I hope Casey Janssen makes the team!

I'm pulling hard for Casey Janssen to make the Blue Jays bullpen this year. Big time. It's been a couple of frustrating seasons for Janssen, but he can be a very important piece in a late inning role. Even though he missed all of the '08 season and had a pedestrian 5.85 ERA in 21 apperances last year, including 5 starts, the guy can flat out pitch.

In '07, he was one of the better up and coming late innings guys in baseball, racking up 24 holds with a dazzling 2.35 ERA. When healthy, that's the type of pitcher he can be. Unfortunately, staying healthy has been the problem. What's working against him is Cito Gaston wasn't the manager when he had his best year but he's doing his best to impress the bench boss this spring. The 28 year old has strung together five innings of shutout ball with five K's while allowing just one hit and one walk.

Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor and Scott Downs as locks to make the 'pen, with Jesse Carlson and Shawn Camp presumably also on the squad. That leaves Janssen to duke it out with Dana Eveland, Jeremy Accardo, Josh Roenicke and David Purcey for two spots. Let's hope Janssen is part of that mix. He might prove to be a reliable stalwart in the 8th inning role in 2011 with Frasor and Downs presumably flying the coop after the season.

Jays name Shaun Marcum opening day starter

The Blue Jays are set to usher in a new era in 2010, one that does not include former staff ace Roy Halladay. For the first time in eight years, Doc will not start opening day. Instead, that honour will is bestowed upon Shaun Marcum. Halladay established a franchise record with seven consecutive opening day starts, but his time in Toronto is now in the rear view mirror, leaving Marcum as the main man entrusted with the duties of a #1 starter.

The 28 year old has the most big league starting experience of the pitching staff, so the Jays placed the righty on a pitching schedule that would line up with starting opening day against Texas. In 64 career starts, the gritty Marcum has posted a 3.85 ERA. Two years ago he emerged as one of the A.L. East's best young hurlers, posting a dazzling 2.43 ERA over his first 14 starts.

As that season wore on, however, Marcum's unconventional throwing motion caught up him and his throwing arm wore down. He ultimately had to undergo Tommy John Surgery on his elbow, causing him to miss the entire 2009 campaign. His road to recovery is now complete, and he will be leaned upon to be a team leader in an inexperienced clubhouse.

The team has to move forward without relying upon the 2003 A.L. CY Young award winner. This isn't Doc Halladay's pitching staff anymore. It's Shaun Marcum's.

Jays shut down McGowan for the week

It was always a little bit of a stretch to expect Dustin McGowan to fully recover from his shoulder injury in time for the 2010 campaign after missing the entire '09 season. The Jays have decided to shut down the 27 year old righty for at least a week following his latest minor league assignment, making it increasingly likely he won't begin the campaign in Toronto.

McGowan was hopeful he'd make the starting rotation coming out of spring training, but after throwing 36 pitches in a Triple-A game and topping out at just 88 MPH (having consistently hit 95 MPH on the radar gun prior to the injury), the club had seen enough. McGowan is in the midst of a "dead arm" period, making him become more fatigued adjusting to his regular throwing program this spring.

The former 13 game winner, who hasn't played in a major league game since July 8, 2008, will likely start the year on the DL. The organization has to feel it's the most prudent course of action especially given the bevy of young pitchers vying for jobs within the pitching staff. It only makes sense to ensure McGowan is 100% healthy so he doesn't suffer a lengthy setback again.

Let's hope we don't go too long without seeing the man formerly known for his "mutton chops" in a Blue Jays uniform this season.

The future is now for Travis Snider

There has been much speculation and discussion about whether or not Travis Snider should head north with the Blue Jays to start the season. Let me try to put an end to it: The future is now for Snider and the Toronto Blue Jays. The stocky 22 year old has shown glimpses of greatness in parts of two big leagues seasons and spring training this year to show that the Jays simply need to have him start the campaign as a member of the Blue Birds.

A couple of days ago Snider belted three home runs in consecutive at bats in spring training. His raw power is so astounding that it's a matter of when, not if, he'll break out at the big league level. His situation is not unlike what faced Adam Lind a few years ago. Lind, a silver slugger winner in '09, displayed flashes of brilliance mixed in with inconsistency over the course of a couple of seasons. The organization was patient with him and they were rewarded with a monster year. Snider has all the tools to be a very good hitter, he just needs at bats against major league pitching. The team must be prepared to take the good with the bad, because he'll likely rack up strike outs before he gets more consistent.

