Competition will be a great thing for the Blue Jays rotation in 2022

Unless the Blue Jays acquire another starter, there’s a good chance there will be a competition for the fifth spot in the rotation. I have a feeling that won’t be the only competition among Blue Jays pitcher in 2022 either.

Let’s start with that fifth rotation job, at least in terms of how things stand at the moment. It’s entirely possible that Ross Atkins and company will look to shore up the group with another reliable veteran, but I’m not sure that’s entirely necessary. Some depth would be nice, especially after all of the injuries that the pitching staff sustained in 2022, but the top four should be very strong and they have some solid in-house options to round things out. That could be a role for Nate Pearson if he can stay healthy and harness his potential, or perhaps the job ends up going to Ross Stripling, or even Thomas Hatch.

Beyond that obvious battle, I can’t help but think about how the other starters are going to push each other in 2022 and hopefully well beyond. The Jays are very well set up with Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios at the top of the rotation, and I’m sure they would both like to be viewed as the staff “ace”. Not that arbitrary titles like that matter all that much, but players do care about getting the ball in Game 1 of a playoff series, for example. That’s the kind of battle that could see the Blue Jays getting the best of the newly signed duo.

On top of that, it’s entirely possible that Alek Manoah starts pushing himself into the top tier of starting pitchers in the American League. His stats from his rookie season were extremely impressed as he posted a 3.22 ERA and a 1.048 WHIP over 20 starts, racking up 111.2 innings in the process, and striking out 127 batters along the way. I’m not ready to put that type of pressure on the sophomore big leaguer, and there is no reason to with the presence of Berrios and Gausman, but you can bet that Manoah has lofty goals for the season ahead.

And that brings us to Hyun Jin Ryu, who could be a real wild card for the Blue Jays during the upcoming season. It’s fascinating how quickly perception can change about a player, and the veteran southpaw is a perfect example. He entered the last two seasons as the unquestioned ace of the Blue Jays staff, and now many fans seem like they’re ready to write him off. I realize that at 34 years old he’s not getting any younger, but he has the kind of skill set on the mound that should age well.

More importantly, I feel like people forget how good Ryu was prior to the All-Star break, and just how hard the Blue Jays had to ride him at times in the first half. He had a 3.56 and a 1.166 WHIP before the break, and really struggled in the second half with a 5.50 ERA and a 1.308 WHIP. Looking even closer, Ryu has a 2.62 ERA when the end of May rolled around. and he was having himself a typical year worthy of borderline ace status. Unfortunately as the season wore on, it appeared that Ryu started to wear out.

With a normal offseason to prepare, don’t be surprised if Ryu has another very strong season or two in the tank. At his best he’s capable of pitching as good or better than any of the Blue Jays starters, which puts the rotation in a very strong spot overall when you line up their top four. I sincerely doubt that Ryu is ready to give up the kind of status that he’s carried throughout his big league career either, and I’d be willing to bet that he wouldn’t care for conversation about how he’s arguably fourth on the depth chart these days.

When I think about some of the best rotations in Blue Jays history, and even what we saw from the group in 2021, they’re at their best when they’re pushing each other. It’s a friendly competition when it’s among teammates, but it’s a very good thing when pitchers are trying to outdo one another, and hopefully that’s exactly what happens in the seasons ahead for the Blue Jays.