“Toronto is a very lucky team.”
The Toronto Blue Jays are in third place in the American League wild-card race (67-55), but only one game ahead of the fourth-place Seattle Mariners. A postseason berth is still at stake. Against this backdrop, it has been suggested that Toronto was wrong about its starting rotation coming into the season.
On Sunday, MLB.com took a look at the 30 teams in the majors this season and pointed out one thing they got wrong. They pointed to Toronto’s lack of overall depth in the starting rotation. In fact, Toronto ranks third in the American League with a 3.82 team ERA. That’s not a great absolute number, but it’s still top of the league.
However, MLB.com noted that “Yusei Kikuchi’s performance has made up for Alec Manoa’s lack of balance. This is a very lucky team.” Without Kikuchi’s performance, the side effects of Manoa’s slump would have been severe. In fact, Manoa struggled so badly that he was demoted to the minors to coincide with Hyun-jin Ryu’s return. In 19 games, he went 3-9 with a 5.87 ERA and was released from the majors.
Kikuchi actually had his best season in the majors, going 9-4 with a 3.44 ERA in 24 games. In the second season of his three-year, $36 million contract, he lived up to his billing. He has a career ERA of 4.68 and is on pace to win 10 games for the first time since becoming a major leaguer with the Seattle Mariners in 2019.
MLB.com wrote, “Manoa and Kikuchi go in completely different directions. Add to that Jose Berrios rebounding from a brutal season of his own, and you’re looking at two of the most important members of this team.” Berrios himself was not expected to rebound this year after a poor showing last year. He had a good season, going 9-8 with a 3.53 ERA in 24 games.
With Manoa underperforming and Kikuchi and Berrios rebounding as expected, Toronto is fortunate, MLB.com says. However, ace Kevin Gausman is in the Cy Young race, and Chris Bassett has his own upside. Ryu Hyun-jin is also in the mix. Even if Toronto’s starting rotation doesn’t go as expected, they still have a chance to make a run at the postseason.토스카지노
That’s where Ryu comes in. You could argue that the Rays are lucky to have the third-best ERA without him, but you could also argue that it’s a testament to the quality of the Toronto mound. The starting rotation has had its ups and downs, but if Hyun-Jin Ryu can lead the team to the postseason, it could be a happy ending. Ryu will make his fourth start of the season on April 21 against the Cincinnati Reds, looking for his second win of the season.