Toronto Blue Jays: John Gibbons Still Has Confidence in Drew Storen
By Paul Taylor
Despite Drew Storen’s struggles during April, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has complete faith in his pitcher’s abilities to turn it around.
The Toronto Blue Jays have endured a particularly underwhelming start to the season, finishing April with a losing record. Of course it’s early days, but no one expected them to struggle so much in the early going.
More from Toronto Blue Jays
- Blue Jays avoid disaster as Kevin Gausman injury not serious
- Blue Jays interested in outfielder Andrew Benintendi
- Blue Jays hope fresh start for Sergio Romo boosts bullpen
- Blue Jays need to have a break from Yusei Kikuchi
- Blue Jays: Nate Pearson suffers yet another setback
There are many reasons for the poor start, including the form of R.A. Dickey, Troy Tulowitzki and Brett Cecil. However, another player who has been less than stellar so far, is Drew Storen.
This has been somewhat surprising, considering who the Blue Jays thought they were getting when they traded for Storen back in January. With three effective pitches and a career ERA of 3.02, he was expected to provide a significant boost to the bullpen.
However, things have not quite worked out as planned for the 2009 10th overall draft pick. In fact, he suffered through a nightmare April, which saw him give up 14 hits and nine earned runs in just eight innings, for a horrendous 10.13 ERA.
Even worse, the average speed of Storen’s pitches is the lowest he has ever had in a single month, since entering the Majors in 2010. The question is, whether or not this is just a temporary blip, or something that is going to become a long-term problem?
It hasn’t all been bad for the 28-year old, with seven strikeouts and just one walk. It’s quite possible the early season struggles can be partly attributed to getting used to pitching regularly in the American League.
Regardless, John Gibbons has no intention on giving up on Storen just yet. As the Blue Jays manager told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith: “I plan on just throwing him out there.
“You’ve got to, otherwise you’re not very good if he’s not a key guy. The good ones, they all learn how to survive and make adjustments.”
It’s also possible the Indianapolis, Indiana native is still adapting to missing out to Roberto Osuna for the closer role. Gibbons went with Osuna, despite his being outplayed by his teammate during spring training.
Storen had 95 saves on his resume entering the 2016 campaign, including 29 in 34 opportunities last year. Further, he generally excels in save situations compared to non-save scenarios, as evidenced by his respective career ERAs of 2.29 and 3.84.
Gibbons was asked why he thinks the former Washington Nationals pitcher has struggled so far this season: “Who knows – it’s a tough role, man, being a bullpen guy year after year.”
Tough or not, this is the first time Storen has struggled to this extent. Despite the Blue Jays publicly declaring their complete confidence, they will become concerned if he doesn’t solve his current issues sooner rather than later.
Next: Aaron Loup injury update
What are your thoughts on Drew Storen’s performances so far? Are you confident he will turn things around, or are you concerned about what to expect from him moving forward? Let us know in the comments section below.