Toronto Blue Jays: Top Starting Pitching Debuts

5. Brett Cecil – May 5, 2009 – No Decision – 6IP | 6H |1ER | 0BB | 6K

Brett Cecil had the more success in his career as a relief pitcher and in fact was an All-Star in 2013 as a bullpen arm, but he came up through the system as a starter.  Cecil was a first-round supplemental pick in 2007 as compensation for Justin Speier leaving in free agency the year prior and made his MLB debut less than two years after being drafted.  Cecil was starting for the Blue Jays who were 18-10 to begin the season against the lowly Cleveland Indians who were seven games below .500.

The southpaw prospect started off his career well by striking out lead-off hitter Grady Sizemore.  After a pair of singles, he left the runners stranded by retiring the next two batters, which included getting Shin-Soo Choo to strikeout.  The second inning, Cecil’s nerves seemed to get the better of him as he hit a pair of batters, along with allowing another hit, which led to two runners scoring that inning.  However, after the second inning Cecil settled in and was able to pitch through the sixth inning and hand over the game to Jason Frasor with a 3-2 lead.  Unfortunately, Cecil would end up with a no decision as Cleveland scored four in the top of the seventh inning before the Blue Jays responded with seven in the bottom half to take the game 10-6.

The following season, Cecil would go on to win 15-games in the starting rotation, including going 11-2 against the American League East teams (4-0 against the Yankees).  He would struggle over the following two years which led to him being put in the bullpen where he became one of the most reliable relievers in all baseball.  Over his career as a reliever, Cecil posted a 3.61 ERA over 369 appearances which led to him signing a massive four-year, $30 Million dollar deal with the St. Louis Cardinals after his time in Toronto.

4. Marc Rzepczynski – July 7, 2009 – No Decision – 6IP | 2H | 1ER | 0BB | 7K

The Blue Jays selected Marc Rzepczynski in the fifth round of the 2007 MLB Draft and he turned heads as he soared through the minor league system.  By the time he was called up in 2009, Rzepczynski had posted a 20-11 record with a 2.76 ERA through the farm system.

He would face the Tampa Bay Rays during his first appearance and showed no signs of nerves as he sat down the first five batters he faced, which three were by way of the strikeout before walking Pat Burrell with two outs in the second.  In fact, during his entire game the only time he was in any trouble was in the fourth inning when he had a brief battle with his control.  Rzepczynski would walk three batters in the inning, while also throwing a wild pitch and giving up a single, but was able to limit the damage to just one run.  He finished his debut off with seven consecutive outs, but was trailing 1-0.  The Blue Jays would score a run in the eighth inning to get him off the hook for the loss, but Brandon League would surrender a walk off two-run home run to Burrell in the bottom of the eleventh.

After making 25 starts between 2009 and 2010, Rzepczynski would be moved to the bullpen in 2011 where he appeared in 43 games and posted a 2.97 ERA and 1.09 WHIP before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in a eight player deal that saw Colby Rasmus come to the Blue Jays.  Rzepcynski has bounced around the league since leaving the Blue Jays and appeared in six different uniforms since he pitched in Toronto.