With just over two and a half weeks until Opening Day on March 27th, the Toronto Blue Jays continue to filter out the big league side of camp and narrow down the roster. Some of the more expected names have already been reassigned – prospect players looking to get a shot to impress – while position battles remain on both fronts.

Last week, I examined position players who have impressed the Blue Jays out of the gate, and naturally, now it is time for the pitching side. This list will be a bit of a smaller sample size to choose from considering there are fewer pitchers compared to roster players used this spring but also, the innings pitched number is going to be smaller as well in comparison considering some starters are still ramping up while other relievers just haven’t been in a ton of games as of yet.

One of the most intriguing signings of the offseason for the Blue Jays was inking veteran and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to a one-year deal. Injury concerns had fans on high alert considering he has missed considerable time in recent memory, but so far out of the gate, the right-hander is off to an impressive start.

Through three starts, he has logged nine innings and has allowed just three hits and two earned runs. Scherzer has also yet to allow a free pass and has 14 strikeouts on record, which has him tied for second across all clubs this spring. Each outing has produced just one hit while the right-hander continues to generate swings and misses each day, so far proving that the one-year deal on the former Rangers starter was a wise investment.

The splashiest signing of the offseason for the Blue Jays bullpen was right-hander Jeff Hoffman, a former top-prospect in the Jays system over ten years ago. Similar to Scherzer, Hoffman had some injury concerns after reports of signings with other clubs falling through but this spring, not only is Hoffman healthy and firing, he’s pitching well out of the gate.

Through three outings and three innings, Hoffman has allowed just one hit while posting a clean sheet against his opponents, which ironically has just been the Detroit Tigers so far. The 32-year-old has five strikeouts on record, with his March 03 contest being all strikeouts during his one inning of work, and Hoffman has also not allowed a free pass this spring but does have one hit batter on the docket. In his last outing, Hoffman was sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball and his slider was sitting comfortably in the high 80s.

A strong start in a small sample size for the Jays go-to option in the closing spot this season.

Returning to the Blue Jays this offseason, Yimi García will be a heavily depended-upon arm this campaign for manager John Schneider. The bullpen always needs shutdown late inning guys and García checks a lot of boxes.

This spring, the Dominican product has suited up in four contests and also boasts a clean sheet, allowing just one hit through four innings of work (which didn’t come until his outing against the Phillies on March 8th). Similar to Hoffman, García has zero walks but a hit batter on record and so far this spring, García has five strikeouts under his belt as well. Another reliever starting strong for the Blue Jays.

Brendon Little enters this season as the go-to left-handed option down in the bullpen for the Blue Jays. He’s one of only three pitchers this spring to appear in five games so far and the southpaw has yet to allow an earned run and limiting the damage to just two hits – both of which came in early March against the Atlanta Braves.

What makes this feat even more impressive is some of the names he has faced and gotten out – Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Ozzie Albies to name a few – and while it is still early, that is an impressive crew to keep the damage to a minimum.

Former Mets left-hander Josh Walker enters camp on a one-year deal but is looking to make the Opening Day roster out of camp, which bodes well in his favour as a complement to Little in the bullpen. The Blue Jays are short on left-handers to rely on at the big league level and with recent injuries to Erik Swanson and Ryan Burr (who aren’t LHP but were high on the depth charts), there appears to be some open spots heading into the new season.

Through four outings, Walker has allowed three hits and two runs through 5 1/3 innings, with yesterday’s contest against the Tampa Bay Rays being the first day he has allowed a run this spring. Outside of that game, Walker had just one hit go through while racking up four strikeouts, a total that grew by one yesterday as well. With the likes of Ryan Yarbrough in the mix for a spot in the bullpen on the left-side, Walker will need to continue his hot streak over the next couple of weeks if he wants to break camp with the Blue Jays.

This is Mason Fluharty’s second spring training with the Blue Jays since being drafted in 2022 and the left-hander is making the most of the opportunity.

Through four outings, Fluharty has yielded just one earned run and three hits across 4 2/3 innings while punching out six batters. He has been a bit wild with his command compared to the others listed, hitting two batters while walking one, but when his command is on point, he hasn’t yielded much against him. It will be interesting to see if the Jays will slot him against big league batters, mostly because he has faced a majority of minor leaguers so far, just to give him some more experience against what he could be facing later this year. A longer shot to make the Opening Day roster, Fluharty will likely see action in the big leagues at some point this season.

In my opinion, Jennings has been a completely underrated pitcher in the Blue Jays system since being drafted in 2022 and the right-hander is getting a chance to show off his skills this spring after an impressive 2024 season.

Through three contests, Jennings has allowed just one earned run while logging 5 2/3 innings – with two of his outings being two innings apiece. A starter by trade, Jennings has faced some big leaguers this spring and fared well against some – Austin Wells groundout, Paul Goldschmidt lineout, Oswaldo Cabrera groundout – while Cody Bellinger did tag him for a double. For Jennings, the biggest thing will be managing his command, as opponents took advantage of a couple of walks in his latest outing to put up the one run. If he keeps that in check, a strong season in triple-A might see him with Toronto at some point in 2025.

Acquired by the Blue Jays last summer in the Cavan Biggio trade, Braydon Fisher returned to the Blue Jays this winter on a minor league deal and is in his first spring with Toronto.

Through 4 2/3 innings, Fisher has just one bad outing under his belt – allowing two hits and one earned run against Detroit last week – but other than that, Fisher has been lights out. He has not allowed a hit, run, or walk outside of that contest and he has seven strikeouts this spring, which has him sitting tied for fourth while pitching fewer innings than a majority of his counterparts.

All Toronto Blue Jays odds are brought to you by MLB betting site Betway!