Early Look at Upside Yusei Kikuchi Brings to Blue Jays Rotation

Kikuchi pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his Toronto Blue Jays spring training debut

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

DUNEDIN, Fla — Yusei Kikuchi grabbed at his blue jersey before hucking a warmup toss along the right-field grass at TD Ballpark. He threw casually before ramping up and moving to the bullpen as fans shouted welcomes to the Toronto Blue Jays’ newest arm.

Coming off a season of polarization—with an All-Star first half and a second-half ERA nearing six— which Kikuchi Toronto gets will define the floor and ceiling of the Jays’ rotation. In the lefty’s spring debut, there was a bit of both.

New York’s Anthony Rizzo stepped in to open the game, jiggling his bat over the plate before swinging through a first-pitch Kikuchi fastball, topping 95 miles per hour. Admitting to some early excitement, Kikuchi lost the Yankees’ first basemen on a walk to start the game before retiring the next six he faced.

Control wavered early, pulling cutters to his glove side throughout the first inning, but Kikuchi’s fastball velocity and slider location allowed him to battle out of the opening frame. He worked through the inning with two weak grounders to short and a 94 MPH fastball strikeout of Miguel Andujar, and then he locked in.

"I was a little bit nervous early in the game," Kikuchi said through an interpreter. "That first inning I wasn't able to settle down. Overall in the second inning, I was able to come back, got in a nice rhythm. I do believe my command is going to be a big part of this year."

In Kikuchi's best month of 2021, June, the Japanese lefty posted a walk rate of just 6.5% with a 2.94 xFIP. During his second-half struggles, Kikuchi had a 10.2% walk rate and 4.36 xFIP. Tuesday, 22 of his 35 pitches found the zone, finishing with four punchouts.

In the second inning, Kikuchi expanded his pitch mix, pairing the splitter in with his fastball, slider, and cutter. Working in the fourth pitch, Kikuchi struck out three Yankee batters on just 13 pitches, finishing his day with the Blue Jays up 3-0.

"We've talked about [the splitter] a little bit," Kevin Gausman said before the game. "He talks about it and he's like it's just inconsistent. But I think he's doing fine. I told him yesterday that he has a bunch of other weapons.”

Kikuchi’s best on Tuesday was his slider, inducing seven whiffs on just 10 offerings. The swing and miss stuff allowed the newest Jay to finish Tuesday's outing with a called-strike plus whiff rate of 34%. Albeit in a brief sample, the rate would've been the third-best amongst MLB starters last year.

Given a three-year, $36 million deal to fill Toronto's fifth starter role, Kikuchi isn't required to find his first-half, All-Star form from 2021 to deliver on expectations. But capable of those results, and flashing them on Tuesday, the upside he brings could make the Blue Jays' rotation unmatched.

"I think that guy pitched nothing but really good," manager Charlie Montoyo said. "That's why I was excited when we got him."