Blue Jays: Looking at the internal options for the last rotation spot next season

Thomas Hatch

After a great 2020 campaign out of the Blue Jays bullpen, Hatch had an opportunity to make the 2021 Opening Day roster before an elbow injury shut him down during Spring Training. This led to the right-hander beginning the season in AAA, where he posted a 4.04 ERA through 15 appearances.

The right-hander would make two spot starts and one relief appearance for the Jays last year, getting roughed up to the tune of seven earned runs through 9.1 innings of work before finishing the year on the injured list with a hamstring injury.

With the injuries behind him, Hatch will most likely be given another shot at a rotation spot this upcoming season and should be one of the first names called upon if a starter goes down with an injury if he doesn’t crack the Opening Day roster.

It also wouldn’t be surprising to see them convert him to a relief pitcher given his past success in the role but given the depth options for starters in the Blue Jays farm system are lacking at the higher levels, it may be wise to keep him as a starter for the time being.

Ross Stripling

Acquired by the Blue Jays midway through the 2020 campaign, right-hander Ross Stripling has seen his share of ups and downs since joining the organization. He struggled in his first season with the Jays, posting a 6.32 ERA through five appearances, and followed that with a roller-coaster campaign in 2021 that saw him struggle to go deep into games but would follow that up with games where he would pitch well and limit the damage to just one to two runs while going five-plus innings.

Stripling was a starter to begin 2021 but transitioned to the bullpen to finish the campaign. Considering he has the most innings at the Major League level out of the internal options, one could say that Stripling has the inside track for the fifth rotation spot. However, after struggling to keep runs off the board last season and finishing the year as a reliever, there is no guarantee a rotation spot is available for Stripling and he will need to set himself apart from the group during Spring Training if he wants to avoid the bullpen.

Anthony Kay

Acquired as part of the Marcus Stroman deal back in 2019, Anthony Kay has bounced between the Major Leagues and AAA a few times over the past three seasons. Through 27 appearances (seven starts), Kay sports a 5.50 ERA through 68.2 innings and has struggled to get adjusted at the Major League level. One thing I will mention is that Kay was used as a starter for most of his professional career and the Blue Jays keep moving him back and forth between starting and working as a reliever, which is probably not helping his performance on the mound.

If the Blue Jays do not add another starter this offseason, there are a few internal options the club could use to fill the last rotation spot.

Ultimately, it may seem a bit early to have him be considered a relief pitcher at this point in his career, and having him stretched out in Buffalo could be the smart move in case the rotation starts to run into injury problems, as he only sits behind Stripling when it comes to MLB experience out of all the other internal options. A strong spring will go a long way for the New York product and where he fits in the bigger picture.