Blue Jays' Palmer deals no-hitter -- again
Trent Palmer had the kind of night pitchers dream of on Aug. 19 for Low-A Dunedin. Less than a month later, he had another one. The right-handed Toronto prospect tossed his second seven-inning no-hitter in four weeks, striking out nine while walking just two as Dunedin silenced visiting Clearwater, 3-0.
Trent Palmer had the kind of night pitchers dream of on Aug. 19 for Low-A Dunedin.
Less than a month later, he had another one.
The right-handed Toronto prospect tossed his second seven-inning no-hitter in four weeks, striking out nine while walking just two as Dunedin silenced visiting Clearwater, 3-0.
“I think this time it was more excitement,” Palmer said. “It wasn’t as much of a shock as last time. I mean, obviously it was a shock, but this time I actually was able to celebrate, not more frozen. It’s pretty cool to be able to do it with [my teammates] twice.”
Palmer has been stellar all season for the Blue Jays, but started Wednesday night's outing on an auspicious note when he plunked Threshers leadoff man Jamari Baylor with the third pitch of the game. It didn’t rattle the 22-year-old. Palmer promptly retired the next 13 batters he faced, cruising into the fifth. That was when he knew the night could be special.
“Drew Hayes, our pitching coach, came over and said, ‘How are you feeling?’” Palmer recalled. “I said, ‘Good.’ He responded, ‘Well, keep 'good' in the vocabulary and finish this thing,’ and there it went.”
Inning after inning, strikeouts continued to pile up for Palmer, who fanned a career-high 11 in his last start on Sept. 8 at Tampa.
“The biggest thing was just changeup and slider command, being able to have it to get ahead early in counts and then go to the fastball or stay soft to put guys away, and the defense was beyond helpful,” he explained.
The Jacksonville product worked through some traffic in his final three innings. After walking Clearwater’s Juan Aparicio with one out in the fifth to snap his string of 13 straight outs, he bounced back to set down the next two to close the inning. The 22-year-old hit Arturo De Freitas with a pitch to open the sixth, but erased him on an inning-ending double play off the bat of Ethan Wilson.
Three outs away from his second no-hitter of the season, Palmer walked Threshers leadoff man Kendall Simmons in the seventh. Again, he was undaunted. Following a strikeout of Jared Carr, Palmer induced a lineout to left by Felix Reyes and a groundout in front of the plate from Aparicio to finish the feat. It was yet another moment the 2020 third-round pick will never forget in his debut professional season.
“Compared to where we were a year ago at this stage, it’s just nice being able to be back on a baseball field with teammates and just having fun playing the game that you grew up loving and enjoy playing,” Palmer said.
Since the start of July, the Rochester, Minnesota native has been dominant for Dunedin. Palmer sports a 4-1 record and a 2.09 ERA in his last 11 starts, striking out 68 batters in 51 2/3 innings while posting a 1.05 WHIP and limiting opponents to a .139 average. Impressive numbers, he said, come from steady preparation.
“Just actually having a true routine, stretching, making sure I’m doing arm care, I can’t thank the Blue Jays enough for stepping in and making sure I was doing those,” Palmer said. “I would do it occasionally in college, but I was never consistent. I thank them for making sure I’m doing those things that I’m supposed to be doing.”
Tyler Maun is a reporter for MiLB.com and co-host of “The Show Before The Show” podcast. You can find him on Twitter @tylermaun.
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring
'Hungry' Alcántara hoping to pounce on big league prey in '25
MESA, Ariz. -- The thing about jaguars is, you don’t want to see one when it’s hungry. So when Cubs legend Sammy Sosa spoke to the organization’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- and the No. 89 prospect overall -- the former slugger gave him some apt advice. “His
Rainiers broadcaster Pay talks historic role on MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Prospect Santos 'electric' in Spring Breakout start
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Malcolm Moore knew Winston Santos was locked in before he even threw a pitch. In the second annual Spring Breakout game, Santos -- the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was throwing to Moore, the Rangers’ No. 4 prospect and highest-ranked catcher. The battery more
Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
Fans in this Minor League town are hungry for ... the Spicy Meatballs?!?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Chandler adds mix to upper-90s heat in stellar Spring Breakout start
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the inaugural Spring Breakout game a year ago, as he was coming out to pitch the ninth inning, Bubba Chandler slammed a Red Bull and declared “let’s do this” before pumping upper-90s heat.