Don't forget about the Blue Jays' internal rotation help coming in 2025

Not all is going poorly in Blue Jays land. While the team is wrapping up a successful month of August, there are young players standing out and others getting recognized for their accomplishments. The manner in which the season is coming to a close should make fans happier about what the future may hold. That is particularly true on a pitching staff that has seen its share of ups and downs but getting ready to welcome a host of internal options.

It has always felt like the Blue Jays starting rotation was going to be unfairly measured against the sublime unit from a season ago. Last season's group only used eight starters and posted some ridiculously elite numbers. During the winter, the Blue Jays largely shied away from investments in that group, instead calculating that they could realize a similar level of production in the new season. Plus, the return of Alek Manoah was going to be the cherry on top given the success he had achieved a few years back. What could possibly go wrong?

Of course, baseball is a sport that always manages to surprise you one way or another. Most disappointing and shocking were the continued troubles of Manoah. He arrived to camp in fantastic shape and talked about how much he had overcome. When he took the field, his one rough spring outing (four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings) quickly led to him being sidelined with shoulder soreness. It wasn't until early May when Manoah finally made his season debut. That initial foray was largely unsuccessful as the Washington Nationals battered him for seven runs (six earned) over four innings. Back-to-back solid outings against the Twins and Rays followed, before one more start and finally the moment that no fan will ever forget. Trudging off the mound in Chicago registered as a depressing moment for someone who had worked so hard to pitch again. At the same time, there were definitely things to build off during that stretch. What a shame that it had to be wasted! He pitched to an overall choppy 3.70 ERA in 24.1 innings and 26 strikeouts.

As the regular season wraps up, updates on Manoah have been scarce. Hearkening back to the Minnesota start in May, Manoah was pitching shutout baseball for six innings. In the seventh, an Ernie Clement fielding error caused a three-run homer by Jays killer Carlos Santana to count as unearned runs against Manoah. In short, he pitched exceptionally well and was victimized by one mistake. The rest of that outing is something to build off. The outing against the Rays on a Sunday afternoon at the Rogers Centre was even better. Plus, he was dominating before being lifted against the White Sox. If he can get back to that, there will be something to dream on.

Looking forward, this should make fans feel better. The success of Bowden Francis is most certainly invigorating, especially to fans who saw him perform so well in spring training. If Francis works out, then it will almost feel like winning the lottery from a baseball perspective. Spring performances can be slightly misleading since a lot of fans were excited with Chad Dallas even as he has since struggled at the Triple-A level this season. Scanning the rest of the options on the Blue Jays roster, the final few weeks offer a chance for Jake Bloss to get his shot at the highest level. Bloss was acquired at the trade deadline as a top-ranked prospect in the Astros system and pitched to a sterling 1.64 ERA in 66 innings before receiving a call to the majors. It will be fascinating to see how he continues developing his expansive pitching repertoire in Canada. Another internal option that can help next season is Yariel Rodriguez and his development as potentially a member of the starting rotation.

This discussion also serves as a reminder of what could have been. Imagine if Ricky Tiedemann could have stayed healthy for any period of time. Imagine if Nate Pearson could have put together any level of consistency and given fans a reason to be optimistic. Imagine if Landen Maroudis or Brandon Barriera didn't experience their own versions of elbow troubles. Truthfully, the Jays could have been in any number of situations if certain things had gone differently. Meanwhile, Toronto brass will need to be smart in how they introduce this emerging young talent to the highest level. It's a tricky situation because not all development is linear. Fans can only hope that they make the right decisions.