Originally posted on Baseball Essential
By Robbie Stratakos | Last updated 2/11/21
The Toronto Blue Jays committed roughly $52 million in average annual salary this offseason to four players who will man substantial roles and make a difference for their 2021 roster (George Springer, Marcus Semien, Kirby Yates and Tyler Chatwood). At the same time, while these players improve the Blue Jays, they don’t make them an AL pennant contender. What makes manager Charlie Montoyo‘s ballclub such a threat is their young starting pitchers taking an enormous step forward.
As is, their rotation will be some combination of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark, Robbie Ray, Ross Stripling, Nate Pearson, Steven Matz and Anthony Kay.
Outside of Ryu, the team’s cunning ace, this is a rotation of uncertainty.
Roark posted a 6.80 ERA across 11 starts in Major League Baseball’s 60-game season. Ray has been unable to regain a speck of his old ways (being a top-of-the-rotation starter), struggling to provide length and getting hit hard early in outings. Stripling is a flex starter coming off a rocky season.
Pearson and Kay made their big-league debuts last season, where they made a combined 18 appearances. Matz has surrendered 66 home runs over his last 71 appearances, 66 of which have been starts and pitched through the fifth inning in just two of his six starts with the New York Mets last season.
Pearson, Matz, and Kay are the prime candidates who could change the game for the Blue Jays.
Pearson is the team’s long-standing top prospect. They obviously have high hopes for the right-hander.
Matz was acquired from New York in January and offers the Blue Jays the chance to embark on a reclamation project, as he has been a reliable left-handed starting pitcher with a considerable sinker in the past.
Like Pearson, Kay has been one of the team’s top pitching prospects in recent memory and made his MLB debut last season. He could come into his own and provide the Blue Jays with a reliable pitcher to take the hill every fifth day this season.
Will veterans return to form? Can the kids take the next step? It’s a lot of what-ifs, but something has to give.
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