Blue Jays: Pitching prospects looking to bounce back in 2022

While the Toronto Blue Jays finished strong last season with a 91-71 record and one win shy of a playoff berth/tiebreaker, a few of the club’s top pitching prospects did not fair so well across multiple levels of the minor leagues in 2021.

Some had their seasons cut short due to injury and some just struggled to find consistency, let’s take a look at some of the Blue Jays pitching prospects who will be looking to bounce back in 2022 after struggling or being sidelined last year.

Nate Pearson

Poised to break Opening Day with the Blue Jays last year, former first-round pick Nate Pearson started the season on the injured list and the 2021 campaign for the right-hander would turn into one of the toughest seasons he experienced as a professional baseball player.

He would make one start with the Jays against Houston in early May, struggling with his command and failing to get out of the second inning, before being returned back to the minor leagues. Down in AAA, Pearson continued to struggle as a starter and spent some more time on the IL, with the pitcher eventually being diagnosed with a sports hernia injury. With the Bisons, Pearson pitched to a 4.40 ERA through 12 outings (six starts) and amassed a 12.9 K/9 and a 3.8 BB/9 through 30.2 innings. Pearson would find himself with the Blue Jays to end the season in a relief capacity and did finish strong, a 2.84 ERA through 12.2 innings, but still struggled with the command to the tune of seven walks through 11 games.

Pearson has the frame to be a starter and it is no secret that his stuff has swing and miss capabilities, evident by the high K/9 values over his time in the minor leagues. The current Steamer projection for Pearson has him starting 15 games through 33 appearances and earning a 4.33 ERA through 99.0 innings.

The end goal for the Florida product this year is for him to take the mound as a starter rather than a relief pitcher but he will need to stay healthy, as the club could have him being the year in AAA to get some innings under his belt. They could also move him to the bullpen to finish out the season but it will all depend on how well he starts, whether he is healthy, and if he can reel in the command that impacted his game last year.

Yosver Zulueta

If you didn’t know who Yosver Zulueta was in 2020, you probably jumped all aboard the hype train regarding the Cuban-born right-hander in Spring Training last year. Zulueta impressed early this spring, utilizing an impressive fastball that can touch 99 MPH and showcasing a strong presence on the mound at just 23 years old.

Tommy John surgery delayed his professional debut with the Jays until this past season and Zulueta would begin the year in Low-A ball with the Dunedin Blue Jays. Beginning the year in the starting rotation, Zulueta’s season quickly came to an end after suffering a knee injury in his first start of the season when covering first base.

With so much excitement coming into the 2021 campaign, it is super disappointing that a freak injury delayed Zulueta’s first real season with the Blue Jays, especially after the Tommy John surgery already set him back. He should be healthy and ready to go for the 2022 campaign and the torn ACL should hopefully not impact his ability to get back on the mound and continue throwing the heat the organization is used to seeing.

The best thing the right-hander can do is come back this season and continue throwing the fastball with some strong velocity and keeps himself healthy, with the Jays most likely sending him back to A ball to get some innings under his belt and maybe a move to AA by the end of the year.

Joey Murray

Coming into the 2022 campaign ranked as the Blue Jays #25 prospect, right-hander Joey Murray had the potential to make his debut last year before an elbow injury limited him to just 0.2 innings in the Florida Complex League. Murray would spend the season battling the injury and would finish out the year down in Dunedin with the club in the fall, getting some much-needed reps on the mound.

A starter for most of his professional career, it will be interesting to see if the club decides to keep him in the rotation or if they take Murray and his elite spin to the bullpen given the current rotation scenario and the recent elbow injury. Murray is also eligible to be selected if/when the Rule 5 Draft takes place once the lockout is over and is one of the prime candidates to be selected amongst the other Blue Jays eligible prospects. The front office is probably hoping that both he and Pardinho can squeak by given the recent injury issues but the risk to be selected is quite high for Murray considering he has some experience at the higher levels in the Minor Leagues.

Murray could make his MLB debut this season if he stays healthy and can find that elite spin that put him on fans radar and helped him amass a combined 11.5 K/9 in the minors, but whether he will remain in a Blue Jays uniform or be picked up in the Rule 5 Draft has yet to be determined.

Adam Kloffenstein

A former third-round pick of the Blue Jays back in 2018, right-hander Adam Kloffenstein has been a primary feature on the club’s top prospect list since being drafted. The Texas product has spent the 2019 and 2021 campaigns with the Vancouver Canadians (2020 in Independent ball with the cancelled minor league season) but the club jumped up to High-A this past season compared to the Low-A three seasons ago.

Last year was rough for Kloffenstein, as his command on the mound was not on point, evident by the 5.4 BB/9 and 61 walks through 101.1 innings. Of the 23 starts he made, Kloffenstein walked three or more batters in 15 of those games and that heavily impacted his stats line, finishing with a 1.549 WHIP and 70 earned runs. Kloffenstein also experienced some issues against lefty-batters, with opposing left-handers posting a .896 OPS with six home runs compared to righty-batters, .669 OPS with four home runs.

While the 6.22 ERA is not one that many predicted for the right-hander, there are still quite a few positives from Kloffenstein’s 2021 season.

For one, the 101.1 innings is a career-high and he stayed off the injured list for the entire campaign. He also struck out 107 batters through those 23 starts, showing the organization that his stuff does have swing and miss potential with his 9.5 K/9.

At just 21 years old, there is still lots of room for development and progress with TSN’s Scott Mitchell predicting the starting pitcher heading back to High-A to begin the 2022 campaign.