Toronto Blue Jays Season Preview: Looking at the starting rotation

Joe Biagini

It has been an up and down road for the Rule-5 draft pick after being a trustworthy bullpen option. The 27-year-old is now facing a tough challenge in becoming a perennial starter.

Unfortunately, injuries forced him to make more starts (18) than the team had wanted him to. Can some time in Triple-A be the recipe for success? The team will need to hope that happens if the moment comes for Biagini to get called up because of injuries.

The team wanted to give him as many reps in spring training by pitching him in six games, but it has not been pretty at times for Biagini. Speaking with Sportsnet‘s Ben Nicholson-Smith, Biagini pointed out that he has had issues working his secondary pitches in the zone.

"“Because of that, I felt like opposing hitters were pretty aggressive on my fastball, because I didn’t have a huge threat of those off-speed,” Biagini said."

Whatever the issue is, there is only so much room for error for Biagini to work with, but it’s better for him to do that in a development setting rather than in the major leagues. This is why the team went out and signed Garcia, because he allows the team to remain patient with Biagini.

Tip of the Tower projection: 73 IP, 3 wins, 4.45 ERA, 52 strikeouts. 

Next: Players who have impressed in spring training

Which pitcher are you looking forward to seeing in the starting rotation? Are there any concerns about the pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays? Let us know in the comments below.