The '06 first round pick has a vastly underrated aspect of his game, which is his defense. While he'll likely never win a gold glove in the outfield, he moves surprisingly quick for such a compact man, and makes smart decisions in left and right field last year. Just like patience should be preached at the plate with a young ball player, same goes for his defensive capabilities also.

With another year under his belt, Snider has learned to manage the ups and downs that go along with being a major leaguer. He's more comfortable in his surroundings which should lead to greater results. It's all but a certainty that in due time, the team will have one heck of a ball player in Travis Snider.

Tallet working his way to starting spot

Brian Tallet looks to have firmly established himself as a member of the Blue Jays rotation to start the season. In yesterday's outing against Baltimore, the lanky lefty made short work of the Orioles hitters, pitching four scoreless innings while striking out three. The question is, can Tallet secure his spot in the starting five for the duration of the campaign with plenty of young arms waiting for their chance?

When spring training started I must admit that I didn't want Tallet to be part of the rotation simply because I preferred the young pitchers learning more on the job. But with Dustin McGowan potentially starting the year on the disabled list and some uncertainty over Brandon Morrow, it only makes sense to have a veteran presence in the rotation, at least for now.

It's sometimes easy to forget that while Tallet struggled down the stretch last year, he had a pretty good first go round as a starter in the big leagues. Aside from four hideous starts, he pitched well enough to give Toronto a chance to win most every start. Putting in perspective what the former 2nd round pick did last year compared to his six other seasons in the bigs, he pitched nearly 100 innings more than any point during his career. No wonder he wasn't as solid down the stretch.

As the elder statesmen of the starting staff, he'll be tasked to not only shoulder a great deal of the load, but perhaps mentor the young hurlers now that Roy Halladay has left town. No pressure.

David Purcey reaches full blown "bust" status

Unlike Ricky Romero, who turned his career around after at one point appearing likely to fall within the "bust" category, fellow first round pick David Purcey seems to be headed down the road to ruin within the Blue Jays organization. The six-foot five inch southpaw almost certainly has no hope of making the 2010 team, so it's fair to make the assumption that the "bust" label will be attached to him, at least as a member of the Blue Birds.

That hasn't stopped other major league teams from sniffing around the '04 first round pick. Though the lefty has been allergic to command of his pitches, he still offers tantalizing potential. Look no further than his two brilliant starts against the eventual American League champion Rays in 2008. In those two outings, he struck out a combined 18 batters, putting together eight solid innings in both contests. That had Jays management enthusiastic heading into '09. However Purcey suffered a setback during five starts in April, walking 18 batters in 25.2 innings, issuing 20 earned runs for a 7.01 ERA before being sent to exile in the minors.

Purcey has the ability to be a power pitcher that strikes out a lot of batters, making it tough to give up on him. The organization now views Purcey more as a reliever than a member of the rotation. There is a distinct possibility he could still be a valuable starting pitcher somewhere in MLB. It just doesn't appear likely to be as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Relaxed Romero pushing for opening day start

At this time last year it would have been crazy to assume that Ricky Romero would be in contention to be the Blue Jays opening day starter of 2010, let alone him even being on the roster at that time. What a difference a year makes. After labouring with his command in the minors for four seasons and still having issues in the spring last year, the team concluded he needed more time to develop. Had it not been for former pitching coach Brad Arnsberg prodding the organization to keep him in camp last spring instead of sending him to the minors, he might still be trying to shed the label of "bust."

Arnsberg saw something in Romero that prompted the Jays to make him the 6th pick in the 2005 draft, and just needed a little more time to squeeze it out of him. Under the former Toronto pitching coaches tutelage, the light bulb went off for the southpaw toward the end of spring last season, securing him a spot in the Jays rotation. In his rookie campaign, Romero was dominant for the first half, fashioning a 7-3 record with an ERA of 3.00 in his first 13 starts. He hit a rookie wall midway through July, but still managed to compile a respectable 13-9 record with a 4.30 ERA in 29 starts.

In his three spring training starts this year, Romero has been victorious twice, allowing just one run in 9 innings, striking out and walking 4 batters. His solid maiden campaign in the big leagues, coupled with Roy Halladay being traded in the off season has Romero in a battle with Shaun Marcum to be the opening day starter. It's doubtful even he could have imagined that last spring.