Jays - Bullpen Aces

In 2008 the Toronto Blue Jays had the number one bullpen in the Major Leagues led by closer BJ Ryan who returned from Tommy John surgery, set-up man Scott Downs, hard working Jason Frasor and youngster Jesse Carlson.

Fast forward to 2009 and the Jays believed the bullpen would once again be spectacular since many of the same faces would be waiting beyond the right field wall in case one of the starters couldn’t go nine innings. Then, injuries struck and shut down BJ Ryan and forced some of the talent to go from the ‘pen to the starting rotation. Brian Tallet and Scott Richmond have already spent time in the starting rotation this season unexpectedly. Although you would think the bullpen would suffer, the Jays have gotten help from Shawn Camp and Brandon League to fill in the gaps and shut down the opposition late in games.

With the best record in the American League, there isn’t much to complain about with regards to the Jays. A bullpen that again is near the top in most of the pitching categories and is leading in strikeouts won’t have many chinks in the armour.

A review of the staff;

Excellent
Scott Downs: Started the season as the set-up man, but has been thrust into the closer role as BJ Ryan went down with an injury to his trapezius muscles. He was steady coming out of spring training and many people thought he had earned the closer job at that time. Downs has continued to be shut down and is at his most effective when he gets the first batter he faces out. Look for Downs to continue in the closer role in the near future, and manager Cito Gaston will have a big decision to make when Ryan returns.

Jason Frasor: He has been the big winner out of the relievers this season and has benefited from all the run support that the Jays offence is putting up. Frasor has a league leading 4 wins as a reliever. The wins can only come if he is holding the opponents down when he enters the game. No Jay fan is worrying when they see Frasor trot in from the bullpen.

Very Good
Jesse Carlson: The hard throwing left-hander has come into games in tight situations and has created some of his own. He has managed to work himself out of jams, but it would be nice to see him get some more strikeouts. You cannot complain about only giving up 11 hits in the 15 innings he has pitched,. Carlson has started to give up more hits lately, maybe hitters are starting to learn his unorthodox delivery, but he should have enough juice on his pitches to stay effective for some time.

Brandon League: The workhorse of the Toronto bullpen, League has been the man that Gaston sends out in any situation. He has been consistent in getting the Jays to the 8th or 9th innings. Although, his numbers may not be stellar he will be the glue of the ‘pen for the remainder of the season.

Good:
Shawn Camp: Another one of the relievers that is getting more than his fair share of work is Camp. To open the season he was the strong arm and able to stop rallies before they started. Recently, he has come back to earth, giving up runs late in games to cost the Jays a couple of wins. With so many young arms and vets returning from injury, Camp may see some more time in Las Vegas (AAA) this season, but he can and will need to be an important part of the bullpen if the Jays want to contend.

Poor
BJ Ryan: Until his injury six appearances into the season, BJ Ryan wasn’t the same pitcher he was in 2008. It started early in spring training when he pulled himself out of the World Baseball Classic, and then couldn’t get any velocity on his fastball, topping out at 86-87 mph. When the season opened Gaston was using Ryan as the closer, but he was shaky and opposition hitters were getting around on his pitches. Ryan is now in a rehab stint in Florida, working to get back into game shape. When he makes his return, it will be interesting to see how he is used and if he can get the confidence of the fans with the way Downs has been pitching.


To be Determined:
Bill Murphy:
Brian Wolfe
Bryan Bullington
The three pitchers, haven’t worked enough innings to get a rating. All of them will probably be up and down throughout the season, based on injuries and workloads. The most pressure will be on Brian Wolfe, since he pitched with the big club in 2008 and would like to stay up with the big club.