Toronto Blue Jays: Young Gun Drew Hutchison Back on Track After Early Struggles

For the first few weeks of the Toronto Blue Jays' season, no one knew just who would be the fifth starting pitcher that would round out the Jays' rotation.

A few off-days in April allowed them to run with just four starting pitchers for nearly a month.

Once the time came, the Blue Jays elected to call up the 21-year-old righty Drew Hutchison from Double-A New Hampshire.

Hutchison, however, struggled early on, giving up at least four earned runs in three of his first four starts, saddling himself with an astronomical ERA of 6.65. He was also sporting a WHIP of 1.62, giving fans pause and cause for concern.

Perhaps the Blue Jays had called up Hutchison too early and should have let him accumulate more innings in New Hampshire, where he had a sparkling 2.16 ERA and respectable 1.14 WHIP through his first three starts.

Instead, Toronto chose to stick with their youngster, and boy has it paid dividends.

The one-time 15th-round pick has blossomed into one of the best Blue Jays pitchers of the last month, allowing more than one earned run only once in his last five outings.

Using his ability to locate the strike zone, as well as a well-disguised fastball that can reach up to 95 mph on the radar gun, the native of Lakeland, Florida has really found his groove of late.

In fact, Hutchison has a record of 4-1 to go along with an ERA of just 2.70 in his last five starts, including yesterday's standout performance that has helped lower his ERA to just 4.35 (down nearly two-and-a-half points). He's also managed to drop his WHIP from 1.62 to a much more respectable 1.35.

While Hutchison is still only 21 and will surely continue to get better, his numbers so far in 2012 are more then sufficient for a No. 5 starter.

Hutchison will look to continue his torrid pace when he takes the mound this coming Saturday afternoon when the Jays travel to Atlanta.

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