Toronto Blue Jays Roster
- AL East
- Stadium
- Rogers Centre
The Toronto Blue Jays have placed infielders Brandon Drury and Jonathan Davison the 10-day injured list on Thursday, retroactive to June 30. Relief pitchers Elvis Luciano and Hector Perez were also added to the injured list, while Breyvic Valera, Bryan Baker, Patrick Kivlehan and Josh Palacios have been added to the teams player pool. These additions put them over their 60-player limit, with 62 now in their initial player pool. This could mean some other players were added to the teams COVID-19 injured list, but they arent required to announce this information, so its only speculation at this point.
The Toronto Blue Jays have a young core of position players that could make them competitive in the shortened 60-game season, and starting pitcher Nate Pearson, MLB's eighth-ranked prospect, could be the X-factor. The 6-foot-6 23-year-old right-hander had a 2.30 ERA with 119 K's and 27 walks in 101 2/3 minor league innings in 2019. Pearson is a flamethrowing power pitcher that brings strikeout upside to a starting rotation that mostly lacks it in Hyun-Jin Ryu, Matt Shoemaker, Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson. He was performing well earlier this spring, too, but the promising pitching prospect is ranked outside the top 100 starting pitchers because he might not see enough innings in this peculiar season.
The Toronto Blue Jays included each of their top-five prospects, per MLB Pipeline, in their initial 58-man player pool. They include right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson, shortstop Jordan Groshans, right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson, right-hander Alek Manoah and catcher Alejandro Kirk. Austin Martin, the fifth overall pick in the draft, could join the group once he signs. Groshans hasn't played above Single-A, but this will be his opportunity to continue his development in an MLB environment. Thornton was looking like a lock for a rotation spot earlier this spring, and he should see work at least out of the bullpen in 2020. His triple-digit arm was the reason why he was ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect in baseball entering this season.
Toronto Blue Jays top pitching prospect Nate Pearson has officially made the teams initial 60-man player pool for the shortened 2020 season. The flamethrowing right-hander was opening eyes during spring training in March with his swing-and-miss ability, but was still destined for some more fine-tuning in the minors before the suspension of the regular season. There may not be enough time in the shortened campaign for Pearson to make a major impact in redraft leagues, but he could serve as an intriguing streamer if he finds the opportunity.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ryan Borucki (elbow), who was shut down early in camp due to tightness and pain in his left elbow, has been making progress and is working with a personal trainer in Florida and is playing catch with catcher Danny Jansen. The Blue Jays are playing it safe with Borucki with the season delayed due to the coronavirus, but he's optimistic things are moving in the right direction. The southpaw has already had Tommy John surgery and had bone spurs removed from his elbow in 2019, which caused him to miss most of the season. He's back to throwing bullpens and feels good while long tossing, so he could be ready for the start of the season, whenever that may be. Given how much time Borucki missed last year, the Blue Jays will play it safe with him, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him start the 2020 season in a relief role, which would obviously limit his fantasy potential. If he's making starts this season, he'll mostly be a streaming candidate in AL-only leagues.