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.

Jose Berrios

Fresh off an offseason contract extension that will keep him in a Blue Jays uniform for at least the next five seasons, Jose Berrios is an interesting option for the club heading into the 2022 campaign when it comes to Opening Day.

With the organization giving up two top prospects in Austin Martin and Simeon Woods-Richardson to land Berrios at the 2021 trade deadline, fans were hoping to see a top of the rotation arm and he did not disappoint. The right-hander pitched to a 3.58 ERA with the Blue Jays and finished the year with a combined 3.52 ERA with 204 strikeouts through 192.0 innings. He finished fifth in the AL in terms of ERA and right behind Robbie Ray in terms of innings pitched, proving that he can last a full season. The Puerto Rican product finished ninth in AL Cy Young voting last year and was a Gold Glove finalist as well.

With all the transactions earlier this offseason and the 2022 season a mere few months away, who should be the Blue Jays 2022 Opening Day starter?

Berrios has a small sample size of starting Opening Day for the Twins since making it to the big leagues:

2020: 4 IP; 7 hits; 5 ER; 1 BB; 1 K; 1 HR @ Chicago White Sox

2019: 7.2 IP; 2 hits; 0 ER; 1 BB; 10 K; 0 HR vs. Cleveland Indians

Having Berrios open the Opening Day series against the Orioles would be a solid way to start the season with a pitcher who not only has experience with the task but is also coming off a strong 2021 campaign. He is also a workhorse on the mound with a solid track record, having never hit the injured list since turning professional (knocks on wood) and pitching 32 games in 2018, 2019, and 2021 (12 games in 2020 with the shortened campaign).

What better way to prove to the organization you are worth every penny of your new contract than to go out there and pitch some scoreless innings against Baltimore?

Alek Manoah

Making his big league debut for the Blue Jays last season, Alek Manoah was solid in his rookie season and was one of the biggest surprises coming into the season. Riding a hot streak from Spring Training and through three starts in AAA, Manoah joined the Jays and finished the year with a 3.22 ERA through 20 starts, racking up a 10.2 K/9 and a 1.049 WHIP on his way to 111.2 innings pitched.

Fangraphs Steamer projection for Manoah in 2022 has the right-hander starting 26 games with 162 strikeouts and a 4.06 ERA through 147.0 innings pitched. This would be a step back for the Florida product who had an excellent 2021 campaign but Manoah could prove any doubters wrong by continuing to pitch well in his sophomore campaign.

Manoah would be an interesting name to start Opening Day for the Blue Jays this season. He isn’t necessarily the most popular figure in “Charm City”, starting a fracas after hitting Maikel Franco with an inside pitch on June 19th that had the Orioles up in arms and lead to Manoah being ejected from the game and subsequently suspended. While it isn’t a guarantee that Orioles fans will remember the incident in question, an electric Manoah could provide some great fun in Baltimore if he continues his rookie campaign dominance this year.

The right-hander is also no stranger to the big games, making his debut against the New York Yankees at their home barn and going six strong innings without allowing an earned run with seven strikeouts. He also went seven strong against Baltimore at the tail end of the 2021 campaign when the Jays playoff hopes were on the line, proving to the Blue Jays that he could be trusted in do-or-die scenarios.

Manoah is made for the big moments. Why not let him start Opening Day?