Blue Jays: Five Surprise Pitchers in Spring Training
Francisco Liriano
The crafty veteran has been lights out all spring making short work of any hitter who has stood in his way thus far. Francisco Liriano has tossed only 9.2 innings but has fanned 18 batters while only surrendering 2 runs on 6 hits, good enough for an impressive 1.86 earned run average.
The midsummer acquisition of Liriano last season looks like it is going to pay huge dividends and turn into one of the more lopsided deals in recent memory. General Manager Ross Atkins snagged not only Liriano but also prospects Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Drew Hutchison. For comparison sakes, Hutchison has a 7.41 earned run average serving up 23 hits and 14 runs in 17 spring innings of work for the Bucs.
Liriano appears completely recovered from his scary postseason injury where he was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Texas Rangers outfielder Carlos Gomez.
The 33-year old has the opportunity to be the x-factor in the Blue Jays rotation this season especially with a full season of his old battery mate Russell Martin calling the shots. Liriano will earn $13,666,667 million in the final year of his contract and may be worth a re-up for a couple more years if you are the Blue Jays brain trust.
Liriano is my pick to have the best season out of any of the five Blue Jays starters, yes even Aaron Sanchez.