Late-blooming Dallas hopes to continue climb up Jays’ ranks

Right-hander Chad Dallas practices at the Toronto Blue Jays Player Development Complex in Dunedin, Fla. Photo: Grace Klodt

March 28, 2023

By Grace Klodt

Centennial Sports Journalism

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect Chad Dallas credits his baseball success to his family’s passion for the game.

The University of Tennessee alumni’s dad and older brother played college ball and were the ones to introduce him to the game, and this is why making it pro with the Toronto Blue Jays has been so special.

“My brother played and he's a year and a half older than me,” he said, at the club’s training facility. “I started playing a couple months after him and played up with his age group for a while. And then my dad (had) played college baseball for a little bit, so he’s the one who got us into the sport.”

The pitcher took advantage of his dad Tony and brother Jack’s college experience, but didn’t know if he himself would make it.

“[My dad] went to Panola Junior College, it is in Carthage, Texas, the same JUCO (junior college) I went to … [and my brother] went to Lamar University, in Beaumont, Texas,” Dallas said. “But I started getting recruited while I was at JUCO and I had a couple of my dad's friends who played at Panola with him who went on to play at the University of Texas.”

Frank Anderson, who is the Tennessee pitching coach now, was previously working in Texas.

“So that's how I got connected with Tennessee a little bit. And … then they kind of started following me during JUCO and then I took a visit there and then once I took a visit (I knew) that's where I was going to go.”

In 2021, Dallas’ senior year at Tennessee, he was drafted in the fourth round (121st overall) by the Blue Jays. In his efforts with the High-A Vancouver Canadians last season, he went 1-7, with a 4.60 ERA, totaling 86 strikeout in 88 innings.

Dallas’s dad and brother both playing the sport are what motivated him to play, but his love for the game is what has kept him going all this time. He matured at a later age so he didn’t always know this was going to be in the cards for him.

“I thought I was a good player, but I didn’t get college recruited until the summer going into my senior year, so you could say I'm kind of a late bloomer,” said Dallas. “But you know, I didn't always have it promised, I guess, but always had a feeling that I could.