Blue Jays Nation’s Pre-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 20: Chad Dallas

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Brennan Delaney | Last updated 2/10/24

The pitching prospect we’re going to look at today raised his stock immensely in 2023.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual pre-season list, in which I’ll take a look at the top 50 prospects in the organization. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and other publications’ scouting reports if available.

Let’s take a look at Chad Dallas

Getting to know Chad Dallas…

Position: Starting pitcher

Throws: Right

Born: June 26, 2000

Acquired: 4th-round, 2021 draft (Blue Jays)

2023 Team: Double-A New Hampshire

Previous Ranking: 23

The 23-year-old righty was selected in the fourth-round of the 2021 draft, but didn’t make his professional debut until 2022. With the High-A Vancouver Canadians that season, Dallas had a mixed season with a 4.60 ERA and a 5.50 FIP in 88 innings pitched. This included a 21.2 K% and a 12.6 BB%.

Heading into the 2023 season, I liked what I saw with the off-speed pitches, but the numbers were concerning, especially the walk rate. Well, Dallas repeated the level to start the season, and posted a 2.03 ERA and a 2.88 FIP in 26.2 innings pitched, along with a fantastic 36.3 K%, and a relatively high 11.8 BB%.

In mid-May, Dallas was promoted to Double-A, where he finished the season with a 4.10 ERA and a 4.41 FIP in 96.2 innings pitched. The K% dropped to 25.8%, but against more advanced hitters, Dallas’ BB% hit a career-best 8.9%.

Here's Chad Dallas (@chadwell__)'s strikeout and whiff edit from Apr.26th.

He got a bunch of swings and misses. Here's his line:

5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.

Pretty good.#BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/fKkVJkqe5D

— Brennan qualifying offer Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) May 1, 2023

Overall, his 123.1 innings pitched were the most in the organization, and he posted a 3.65 ERA and 4.08 FIP, along with a 27.9 K% and a 9.5 BB% between the two levels.

Dallas ranks as Fangraphs’ 16th-best Blue Jays prospect, Scott Mitchell’s 19th-best Blue Jays prospect, and Baseball America’s 14th-best Blue Jays prospect.

Fangraphs notes that the introduction of his cutter helped give him a third pitch he sorely needed. They also graded his slider a 70, which lines up because it is absolutely disgusting, easily one of the best in the organization. Mitchell notes that the cutter sits in the high-80s and was an offering he could throw to lefties.

As for his velocity, Dallas sits between 93-94 mph, but has touched as high as 96 mph. It can be a useful weapon, but the off-speed stuff, especially the absolutely disgusting slider, is his bread and butter.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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