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Toronto Blue Jays: Top Five Rookies of 2020

By David Corcoran

BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 18: Nate Pearson #24 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on August 18, 2020 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 18: Nate Pearson #24 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on August 18, 2020 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 17: Julian Merryweather #67 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 17, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 17: Julian Merryweather #67 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 17, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Patience paying off?

5. Julian Merryweather
The player to be named later in the Josh Donaldson trade from two years ago, Julian Merryweather, showed why Ross Atkins was so high on him.  The 28-year old prospect made his major league debut in 2020 after fighting through injuries over the last couple of years.  Merryweather made his MLB debut on August 20 and looked very impressive mixing his 98 mph fastball with an 85 mph curveball.  He struck out three of the five batters he faced and showed off some good defensive skills throwing out Bryce Harper on an attempted bunt single.

In Merryweather’s next three appearances he pitched two innings and struck out three batters in each of those games.  He was also used as an opener in two of those games, as well as in his final appearance of the year on September 17 against the Yankees.  Injuries arose again after his final game and he was sat down for the remainder of the season.

One of the many positives for Merryweather during his short sample size was he was never hit very hard, as he gave up just three extra-base hits and none were for home runs over the season.  He did walk six over 13 innings and allowed multiple runs in two of his eight appearances.

Merryweather finished tied for fourth in Wins Against Replacement (WAR) among Blue Jays rookies with 0.3, which he recorded over eight appearances.  His late season injury does not look to be too serious and it appears as though the team may push to have him as a full-time starting pitcher next year.  Merryweather should be saving the Blue Jays time and money going after a back of the rotation pitcher.

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