Under the Radar Blue Jays prospect: Nate Garkow

Nate Garkow’s career has been an interesting one.

The 27-year-old right-handed pitcher went undrafted but has made his way to Double-A this season, where he’s had good results. If you missed last week’s Under the Radar Toronto Blue Jays prospect, we took a look at Yondrei Rojas.

Garkow spent a season in Junior College before transferring to Point Loma Nazarene University, a Division II school. The righty spent three seasons there, posting a 4.30 ERA in 186.1 innings pitched. Garkow went undrafted but turned professional shortly after graduating.

In 2022, he signed with the American Association’s Sioux Falls Canaries, posting a 2.60 ERA in 26.2 innings to end the season. The 2023 season saw Garkow play with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League, with the Acadia native posting a 3.80 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched.

Garkow started the season with the Grizzlies, where he had a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched, striking out 37 batters for a ridiculous 21.3 K/9. I can’t find his precise strikeout rate because the Frontier League doesn’t keep track of batters faced, but Garkow likely had a K% between 55% to 62.7%.

His impressive start garnered attention from the Blue Jays organization, and they signed him to a minor league deal on Canada Day 2024. Garkow started his affiliate career with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, finishing with a 2.14 ERA and a 2.89 FIP in 21 innings pitched, with a 36.6 K% and 12.2 BB%. The righty finished his season with the Vancouver Canadians, pitching three scoreless innings.

Garkow began the 2025 season with the High-A Canadians, posting an elevated 7.56 ERA, but a much more manageable 3.96 FIP in 16.2 innings pitched. He had his rough outings throughout his High-A tenure, giving up two or more runs in five separate appearances, but his K% jumped to 39% while his BB% rose to 17.1%.

Regardless of his stats, Garkow earned a promotion to Double-A New Hampshire, where he’s taken a massive step forward. In 10.1 innings with the Fisher Cats, Garkow hasn’t allowed a run and has struck out 47.2% of batters, while walking just 8.3% of the batters he’s faced to give him a 0.91 FIP.