With Shane Bieber's Toronto debut set, what are the other most hyped Blue Jays debuts?

David Cone

The Blue Jays were a juggernaut in the early 1990s, but while their lineup was as good as it gets, their rotation had some holes and on August 27th, 1992, the Jays sent prospect Jeff Kent and a player to be named later to the Mets for all-star hurler David Cone.

Cone would make his debut two days later, and... it didn't go great. He'd cough up seven earned runs on seven hits, walking seven batters en route to a 7-2 loss to the Brewers at Skydome.

Following another so-so outing in his next start, Cone would finish September allowing just four runs over five starts, allowing just 22 hits in 38 innings with a 0.94 ERA. He was also a key contributor in the post-season, making four starts, including tossing six strong innings in the 6th and deciding game against the Braves.

A starter acquired for the stretch run, making his debut in late August - probably the best comparable to the Jays' current situation. Will it work out as well this time around?

Troy Tulowitzki & David Price

There was magic buried within the 2015 Blue Jays, but up until July, it had yet to be unleashed.
And so, with his contract set to expire and seemingly no bleeps left to give, Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos decided to truly go all in. On July 28th, he'd land star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and reliever LaTroy Hawkins from the Colorado Rockies.

While Tulo's time as a Blue Jay on the whole may not have been what many had dreamed it would be, his first game, on July 29th against the Phillies, couldn't have gone better. Batting lead-off, he'd wind up with two doubles, a two-run bomb, and 3 RBI in an 8-2 victory over a surprisingly bad Phillies team.

Of course, Anthopoulos wasn't done - the day after Tulo's debut, he got a bonafide ace in David Price from Detroit. Arriving in Toronto with scooters and personalized bath robes for his team mates, Price became a fan favourite before he even threw a pitch.

And when he did, on August 3rd against the Twins, he'd allow just a run on 3 hits while striking out 11 in eight innings. By providing almost surreal instant stability atop a rotation that was suddenly loaded the Blue Jays went on a to claim the AL East, while Price went 9-1 record over 11 starts, with 87 strikeouts in 74 innings.

His performance in the post-season, a 6.17 ERA over four appearances (including a bizarre move by John Gibbons to bring him in from the bullpen) was ultimately not good enough as the Blue Jays fell to the Royals in the ALCS.

The Bieber acquisition essentially marks the third time the team has acquired a top-level starter at the deadline since the early 90s (with apologies to Esteban Loaiza), and those past two contributed to some of the most memorable baseball Jays fans have ever seen.

Whether or not the former Guardian provides that same spark remains to be seen - but his return to the mound Friday, and his eventual first game at home will be memorable regardless of the result.