Blue Jays: All-Time Drafted and Developed Relievers

#4 Mike Timlin

Picking up the save in the Blue Jays first ever World Series win should be enough on its on to get you on the list, but Mike Timlin did more than just that.

The Blue Jays selected Timlin in the fifth round out of Southwestern University during the 1987 MLB Draft.  He initially began his professional career as a starting pitcher and even made 22 starts in 1988 with the Myrtle Beach Blue Jays, however he was eventually converted to the bullpen and really started to take off.

During the 1990 season, Timlin started the season in Advanced A Dunedin as the team’s closing pitcher.  He would collect seven wins and 22 saves to a 1.43 ERA and be moved up to AA Knoxville to finish the season.  He would become the team’s closer as soon as he arrived and collected eight saves to a 1.73 ERA.

After having a superb 1990 minor league season, Timlin would break camp in 1991 with the big club and pitch in 63 games that season.  Out of the bullpen, Timlin would collected 11 wins and three saves with a 3.16 ERA, which helped him finish sixth in Rookie of the Year voting.  As said before, Timlin’s most famous Blue Jay performance was getting Otis Nixon out in Game 6 of the World Series to win their first ever championship in 1992.

Timlin would pitch for the Blue Jays until 1997 and became the closer in 1996.  During that season he collected 31 saves, however, the following season with the Blue Jays 17 games back of the AL East, he was traded along with Paul Spoljaric to the Seattle Mariners for a young player name Jose Cruz Jr.

Timlin finished his seven-year Toronto career with 23 wins and 52 saves while posting a 3.62 ERA.