Entering the 2016 MLB season, there were plenty of things we already knew about the Toronto Blue Jays, but there was one question surrounding their starting rotation.
Acquiring David Price last summer at the trade deadline put the Jays over the top en route to their first playoff appearance since 1993, but him leaving via free agency left manager John Gibbons without a bonafide “ace” to lead the way. Following Toronto’s 5-3 Opening Day win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, we saw exactly why they didn’t feel the need to make another big splash.
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Solely looking at Marcus Stroman’s final line from his season debut is impressive (8 innings pitched, 3 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts), but it was how he went about his business that was incredibly telling. I’m specifically talking about the maturity, focus and composure he displayed during a three-inning sequence from the third to the fifth.
Expected to be baseball’s top offense for the second year in a row, the Blue Jays got off to a running start with two runs in the top of the first, giving Stroman a cushion before he even toed the rubber.
After getting through a couple clean frames, he ran into some trouble during the third, which is when he really started to impress.
Third Inning
Evan Longoria cut Toronto’s lead in half with an RBI single, bringing Corey Dickerson up with a runner on and two out. He hit a routine grounder to second baseman Ryan Goins, and while he’s normally sure-handed, he booted the ball to put two runners on for Desmond Jennings.
Pitchers have varied reactions when watching fielders miss routine plays, but Stroman did what any true ace would do. He made eye contact with Goins, gave him a nod and tapped his chest, basically saying, “Don’t worry, I got this.”
This was a situation that easily could’ve gotten out of control, but Stroman kept his cool and didn’t worry about it. Instead of letting it derail his focus, it appeared to make him zero in even more, which led to inducing an inning-ending groundout immediately following the error.
Fourth Inning
After two more quick outs, it appeared the Rays were about to be set down quietly in order once Kevin Kiermaier lifted a routine fly ball to Jose Bautista in right field…until he dropped it. Kiermaier ended up on second, and instead of having Hank Conger (the nine-hole hitter) lead off the fifth, he came up with a chance to cut into the Blue Jays’ lead once again.
Fielders are bound to make mistakes – they’re human, after all. Despite that, watching major leaguers boot routine plays (especially with two outs in consecutive innings) is likely infuriating and could throw some hurlers off their game.
Conger worked out a walk that would’ve likely complicated things even more, but Kiermaier ended up bailing out Stroman. The outfielder inexplicably tried stealing third base and was easily caught by catcher Russell Martin to end the threat.
Fifth Inning
Although it would’ve been nice to face 9-1-2 in the order for the fifth, Stroman didn’t let it bother him, retiring the side with just four pitches.
These three innings were a pleasure to watch unfold. If you didn’t know Stroman was only making his 25th career regular-season start as a 24-year-old, you would’ve probably guessed he was a veteran by how he conducted himself on the mound.
When looking at teams around Major League Baseball with legitimate aces at the top of their respective rotations – hurlers like Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Price, etc. – it takes more than just incredible talent to be considered one of the best.
The late, great Yogi Berra once said that baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical. As we’ve learned many times with Yogi, while this technically wasn’t right, it couldn’t have made more sense. Physical talent can only take athletes to a certain point – they must also be mentally tough if they ever plan on reaching new heights.
A true ace is one whose focus won’t be derailed throughout the inevitable ebb and flow of a baseball game, which is much easier said than done. That’s something Washington Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg has struggled with at times throughout his career and why some would say he’s not a real “ace.”
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Stroman is an intense guy and a fierce competitor, so it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see him get caught up in the moment and lose focus for a batter or two like some young pitchers do, but he never did. If anything, those mistakes helped him concentrate even more to get the job done as efficiently as possible.
The Blue Jays clearly saw these qualities in their potential new ace, which is why the front office made a handful of unexpected moves during the winter and throughout Spring Training. Price helped them take the next step in 2015, but they had other ideas instead of competing with the historic seven-year, $217 million deal he received from the Boston Red Sox.
Filling the void with free-agent J.A. Happ and re-signing Marco Estrada to join Stroman and R.A. Dickey probably wasn’t what the fan base had in mind considering who was available on the open market. Taking it a step further, Aaron Sanchez had a tremendous spring and earned the fifth spot in the rotation, but he’s relatively unknown as a big-league starter and could run into innings-limit issues.
While the Jays’ pitchers know they don’t have to be perfect to be successful because of the offensive support they’ll get, we saw how Boston’s “no true ace” rotation worked out in 2015 (hint: it wasn’t good).
Not making a major addition meant this is Stroman’s opportunity to take a step forward and blossom into the pitcher Toronto believes he can be. For someone as confident in his abilities and as determined to be successful as he is, that’s all he needs before running with it and enjoying a breakout season.
What Stroman did in the third, fourth and fifth innings on Sunday can’t really be shown in a box score, but it undoubtedly spoke volumes to the coaching staff, his teammates and the rest of the organization. Not going out and overpaying for an ace was probably the best move they made all winter.
Leading up to Opening Day, whether or not Stroman could step up and lead this staff was the biggest question I had about the 2016 Blue Jays. While it’s only been one start, the young right-hander has already answered it, and has done so convincingly.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter so we can celebrate Opening Day together: @mmusico8.
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