Jays Minus Halladay Searching For Ace

With the Roy Halladay blockbuster now in the past, it is time for the Toronto Blue Jays to start looking forward.

Obviously, the biggest hole left by this trade is in the starting rotation, where the Jays have young starters aplenty, and must soon decide who will be their opening day starter, and who will start the following four games.

As of now, it looks as though Ricky Romero (pictured) will take over from Doc as the Jays' ace. Romero had an impressive rookie campaign in 2009, posting a 13-9 record with a 4.30 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. He was inconsistent, but when he was good, he was really good. Inconsistencies are expected from a rookie, so look for Romero to improve upon his rookie year and maybe have his ERA dip below 4.

The #2 guy will be Shaun Marcum, essentially a big question mark coming off surgery. In 2008 he was excellent, going 9-7 in 25 games started with a 3.39 ERA. All Jays fans can do is hope that he can match his 2008 stats in 2010, but it is unlikely. It is more realistic to see his ERA go up with his WHIP (1.16 in 2008); however, he should also get more wins and starts.

Brandon Morrow, acquired this off-season for Brandon League and Johermyn Chavez, is the favourite to be pitching out of the 3 hole. Morrow is a pitcher with a lot of upside, but also a lot of downside. He has been compared to AJ Burnett because he has nasty stuff but can also be extremely inconsistent at times and has dealt with injury. In Seattle he was switched from reliever to starter numerous times, which he says is the reason for his aforementioned inconsistency and injury problems. Jays fan can only hope that this is the case.

The #4 and 5 spots are the real spots of intrigue. Marc Rzepczynski, Scott Richmond, Brett Cecil, Dustin McGowan and David Purcey. Jesse Litsch is supposed to return in July. Basically, you could pick two of these youngsters out of a hat and have the same chances of them succeeding as you would if you were to pick them based on performance in Spring Training. Obviously, that is completely illogical and the Jays would never do that. My picks for the final two starters are McGowan and Rzepczynski. 

McGowan is similar to Marcum in that he had a strong 2008 season (6-7, 4.37 ERA), but fell to injury and missed all of 2009. We do not know what to expect from him, but he has the biggest upside of the 5 candidates. He has at time been brilliant, but the surgery may sidetrack him.

Rzepczynski played well when called upon last year, posting a 2-4 record with a 3.67 ERA in 11 starts. He will provide a left-handed presence in the rotation, as well as being one of manager Cito Gaston's favourite young pitchers. He also has strong upside as a control pitcher.

The Jays have had awful luck with regards to their rotation in the past few years. However, there is hope that that will change, especially with the depth that they have. To my fellow Jays fans: Have hope. Have patience. It could not POSSIBLY be worse than last year's debacle.