TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays finally decided to stop pretending there was another option for the job, naming Hyun-Jin Ryu their opening day starter for the second consecutive season.
He’ll become the club’s first pitcher to accomplish the feat since R.A. Dickey started consecutive curtain-raisers in 2013-14 when he takes the ball next Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
And compared to where he was a year ago after an abbreviated summer camp ahead of the curtain-raiser versus the host Tampa Bay Rays, the ace left-hander believes he’s in a much better place, even after a rough spring finale.
Ryu gave up six balls off the bat at 99.4 m.p.h. or more, including a 431-foot homer to centre by Bryce Harper, and was frustrated enough with his mechanics that he tacked on 10 more pitches in the bullpen after throwing 89 on the mound in a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Still, after a two-week scramble to prepare for the pandemic season of 2020, when Ryu still ended up a finalist for the AL Cy Young Award, he’s appreciated the gradual progression to the start line.
“I feel physically better right now if you compare it to last year, where I had to suddenly accumulate my pitches and everything was in such a rush,” Ryu said through interpreter J.S. Park. “This year, I was able to get myself prepared at a pace that I wanted, so I feel pretty good going into the season.”
Whether that translates, of course, is another matter.
Friday was only Ryu’s third Grapefruit League contest, having pitched in a pair of simulated games to avoid giving the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees looks at him ahead of the regular season.
Against the Detroit Tigers on March 15, his fastball averaged 90.5 m.p.h., a good bit above the 89.8 he sat at last year, and topped out at 92.2, harder than any pitch he threw in 2020. Only the Blue Jays know where he was at during a sim game last Sunday, and Friday he averaged 89.2 and hit 91.8.
Manager Charlie Montoyo had to utilize the re-entry rule in the third inning when Ryu’s pitch count got run up, and then yanked his ace with one out in the fifth. Regardless, Ryu achieved his primary goal of getting into the 90-100 pitch range before the bell rings, and for the most part, the Blue Jays feel he looks better.
“He’s throwing harder, except for today when he wasn’t as sharp and he was rushing his delivery a little bit, he’s been really sharp right from the beginning,” Montoyo said. “Last year at the beginning he wasn’t as sharp and we didn’t know him. This spring, he’s been really good the whole time, except for today. And it’s funny that he wasn’t really sharp and he still kept us in the game.”
The Yankees, of course, will offer a much stiffer test, although Ryu’s last outing against them – a playoff-clinching gem Sept. 24 when he didn’t give up a run while become the only Blue Jays starter to complete seven innings in 2020 – demonstrated what he’s capable of.
Whether there’s more after a spring in which he feels “the overall preparation part was a lot better,” is an important question for the Blue Jays, who need him to stabilize a shaky rotation.
“The way I release the ball feels better than last year. In general, everything felt a lot better than last year,” he said. “I’m really excited for opening day right now.”
WHO FOLLOWS RYU? The question wasn’t whether Hyun-Jin Ryu would pitch the opener, but how the other starters line up behind him, the answer complicated this week by Robbie Ray’s bruised left elbow.
Ray did some plyometric work (maximum force exertions in short intervals) Friday and as long as he’s fine Saturday, Charlie Montoyo said, “he’ll then begin his throwing progression.”
Montoyo wouldn’t rule Ray out from pitching during the opening series versus the Yankees, but he’d need to throw a bullpen of some significance Monday to stay on turn for Saturday. Steven Matz right now is lined up for Sunday.
Meanwhile, Nate Pearson (groin) is scheduled for long toss again Saturday and “depending on how he feels, he’ll throw a bullpen,” said Montoyo, adding there’s no date pencilled in yet.
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SHORT HOPS: Julian Merryweather, slowed by back issues, made his spring debut with a scoreless sixth, walking Bryce Harper, inducing a double-play ball from Rhys Hoskins and then getting Jean Segura to fly out. His fastball sat at 97.4 m.p.h. and topped out at 98.2, one reason why he’s such an intriguing option for the Blue Jays. It’s unclear though if it will be enough to have him ready for the season’s start. … Vladimir Guerrero Jr., started a four-run rally in the eighth with a 114.4 m.p.h. laser home run off Byran Mitchell. Breyvic Valera added a two-run shot and Forrest Wall hit a game-tying triple before a Richard Urena walkoff single won it in the ninth. … Lefty Anthony Kay starts against the Yankees once again Saturday.
