Blue Jays: Five Surprise Pitchers in Spring Training

The Grapefruit League season has rounded into the home stretch and meaningful baseball is in the not so distant future. Here is a look at five Toronto Blue Jays pitchers who have turned some heads with their preseason play this spring.

The Blue Jays starting rotation was a foregone conclusion way before the first pitch of the Grapefruit League was ever thrown. The only question surrounding one of the best rotations in the majors would be how Manager John Gibbons would align his five starters in the rotation come opening day.

The bullpen is where the question marks remain in regards to available roster spots after the likes of Roberto Osuna, Jason Grilli, Joe Smith, Joe Biagini and J.P. Howell. Pitchers vying for a shot at the big club have to make an immediate impression in a small sample size and cannot afford multiple bad outings if you are on the bubble.

The losses of Brett Cecil, Scott Feldman, and Joaquin Benoit during the offseason have potentially opened up the door for some fresh faces in the Blue Jays bullpen in 2017.

Two days ago, we looked at the five position players owning the Grapefruit season, take it for what it’s worth but here are five Blue Jays hurlers who have undoubtedly caught the eye of their skipper John Gibbons this spring in Dunedin.

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.

Marcus Stroman

Marcus Stroman dominated on the International stage leading Team USA to their first World Baseball Classic title. In a tourney where some of the biggest talents in the sport were on display, Stroman stepped up on the world stage and made everyone take notice.

Prior to leaving for the WBC the “Stro-Show” had made 2 appearances pitching 4.2 innings surrendering only 1 run while fanning 6 batters for a 1.93 earned run average. The fan favorite is attempting to rebound from a disappointing 2016 campaign where Stroman yielded an inflated 4.37 ERA and a 1.289 WHIP in 204 innings of work.

Stroman seems very motivated and poised to assert himself as one of the game’s brightest young talents. If he can live up to his potential in 2017 the Blue Jays rotation could be the best in the entire major leagues. There are not many major league staffs one through five that can boast the likes of Stroman, Sanchez, Happ, Estrada and Liriano.

It will be interesting to see if pitching in a postseason-like atmosphere so early in the spring will have any lasting effects on the young hurler, as the Blue Jays grind through the dog days of summer.

The sky is the limit for Stroman in 2017 who already has an MVP and WBC title under his belt before opening day.

Jeff Beliveau

 Left-handed reliever Jeff Beliveau is hopeful he will become a household name much like that of the Montreal Canadiens great he shares a surname with. The hurler is not sure if he is related to the Hockey Hall of Famer somewhere down his family tree.

The 30-year who last pitched in the majors in 2015 with the Tampa Bay Rays but has been on point this spring in limited innings. Beliveau has a 2.45 earned run average in 7.1 innings of work surrendering 2 runs while fanning five and collecting 3 holds in Grapefruit League action play.

The former 18th round selection in the 2008 amateur draft has 58 major league games under his belt with the Chicago Cubs and Rays between 2012-2015. The native of Providence, Rhode Island sports a career 4.00 earned run average with 47 strikeouts in 45 career innings of work.

Beliveau rehabbed back from torn labrum surgery in 2015 posting impressive numbers with the Baltimore Orioles Single-A and Double-A affiliates last season. The lefty amassed a 2.54 ERA in 31 MILB games.

Left-handed batters are hitting .243 off Beliveau for his career in 86 plate appearances. If Beliveau can consistently retire lefties, he could be a valuable asset to John Gibbons out of the gate or later in the season when the skipper needs fresh troops in the pen.

The Beliveau situation is an interesting one to keep an eye on in the remaining 10 days of camp.

Mike Bolsinger

The Blue Jays acquired Mike Bolsinger from the Los Angeles Dodgers last season in exchange for Jesse Chavez. In his first Blue Jays camp, the 29-year old has been steady with a 3.12 earned run average in 6 appearances and 8.2 innings on the bump whiffing 11 hitters while giving up 3 runs.

Bolsinger was a starter between 2014-2016 making 36 starts with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers. The hurler sports a career 4.61 ERA while striking out 171 in 189.1 innings of work.

After being acquired by the Jays, Bolsinger made 6 starts for the Buffalo Bisons to mixed reviews. He went 1-4 with an inflated 6.04 ERA giving up 17 earned runs in 25.1 innings. Surprisingly before the trade, Bolsinger was having a nice season in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League for the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate working out of the bullpen for all but two of his appearances.

It would appear that Bolsinger will be minor league pitching depth if the Blue Jays can sneak him through waivers, the hurler is out of options which could come into play when the Jays are deciding their next course of action with Bolsinger.

You can never have enough pitching depth as we all know and these decisions are good ones to have, hopefully, the Blue Jays can find a way to retain Bolsinger’s services for 2017.

Next: Blue Jays: Five Surprise Players in Spring Training