Toronto Blue Jays Projected 2022 Pitching Rotation

After contentious discussions, the MLB lockout is over and teams have begun their spring training schedules. Opening Day has been pushed to April 14, which gives teams some extra time to finalize their rosters and rotations. In this series, TGH will be summarizing each team’s 2021 season and predicting their Opening Day pitching rotation. Here is the projected Toronto Blue Jays pitching rotation for 2022.

Summary

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been complicated for the Blue Jays, as they have bounced around from Florida to Buffalo and back to Toronto for their home games since it began. Despite a record of 91-71, which was their best since 2015, the Blue Jays did not earn a postseason berth.

They finished fourth in the AL East, as the teams above them (the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox), all acquired playoff berths. As travel restrictions are slowly lifted, the Blue Jays will try to top one or all of those teams as they try to return to the postseason playing their home games in the Rogers Centre.

1. Jose Berrios

Berrios has been named the Opening Day starter for the Blue Jays on April 8 against the Rangers. He had a 3.52 ERA combined with Toronto and Minnesota last season.

2. Kevin Gausman

Gausman was an All Star last year, and finished in sixth place in Cy Young Award voting. In an MLB-leading 33 games started, he went 14-6 with an impressive ERA of just 2.81. He is the obvious choice for the second spot in the rotation.

3. Hyun-Jin Ryu

With an ERA of 4.37 over 169 innings pitched in his second year with the Blue Jays, Ryu takes the third slot in this projected starting rotation. He is a workhorse pitcher who has proven he can eat up innings during his time with the Dodgers.

4. Alek Manoah

Manoah showed promise in his first year in the majors. In 111.2 innings pitched, he earned an ERA of 3.22 and won nine games. He also started in all 20 of his appearances. Ball control issues are a problem, as he led the American League with 16 hit batsmen, but he shows too much promise to leave out of this Blue Jays rotation.

5. Yusei Kikuchi

Kikuchi will make his Blue Jays debut in 2022, as he spent his previous three years of service with the Seattle Mariners. Last season, his ERA stood at 4.41 over 157 innings pitched. His win-loss record was under .500, however at 7-9.

Featured image courtesy of Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports

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