Toronto, Canada (Sports Network) - When the Toronto Blue Jays started the year without ace Roy Halladay for the first time in 12 seasons, the mood among fans and prognosticators alike was doom and gloom. However, the Jays' young pitching staff has surprised the league by showing maturity well beyond its years.
Although the team sports a 4.12 ERA, good enough for just 17th in the majors, the number has been bloated by a spotty bullpen that has had trouble finding an identity. If you look at the horses in the starting rotation who have 115 innings pitched or more through the team's first 117 games, the ERA drops to 3.93, a number that ranks among the better staffs in the league.
ERA doesn't tell the whole story though, especially in the American League East where it seems like the Blue Birds must contend with the big bats of the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays on a nightly basis. As a team the Jays have racked up 863 strikeouts (7th in MLB), 10 shutouts (10th) and 64 quality starts (16th), while holding opponents to a .250 average (9th in MLB). Pretty impressive numbers when one considers the starting rotation has an average age in the mid-20s.
From a starting pitching standpoint the future looks very bright, but who is the real ace on this team of talented young arms? The answer to that question is definitely a matter of debate.
The year started with Shaun Marcum being placed in the No. 1 role because of some dominant pitching during the 2008 season coupled with a swift and successful return from Tommy John surgery in 2009. Marcum, the grandfather of the staff at only 28, can almost always be counted on to calm the team when he takes the mound. His surgical precision, which is a must when you consider that his fastball tops out at only 88 miles per hour, mixed with a devastating changeup has made him a consistent option at the top of the rotation. But his stuff isn't the best on the team, and he's gotten into some trouble recently when his location has suffered. Simply put, there are younger, fresher arms on the squad that have been making a case for staff No. 1.
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