Jays Rolling Despite Mediocre Bullpen

The Toronto Blue Jays may be at the top of their division, but their bullpen still has yet to peak.

Tested by teams like the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians, the Jays have had a great start to the season and continue to roll along.

Other teams in their division are beginning to work out their kinks and catch up. Still, the Jays proceed with poise.

Until now, Toronto’s offense and starting pitching has been picking up the slack.  But sooner or later, the Jays will need to count on their bullpen a lot more frequently.

Last year, the Jays' bullpen was the best in the American League, but the batters weren’t producing.  It seems that every time the Jays have one thing working, another aspect of their game doesn’t show up.

So far this season, there have only been two bullpen pitchers that have been spectacular.  Scott Downs and Jason Frasor both have ERA’s below 0.80 and have yet to blow a game.

In fact, Frasor has been a part of four victories. Between both pitchers, they only have given up three runs (two of which are earned) and zero home runs.

Decent notables would be Bill Murphy, Bryan Bullington, and Jesse Carlson. But their stats are mediocre compared to Downs and Frasor.

Brandon League has already given up as many runs as he did last year in half the innings pitched.  Shawn Camp has continued to never really be effective.

Together, they have given up 17 runs and 16 earned in just under 30 innings pitched.

BJ Ryan's velocity and pitching has been questionable and whether or not his injury has affected him is irrelevant. The bullpen must pull up their socks and go to work harder to substitute for that loss.

If the Jays can get Ricky Romero back healthy, they have a formidable starting rotation along with Roy Halladay and Scott Richmond. However, they can’t be relied upon all the time and their arms should be preserved. 

The batters also can't be taken for granted because cold streaks are inevitable during the season. So the pitching will have to start playing tighter in order to preserve any leads.

The rest of the Jays’ bullpen must improve or I can’t envision Toronto winning their division.

Pure and simple.

It’s a long season and when you have teams like the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays breathing down your neck, it’s going to get really hairy.