Major League Baseball’s website says the Toronto Blue Jays signed Eric Pardinho, a teenager from Brazil, on July 2. Pardinho is a pitcher. He can throw a baseball over 145 kilometers per hour. That is just about the average speed of a fast pitch in Major League Baseball. But Pardinho should get even better. After all, he is only 16. If Pardinho makes it to the major leagues, he will be only the fourth Brazilian-born player to play at that level. Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes was the first. Pardinho was rated as the fifth-best international prospect by MLBPipeline.com. He throws right-handed and is only 1.72 meters tall, which is short for a pitcher. He received over $1 million for agreeing to play in the Blue Jays’ organization. Pardinho said he was six years old when he started playing. His uncle saw him playing paddleball on the beach and thought he might make a good baseball player.