Patrick Corbin’s demotion to the bullpen is an opportunity for Spencer Miles

The Toronto Blue Jays announced Tuesday that Patrick Corbin will pitch out of the bullpen moving forward. 

This move closed the door on him being a starting pitcher for this team in the foreseeable future. What it did, however, was reopen the door for Spencer Miles to enter the rotation amidst an outstanding rookie season. 

While nothing is guaranteed in baseball, a strong and extended showing as a starter over the next few weeks could change the trajectory of Miles’ career. 

Why should Miles get a chance to be a starting pitcher?

The decision to move Corbin to the bullpen was weeks in the making. He pitched himself out of the rotation over the past month after impressing in his first few starts with the team.

The veteran left-hander failed to complete five innings in each of his last four starts, ballooning his ERA (5.09) and WHIP (1.55) into unstartable territory. His poor underlying metrics suggest these numbers are well-deserved and that he isn’t due for positive regression anytime soon. 

Miles is a completely different story. He entered July having pitched to a 3.00 and 1.06 WHIP across the first 51 innings of his major league career. Take out one blowup outing against the Baltimore Orioles on May 31st and those numbers would look even better. 

His tremendous success as a Rule 5 Draft pick is unprecedented. It’s only fitting that the Blue Jays give him some runway to truly prove himself as a starting pitcher.

He certainly has the stuff to do it. He averages 96 mph on his sinker and four-seam fastball, both of which have played up during his shorter relief appearances. He’s used them to generate a 55% groundball rate that ranks in the 93rd percentile among all qualified pitchers. 

Miles has also demonstrated maturity beyond his years. He’s one of several rookies making an impact for this team, taking the ball in whatever he's been needed and routinely keeping his composure in high-leverage spots. 

The Blue Jays appeared to be building him up as a starter in May before shifting him back into a traditional bullpen role when Max Scherzer—briefly—returned from the injured list. He pitched four-plus innings on three separate occasions, the last of which came on June 6th. 

Of course, the Blue Jays will need to be cautious with Miles, given his checkered injury history and the fact he had just 14.2 professional innings coming into this year. They have a responsibility to protect his arm, especially if they view him as a long-term piece. 

Keeping him in the 75-80 pitch range makes a lot of sense. That should allow him to complete four or five innings if he’s efficient, which is more than they were getting for Corbin. Then they can shift him back into the bullpen later if they acquire an established starting pitcher as expected. 

While anything can happen once the games start, this is a golden opportunity for Miles to continue proving himself to the Blue Jays’ front office. What he shows over the coming weeks could help shape how they view the starting rotation for 2027.

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