The Toronto Blue Jays have told reporters that they will call up touted pitching prospect Marcus Stroman. Despite his small stature at 5’9″, Stroman has been a fearsome pitcher in the minor leagues, posting a 2.18 ERA in AA last year and a 2.36 mark in AAA this year. Though primarily a starter over his professional career, Stroman will at first work out of the bullpen in the major leagues. This makes sense for General Manager Alex Anthopoulos, as the Jays bullpen has been a surprising liability so far in 2014. To this point, Jays relievers have combined for a 4.99 ERA and seven losses, despite the presence of respected arms such as Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, and Sergio Santos, with normal closer Casey Janssen on the Disabled List. Stroman could be a shot in the arm the relief core desperately needs until Janssen returns.
Much speculation had been made recently about Stroman possibly jumping into the rotation. That could be a possibility still as the season progresses as injuries are always an unfortunate reality. Dustin McGowan has also posted rather ugly numbers so far, a 5.87 ERA and 3.91 BB/9 with more than a homer per nine innings. Should McGowan continue to falter, it would not be surprising to see Stroman thrown into his slot.
In terms of pedigree, Stroman appears as the #52 prospect on MLB.com’s top prospect list, 58th on EPSN’s, 55th on Baseball America’s, and 27th for Baseball Prospectus. Understandably, there’s a lot of hype and expectations coming hand-in-hand with us debut.
Because of his call-up coming so early in the season, if Stroman stays with the big club for the whole year he will qualify for “Super Two” status due to the service time he will amass. This gives Stroman a fourth year of salary arbitration eligibility. This is why teams often keep their top prospects down in the minors until later in the season (such as Pittsburgh’s Gregory Polanco and St. Louis’ Oscar Tavares). However Anthopoulos is addressing a need for his club with a big weapon, and should be lauded for doing so.
Because Stroman is not on the 40-man roster, a corresponding move will have to be made to bring him up. News of this move should come tomorrow.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
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