Conversations with the Herd: Eric Pardinho

By: Brian Frank

Bisons relief pitcher Eric Pardinho grew up in the soccer-crazed country of Brazil. In fact, his father used the country’s favorite sport to help introduce Pardinho to baseball.

“I remember the first time that I played baseball, me and my dad,” Pardinho said in a recent interview with The Herd Chronicles. “He told me we were going to play soccer – and I was excited. He took me to a baseball field, but I didn’t know it was a baseball field. Then he said, ‘Okay today you’re going to practice baseball.’” Pardinho continued with a chuckle, “But I thought we were going to play soccer. I practiced and trained and enjoyed it so much. It was fun. After the practice, all the kids played soccer. It was a fun day. After that I just loved baseball.”

Pardinho eventually enrolled at Yakult Baseball Academy in Ibiuna, Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he learned to pitch.

“I moved to the academy when I was 13 and I lived there for four years,” he said. “I would study in the morning and practice in the afternoon for four years. It was a good time. I loved it there. It was a good academy. It’s a huge academy. They have a good school there. I lived there for four years.”

Pardinho was born in Lucelia, Brazil. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Pardinho pitched for Brazil in the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifiers at just 15 years old. He fired 2/3 of an inning in a game against Pakistan. He believes that he was so young at the time that he didn’t really appreciate the magnitude of the game.

“I was young,” he explained. “I was just excited to represent my country. I didn’t know it was a huge tournament. I just went there and had some fun and was just enjoying the opportunity to be there.”

Pitching at the WBC qualifier brought about a lot of additional attention for the young hurler, and helped lead to his eventual signing with the Blue Jays when he turned 16.

“After the qualifiers, everything got crazy,” he recalled. “I got some offers to go to Japan, and some tryouts in the D.R. and the U.S. That’s when I signed with my agent and he brought me to the U.S. for some tryouts. My birthday is January 5, so after I turned 16, I came here and played in the Perfect Game in Fort Myers, did some tryouts for some teams, and the day before I came back to Brazil, that’s when I signed with the Blue Jays.”

After signing, he reported to the Blue Jays’ academy in the Dominican Republic before heading to their Player Development Complex in Dunedin, Florida. It was not the easiest transition for a 16-year-old who grew up in Brazil speaking Portuguese.

“Everything was new for me,” he said. “I didn’t know how to speak Spanish or English. I didn’t know how the culture was and how the people were. Everything was new. At first, I stayed in the D.R. for like a month and everyone was nice to me, so it was easier to adapt. I started learning Spanish. After a month, I came to the U.S. and it was the same thing – everything was new, the culture, the language. It wasn’t easy at first, but everyone was nice to me, so that helped me to be there and be comfortable.”

In 2018, Pardinho reported to the Bluefield Blue Jays, Toronto’s Rookie Level affiliate in the Appalachian League. At just 17 years old, he posted a 2.88 ERA in 11 starts, striking out 64 batters and walking only 16 in 50 innings pitched, while holding opposing batters to a paltry .199 batting average

“I felt like I was young,” he said of his first professional season, “I still just wanted to play baseball. I love this game and I was just trying to enjoy every outing I had during the season.”

With the Lansing Lugnuts in 2019. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

He spent most of 2019 in the Midwest League pitching for the Lansing Lugnuts, where he had a 2.41 ERA in seven starts (33 2/3 IP) . However, the smooth start to his professional career came to a screeching halt when he required Tommy John surgery on his pitching arm. To make matters even more difficult, he had to go through the recovery process during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After I had T.J., it was a tough moment for me,” he said. “Every single day was the same, doing rehab, be in the gym, and after go to the hotel. I wasn’t actually playing baseball. It was a tough moment for me. Especially for my family, because I was by myself here. I didn’t go back to Brazil for two years because I decided to stay here to recover. But my family helped me a lot to not give up on my dream. That’s why I’m here right now.”

“I knew the whole process was going to be long. When I came back in ’21, I started feeling it in my elbow again – but it was in another spot. No one could figure out what was going on with my elbow. So, it was kind of in my mind a little bit because I just wanted to play baseball.”

He pitched just three innings in 2021 while rehabbing in the Florida Complex League. The next season, he transitioned from being a starter to being a full-time reliever while pitching at Low-A Dunedin and High-A Vancouver.

“It’s a completely different routine,” he said of moving to the bullpen. “I’d been a starter my whole life and after they moved me to the bullpen. It was tough at first. It took me like a year to adapt. But now I feel comfortable in the bullpen.”

His 2023 season at Vancouver did not yield his best results, as he continued his comeback from his surgery and transition to the bullpen. He had a 7.15 ERA in 56 2/3 innings pitched. Then in 2024, he returned to form, reestablishing himself as one of the organization’s top young pitching arms. In 21 relief appearances for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, he posted a 1.01 ERA, recording 37 strikeouts and walking 10 batters in 26 2/3 innings pitched, whie holding the opposition to a .149 batting average. He was rewarded for his performance when he was named an Eastern League postseason All-Star.

“Just trusting myself,” he said of the key to his success last season. “Be confident. No doubting myself. That’s what I think was the big thing for me, because after my T.J., it was a long time without playing baseball. I think that’s why I was struggling a little bit because it was just a long time and I wasn’t feeling confident. I think last year was the year that I really felt confident in myself. Every outing was like, okay, I can throw strikes, I trust my slider, my splitter, my fastball, everything is going to be good, and just trust myself.”

Pardinho has a 3.50 ERA in 18 IP this season. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

He earned a promotion to Buffalo last June. It took a little while to settle in at Triple-A, but he eventually found his way. He didn’t allow an earned run in his final 10 relief appearances for the Bisons last season, holding opponents to a .171 batting average during that stretch.

One of the reasons for his success in Buffalo has been his trust in his entire pitching arsenal, particularly his off-speed pitches.

“I really trust my breaking balls, especially my splitter,” he said. “I can use whatever early in the count, late in the count. I’m not saying that I don’t trust my fastball. Right now, I feel pretty confident that I can throw all my pitches early or late in the count.”

Pardinho believes he can continue to build on his current success and take his game to the next level by continuing to pound the strike zone.

“Throw more strikes,” he explained. “Just attack the zone. If I throw more strikes, I’m not walking guys. I have to execute my pitches too.”

It’s a long way from Lucelia, Brazil to Toronto. Pardinho has made the lengthy trek through the Dominican Republic, Dunedin, Bluefield, Lansing, Vancouver, New Hampshire, and now Buffalo – and he’s determined to keep pushing toward his major-league dream.