This winter the Toronto Blue Jays made a couple of huge trades, neither of which -- oddly enough -- will show up on the field much (if at all) in 2011.
Spring Training 2011 Question Of The Day: Toronto Blue Jays
Like their American League East counterparts in Baltimore, the Toronto Blue Jays are counting on a talented group of young starting pitchers to point them toward contention in the coming seasons.
In December, Toronto traded Shawn Marcum, the club's best starting pitcher, to the Brewers for (then) 20-year-old prospect Brett Lawrie, a second baseman who might wind up in the outfield.
In January, Toronto traded Vernon Wells and his grossly engorged contract to the Angels for ... well, if you want to get technical about it, for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera. Napoli was quickly flipped to the Rangers, and Rivera is ticketed for left field with the Blue Jays. But the whole point was unloading the $86 million still owed to Wells, and somehow Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos found a taker, with Toronto ultimately on the hook for just $5 million.
So those big trades were all about the future. Lawrie figures to arrive later this season, or perhaps next spring. And that $81 million Anthopoulos saved figures to come in handy when the Jays get closer to contending.
Meanwhile, Marcum was not only the Blue Jays' best starting pitcher, he was also -- though just 28 last season -- their oldest. And Anthopoulos didn't go looking for veteran leadership to replace Marcum, as some GMs might. Instead the Blue Jays are going to feature a Kiddie Korps rotation, with 26-year-olds Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow serving as deans of the staff.
Romero and Litsch will be joined by 24-year-old Brett Cecil, 23-year-old rookie Kyle Drabek, and (fighting for the No. 5 slot, as we speak) 26-year-old Jesse Litsch or 25-year-old Marc Rzepczynski.
Organizationally, everyone’s presumably pulling for Litsch in that battle, because just three years ago he was a moderate sensation, going 13-9 with a 3.58 ERA and tossing a couple of shutouts. But the two seasons since have been ruined, the first by Tommy John Surgery and the second by a torn hip labrum. Obviously, if Litsch can regain his 2008 form the Blue Jays might have the best No. 5 starter in the league.
Romero’s the nominal ace of the staff, by virtue of his two solid full campaigns; he enters this season with 27 wins, 18 wins, and a 3.99 ERA. Those numbers mark him as a highly valuable property, but there’s every reason to think he might take his game up at least another notch this season.
The Blue Jays' most exciting starter, though, is undoubtedly Morrow. Among pitchers who threw at least 100 innings in the majors last season, Morrow's 11 strikeouts per nine innings tops the list ... by a lot, as he's well ahead of Tim Lincecum, Jon Lester and everyone else. On the 8th of August, Morrow came within one out of tossing a no-hitter against Tampa Bay. One month later, having pitched 146 innings in his first season as a starter in the majors, Morrow was shut down and watched the rest of the season from the bullpen. Morrow's still not going to throw 200 innings this year, but he'll be stretched out more than last year.
Cecil led last year’s staff with 15 wins, but was arguably the Jays’ fourth-best starter. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; it was a talented group. Cecil’s not going to break any radar guns, but he gets the most from his low-90s fastball and solid complementary pitches. And again, he’s only 24.
And then there's Kyle Drabek, who at this point looks like the only nutritional fruit to drop from the Roy Halladay tree. Drabek, who skipped Triple-A last year, didn't enter camp assured of a job, but he's pitched well this month and has already been assigned a personal catcher. So it looks like he's sticking. Frankly, Drabek could probably use a bit more polishing, and we shouldn't be shocked if he does wind up doing some Triple-A time this summer.
It’s an old aphorism ... Young pitchers will break your heart.
Which they will. But if you're the Toronto Blue Jays, or for that matter the Baltimore Orioles, you don't have much of a choice. You collect young pitchers, as many as you can, and hope that half of them stay healthy and win more games than they lose. The Blue Jays' fate over the next three or four years depends on these young pitchers, right here right now.
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