Jays Starting Pitching Depth

Before I begin breaking down the current pitching depth of the Jays, I’d like to give a shout to to Wally Fish and encourage everyone to follow his posts on Kings of Kauffman. Wally is responsible for getting me over to Fansided and I appreciate all of his help thus far. He recently pointed out in his posts that the Jays may have hit a HR when they hired Alex as GM, and I entirely agree with that assessment. The impact of his recent deal can be seen in the pitching depth listed below.

As Alex Anthopoulos took over from JP Ricciardi, the Angels were offering 3 years of Saunders, JP had not been successful in getting Drabek or Happ included in a deal, and the Red Sox and Yankees seemed very reluctant to include Clay Buchholz, Phil Hughes, or Joba Chamberlain in any deal. Out of all of those arms, the one the Jays sought most was Kyle Drabek, and that’s exactly what Alex got. The Phillies have stated that had Alex not allowed for negotiations to take place with Doc, there would have been no deal struck. If one had been struck, it certainly wouldn’t have included Kyle.

Well, now Kyle Drabek is property of the Jays and will hopefully be one of the many prominent pieces the Jays have for their rotation. I will include the injured in hopes that can take over at some point in 2010.

Expected Beginning 2010 Rotation :

1. LHP Ricky Romero (26) 6’0″ 215 lbs #2 potential
2. RHP Shaun Marcum (29) 5’10” 195 lbs #3 potential
3. LHP Brett Cecil (23) 6’2″ 225 lbs #1-2 potential
4. RHP Scott Richmond (30) 6’5″ 215 lbs #4-5 potential
5. LHP Marc Rzepczynski (24) 6’1″ 205 lbs #1-2 potential

The others that could be in play include:

1. RHP Zach Stewart (23) 6’2″ 205 lbs  #2-4 potential
2. RHP Kyle Drabek (22) 6’0″ 155 lbs #1 potential
3. RHP Jesse Litsch (24) 6’1″ 215 lbs #3 potential
4. LHP Brad Mills (24) 5’11” 185 lbs #4-5 potential
5. RHP Robert Ray (25) 6’5″ 195 lbs #3 potential
6. LHP David Purcey (27) 6’4″ 240 lbs #4-5 potential
7. RHP Reidier Gonzalez (24) 5’9″ 215 lbs #2-4 potential
8. LHP Luis Perez (24) 6’0″ 205 lbs #3-5 potential
9. RHP Dustin McGowan (27) 6’3″ 230 lbs *may wind up in the pen – potential as closer

While Litsch and McGowan are not expected to be 100% as the season begins, the Jays do have a lot of depth and a ton of guys who are close to earning a chance in the rotation. With only one of the 14 pitchers listed above being over 30 years old, the Jays are young and full of potential. The additions of Kyle Drabek and Zach Stewart really provide needed depth and more importantly, top end depth.

Potential 2011 Rotation:

1. Brett Cecil
2. Marc Rzepczynski
3. Kyle Drabek
4. Zach Stewart
5. Ricky Romero

With these top-end names in mind, and Henderson Alvarez and Chad Jenkins quickly moving up the ladder, the Jays have a lot of potential in starting pitching. Add to that the fact that they hold 10 draft picks in the first 3 rounds of the draft in 2010, and you’ve got the potential for the Jays to build on this very talented, young, and cheap rotation. It’s one that I definitely look forward to watch grow and mature into stars.