Examining The Blue Jays' Upper-Minors Starting Pitching Depth

If the Blue Jays lose a starter, who's up next?

© Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO – Nobody expected Alek Manoah to stumble out of the gate like this, but the Blue Jays rotation beyond the 25-year-old has been quite steady. Kevin Gausman is a true ace; Jose Berríos and Chris Bassitt have been excellent mid-rotation guys; and Yusei Kikuchi offers a serviceable five-spot.

That’s all fine and dandy when all five arms are healthy. Of course, there’s a chance the Jays skip a Manoah start day to give him a rest, which would require extra depth. And, should an injury occur, Toronto might end up in scramble mode as it searches for upper-minors arms.

Let’s examine the Blue Jays’ starting pitching depth to see what’s available if the club needs a boost.

In-a-pinch, bulk options

Mitch White

White will not be a traditional starter this season, John Schneider said Monday. The right-hander, who’s been on the IL since Opening Day with elbow and shoulder ailments, will handle multiple innings out of the bullpen going forward. The 28-year-old is eligible to return from the 60-day IL immediately, but the Jays will likely milk his Triple-A rehab to avoid burning a 40-man spot.

#BlueJays will no longer be treating Mitch White as a starting pitching option, John Schneider says. White is now bulk/multi-inning relief.

— Ethan Diamandas (@EthanDiamandas) June 5, 2023

Healthy or not, White has a 10.80 ERA in seven outings with the Bisons this season. He doesn’t make the Blue Jays a better team at this point.

Hayden Juenger

If the Jays ran a bullpen day tomorrow, they’d start with Trevor Richards or Nate Pearson. Beyond those two, the club doesn’t have any clear bulk options. Enter Juenger, the 22-year-old swing-and-miss specialist. The right-hander’s 5.40 ERA isn’t sexy, but he’s locked in for four consecutive scoreless outings with Buffalo.

His strong running fastball hovers in the mid-90s, and he plays a slider and changeup off the heater. Juenger wouldn’t remedy a serious injury to a Blue Jays starter, but he’d certainly help in a bullpen-day scenario.

Thomas Hatch

Since punting on his commitment as a full-time starter, Hatch has been quite steady in relief. He returned to the big leagues last month, allowing one hit in 1.1 innings pitched with three strikeouts. The righty is mostly fastball-changeup, which limits his ceiling, but he’d be a warm body in a desperation two-inning stint on a bullpen day.

Yosver Zulueta

After a few bad outings, Zulueta has lowered his Triple-A ERA to a more manageable 4.61. Earlier this year, Buffalo had him starting games and working as many as 64 pitches. That strategy didn’t work out, as the Cuban right-hander walked 13 batters in 15 innings.

Zulueta’s command is still very sketchy (7.9 BB/9), which neutralizes his solid swing-and-miss stuff (10.9 K/9). It’s a shame he can’t harness his pitches because the Blue Jays could use his explosive arsenal. Until the 25-year-old hits the strike zone more often, he’s unusable at the major-league level.

True starting pitchers

After Drew Hutchison exercised an opt-out clause, the Jays are dangerously low on true starting pitchers.

Casey Lawrence

This guy, still? You better believe it. The 35-year-old journeyman made six appearances for the Blue Jays in 2022 and was excellent in Triple-A (2.79 ERA). This year, however, things haven’t been so swell. Lawrence has allowed 69 hits in 57.1 innings, leading to a 5.81 ERA. Again, he has a pulse, which is something, but he wouldn’t be the Jays' first choice for MLB support.

Zach Thompson

The towering right-hander’s numbers in Triple-A are hideous (6.89 ERA, 2.1 HR/9), but he’s coming off a solid outing on June 2, when he went 5.2 frames and allowed two runs. Yup, we’re in a bleak position with the Jays’ depth if the only positives we’re sucking from this roster involve one Thompson start.

Overall, the 28-year-old has been bad in the minors, only further illustrating how imperiled the Jays rotation would be if it relied on one of these guys.

Bowden Francis

Made this last night, but here's Bowden Francis (@Bowdenpoint0)'s strikeout and whiff edit from last night.

4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB (1 HBP), 7 K.

Strong return from the injured list.#BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/IeV51yGUlb

— Ryley Delaney🏳️‍⚧️ (@Ryley_L_D) May 26, 2023

An injury has prevented Francis from getting a ton of work, but he’s most deserving of the first crack at a major-league start. The 6-foot-5 right-hander is built up to 74 pitches and owns a 3.45 ERA through four starts. The longballs (2.3 HR/9) are concerning, but he’s offset that with excellent strikeout stats (13.2 K/9).

Francis should be the guy the Blue Jays turn to if, for example, Manoah ends up on the injured list.

Returning soon

Hyun Jin Ryu

Ryu, who’s rehabbing from Tommy John surgery last summer, won’t make an impact until after the All-Star break, so there’s not much to fret about with him just yet. Perhaps, down the line, the Jays will use him creatively in a spot-start or six-man scenario.

Ricky Tiedemann

The southpaw hasn’t pitched since May 4 as he recovers from a left bicep injury, and that extended break essentially rules out any chance of him pitching with the Blue Jays this year. Tiedemann needs to test his mettle against Triple-A opponents before making the leap to The Show, so we’ll see if that happens first before evaluating him as an MLB contributor.