays drafted him in the third round and signed him for $847,500. Palmer made his organizational debut at instructional league in the fall.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Palmer has a sturdy, heavy build that helps him generate a lot of power but he will have to maintain. His fastball comes in at 92-97 mph and he can both sink it or throw a four-seamer up in the zone. It will play better if he can improve its spin efficiency. Palmer's mid-80s slider flashes aboveaverage potential and he has worked to mix in more of his splitter. Palmer has a repeatable delivery and showed better control as a starter than he did as a reliever at Jacksonville.
  
  THE FUTURE: The Blue Jays will develop Palmer as a starter. He'll make his pro debut in 2021 at one of the Class A levels.