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It looks like Casey Janssen, according to bluejays.com is a leading candidate for a rotation spot.

Toronto has two vacancies in its rotation behind ace Roy Halladay, Jesse Litsch and David Purcey. With Takahashi in the fold, the Jays now have at least eight pitchers in the discussion for starting roles. The leading candidates include Casey Janssen, Scott Richmond, Matt Clement, Mike Maroth and left-handed prospect Brett Cecil.

So the rotation sets up as such..

Doc
Litsch
Purcey
Janssen
Richmond/Clement/Maroth/Cecil

McGowan

Pretty plain rotation, but I really hope they give Cecil a shot and if not him, then Richmond. Maroth will get lit up at the homerdome and Clement is washed up. Takahashi is 40 and I have no clue why the Jays gave him an invite to ST.

Thoughts on the Jays starting rotation and who can make their mark?

yeah i'm into giving Casey a chance at the spot.. hopefully he's fully recovered, and a good spring will help him loosen up

If Mike Maroth has anywhere close to a passable pre-season then I would throw him in the rotation. Without McGowan and Marcum, a sophomore Purcey and Janssen coming off injury we will need inning-eaters. At this point with a rotation that weak outside of Halladay and no ready pitching prospects to call up you'd want guys in the rotation that will do just enough to not need to be pulled out before the 6 or 7th innings. If Maroth could give the Jays 6+ innings a game at a 4.50 ERA similar to what he did with the Tigers then just maybe the Jays can outscore the opponent.

That fact that I'm trying to justify having Maroth in the rotation speaks volumes of the lack of options available for the rotation.

Cecil needs time in AAA.
Richmond needs to show he can pitch more than 5 innings.
For every brilliant start Purcey had, there is an absolute dud.

Perhaps Burres could pitch his way into the rotation in pre-season. He was passable for the Orioles for 2 months last year.

Point is, we need guys who can eat innings this year or the bullpen is going to exhausted by the end of May.

when is McGowan expected back?

Holmes wrote:If Mike Maroth has anywhere close to a passable pre-season then I would throw him in the rotation. Without McGowan and Marcum, a sophomore Purcey and Janssen coming off injury we will need inning-eaters. At this point with a rotation that weak outside of Halladay and no ready pitching prospects to call up you'd want guys in the rotation that will do just enough to not need to be pulled out before the 6 or 7th innings. If Maroth could give the Jays 6+ innings a game at a 4.50 ERA similar to what he did with the Tigers then just maybe the Jays can outscore the opponent.

That fact that I'm trying to justify having Maroth in the rotation speaks volumes of the lack of options available for the rotation.

Cecil needs time in AAA.
Richmond needs to show he can pitch more than 5 innings.
For every brilliant start Purcey had, there is an absolute dud.

Perhaps Burres could pitch his way into the rotation in pre-season. He was passable for the Orioles for 2 months last year.

Point is, we need guys who can eat innings this year or the bullpen is going to exhausted by the end of May.

Normally I'd reccommend you to be commited for attempting to justify maroth in the rotation but sadly you are right... Though 6+ from him seems awfully optimistic to me...

This years jays I am surprinsingly a little interested in. I think the poorus raptors have played a part in that, but not having those expectations coupled with getting the opportunity to hopefully see some of our young prospects... though we wont win, hopefully we can score some runs and atleast make it an entertaining year...

I think Janssen has to be in that rotation next year. He had really good stuff before his injury, although that was out of the bullpen, and I think he will put up some decent numbers. I am not expecting a whole lot this season from the Jays, however, it will be interesting the development of players like Lind, Snider, Litsch, League and other which will be enough to keep me interested.

I think outside of Halladay, Litsch, Janssen the rotation is wide open and some of these castoffs could turn out to be a diamond in the rough. We have watched other teams find gems from the scrap heap. I think it is definitely our turn. It would be nice, albeit unlikely, to see guys like Maroth and Clement come back with decent seasons.

This could be a very interesting team to watch especially with Cito running the show.

kelso wrote:when is McGowan expected back?

Mid season i think

McGowan wants to be back for the Start of the Season...but from what I hear it's an early May return date for McGowan.

Janssen had labrum surgery less than a year ago. I wouldn't expect him to be able to handle a starter's workload in 2009, if ever. That type of surgery is much more serious than elbow surgery.

I hope he comes back strong.

Holmes wrote:Cecil needs time in AAA.

Agreed.