Blue Jays Minor League Depth – Relief Pitching

May 5 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Steve Delabar (50) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Blue Jays defeated the Phillies, 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Possible Breakouts

–Gregory Infante– Surprise Candidate

Infante might be the dark horse candidate that runs away with the crown in the bullpen race.  He has improved his control a ton over the past years which lead the Jays to sign him to a minor league deal last off season.  He was brought into the closer roll for the AA New Hampshire team and did not want to give the spot up.  In 46.1 innings he saved 22 games.  The more astonishing numbers that caught my eye were the 8.5 K9 and the 1.036 WHIP.  He has the makings of a dominant reliever possibly closer with the Jays in the near future.  I recommend reading the above article by our Senior Editor on Infante.

–Blake Mcfarland– Not invited to the party

This big right hander is a possible strikeout machine.  At the age of 27 he has already had some plus performance at the minor league level and possibly is ready for a shot in the near future.  His K9 rating the past two years has been 9.6 in 2013 and 10.5 in 2014.  He is also finding out how to be a better pitcher and not just blow away hitters the past few years.  His ERA and WHIP has consistently dropped over his minor league career.  He could be a great pitcher if he keeps this pace up.

Toronto Blue Jays

Bounce Backs

–Steve Delabar– Raise the bar

We all hope Delabar regains his All-Star presence on the mound this year.  I personally had a hard time watching him last year.  It hurt to watch a guy that has been through so much that was able to raise above it all just to stumble all over again.  Now that he is 100% healthy I hope his velocity returns and he becomes the sure thing that he was in 2013 when he was an All-Star.  We all know what he is capable and I think we saw an imposter Delabar last season.  Looking at his stats I find it hard to believe that he is beginning to decline.  Since rebounding from his thought to be career ending arm injury he has put up very consistent numbers until last years.  He is working really hard to regain his form and expect to see him performing well out of the pen for the Jays this season.