Blue Jays: Former pitcher dominating in Japan Pacific League

Former Toronto Blue Jays hurler Mike Bolsinger has found a new lease on his baseball life pitching abroad for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japan Pacific League.

Mike Bolsinger spent the 2017 campaign pitching between Toronto and the Jays Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo struggling to recapture his 2015 form. Last season Bolsinger made 11 appearances including 5 starts for the big club pitching to the tune of an inflated 6.31 earned run average.

The 30-year old decided to take his talents to the Pacific Rim this offseason and things could not have gone any better. In 17 starts for the Marines, Bolsinger is 13-2 with a 2.30 earned run average.

It has been a season for the ages for Bolsinger who recently became a dad for the first time while also making an appearance in the JPL All-Star game. The hurler has also been dubbed the “God of Victory” due to his recent efforts on the bump and his propensity to win.

Bolsinger credits his battery mate for his newfound success calling Tatsuhiro Tamura one of the best catchers he has ever pitched to:

"“It’s a little different out here, but my catcher has been a really big reason why I’ve been doing so well. He’s studied so many of these hitters and he really knows how to pitch them. That’s really been part of my success. But it’s also kind of been just going out there and feeling good. I’ve just been kind of in the zone. In baseball, you’ve gotta keep that going until something happens, because baseball is not always a nice sport to you. “This is one of the best catchers I’ve ever pitched to,he makes it fun to play baseball.”"

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Former Blue Jays farmhand Matt Dominguez is also on the Chiba Lotte squad although he has not enjoyed the same success as Bolsinger. The 28-year old Dominguez is batting .190/.269/.488 with seven homers in 37 games. The third baseman went hitless in five games with the Jays in 2016.

North Battleford, Saskatchewan native and former Blue Jays hurler Andrew Albers is also enjoying the same success as Bolsinger with the Orix Buffaloes. Albers is 9-2 with a 2.90 earned run average in 18 starts for Orix. The 32-year old made one appearance for the Jays in 2015 racking up 2.2 innings of relief.

Bolsinger is not the first former Jays player to rejuvenate their career abroad as slugger Eric Thames garnered rock star status during his three full seasons with the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization.

We wish the Bolsinger crew continued success on and off the field throughout their baseball journey.