Blue Jays Surprising Starting Pitcher to Open Series Against Braves
It only took Easton Lucas five teams and six pro seasons to finally get a shot at a steady spot in a starting rotation.
Now that he has one, it feels like the 28-year-old Pepperdine product isn’t going to let go of it as the Blue Jays (9-7) return from Baltimore to start a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves (4-11) on Monday at Rogers Center at 7:07 p.m.
In his 14 previous Major League appearances with three different teams, he never made a start.
But the Blue Jays slotted him into their rotation after the injury to Max Scherzer. So far, Lucas has impressed in two starts. He's allowing batters to hit just .114 against him. He hasn't given up an earned run in 10.1 innings. In fact, he's only allowed four hits. He’s struck out 11 hitters and walked three.
In his last start on April 8 against Boston, he gave up three hits and one walk in 5.1 innings in claiming his second win. He struck out eight and walked one.
He’s done it the hard way. He was Miami’s 14th round pick in 2019 and he barely played one minor league season before the Marlins included him in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 shut down minor league baseball, which pushed back his progress another season.
He never reached the Majors with the Orioles, who traded him to the Athletics in July of 2023 for Shintaro Fujinami. Later that year he made his MLB debut, striking out seven in nearly seven innings of relief.
In 2024 he bounced around, starting the season with the Athletics, where he was eventually designated for assignment, followed by a sting with the Detroit Tigers, where he was also DFA’ed. The Blue Jays picked him up in August.
On Monday, Lucas will face Braves right-hander Grant Holmes (0-1, 4.00). Holmes is a former first-round selection who is in his second season with Atlanta. He’s given up seven hits and four earned runs in nine innings in his three starts. He has struck out eight and walked 11.
The remainder of the series will feature the following starting pitchers:
Tuesday’s game, set for 7:07 p.m., will pit Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (1-1, 2.33) against Braves right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach (1-0, 0.45).
Wednesday’s finale, set for 1:07 p.m., will pit Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt (1-0, 0.98) against an undetermined pitcher for the Braves.
After the series, Toronto gets a day off before hosting the Seattle Mariners starting on Friday.
