Who should be the Blue Jays Opening Day starter for the 2022 season?

The Toronto Blue Jays open the 2022 season on the road in Baltimore to face the Orioles on March 31st for a three-game series before returning to home soil (hopefully) for the Home Opener against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 4th.

Looking at the Blue Jays roster, there are at least four solid locks for the rotation come late March: Hyun Jin Ryu, Alek Manoah, Jose Berrios, and offseason acquisition Kevin Gausman. There are a few pros and cons as to why each player should get the nod to start Opening Day in Baltimore, so let’s take a look.

Hyun Jin Ryu

The Blue Jays prize signing during the 2019/2020 offseason, Hyun Jin Ryu will enter the 2022 campaign on the heels of a year that was marred by injury and some inconsistency on the mound. Ryu was excellent in his debut season with the Blue Jays, finishing with a 2.69 ERA through 12 starts during the COVID condensed season but stepped back during his second year, posting a 4.38 ERA through 31 starts with a 7.6 K/9. The 31 starts is actually a career-high for Ryu but he was limited to just 169.0 innings due to the two separate IL stints.

Ryu made the Opening Day start for the Blue Jays back in 2019 against the Tampa Bay Rays, going 4.2 innings and giving up three earned runs, three walks, and four hits with four strikeouts. He earned a no-decision in the contest as he didn’t go deep enough into the game, with Jordan Romano earning the win after following Ryu, pitching a clean inning. In terms of an Opening Day starter, Ryu also took the mound for the first game of the 2019 season for the Dodgers (six innings, one earned run with eight strikeouts against the Diamondbacks) and is one of the more veteran arms on the roster.

The Blue Jays have two off-days within the first week of the season, one right after Opening Day and then the following Friday, so they could start Ryu in Baltimore for the first game and have him get an additional day of rest before his next start late in the Tampa Bay series.