Internal Bullpen Options Available to the Blue Jays

Arik Sikula

Oct 22, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of baseballs before game two of the 2014 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Another selection to the AFL roster this past season, Sikula has done nothing but post great numbers throughout his minor league career. Oddly enough though, his development has been exceptionally slow to progress thus far. The 25-year-old right-hander from West Virginia was a 36th round pick in the 2011 draft, which might somewhat explain the delayed development. However, his stats tell a different story.

Over 186 career innings, entirely as a reliever, Sikula has posted a collective 2.23 ERA while striking out 206 batters and walking 49 – resulting in a 10.0 and 2.4 career K/9 and BB/9 ratio respectively. If that wasn’t enough consider that this past season was his best season by far, although he did have higher numbers in a small sample when he moved up to Double-A for 12 games. The scouting report on Sikula is thin but he has said himself that he relies mainly on his fastball and an above-average cutter while featuring a curveball and changeup.

Despite all of his success on paper, the Blue Jays were hesitant to push him to the Double-A level for very long. His showing at the AFL was very strong though, and he is currently pitching in Venezuela to build on his great season. Hopefully he won’t be too worn out by the spring, as a strong showing there would surely force the organization to push him up the minors a little bit faster.