Blue Jays' Cecil, Romero and Morrow Put on Pitching Clinic vs. Yankees

Whenever the Blue Jays play the Yankees, Red Sox or Rays, certain story lines begin to develop that stretch out over the season.  With the amount of times these teams play each other, patterns begin to develop.  What was interesting in this past series versus the Yankees was how much of that conversation was focused on the Jays' bullpen.  Granted they did play large roles in each game of the series, whether it be good or bad.  But perhaps more interesting was just how well the Jays' young starters pitched against this dangerous Yankees line-up. 

Brett Cecil pitched eight innings on Friday, gave up only one run, one walk and struck out five before Jason Frasor came in for the ninth to finish it up.  Ricky Romero also pitched eight innings on Saturday, struck out seven and only gave up runs on a two-run shot by Derek Jeter.  Romero unfortunately didn't enjoy the same run support that Cecil did, and ended up with a no decision.  Brandon Morrow pitched seven innings in the third game of the series, only allowing one run and striking out eight. 

Those are three very impressive outings against the team with the second best winning percentage in the league.  Morrow has been showing what potential he has ever since he was advised to cut down on his velocity to improve his control.  Dialing back his fastball from around 97 to 93 has allowed him to focus on hitting his mark, with great results. 

Morrow seemed to be trying to adjust to this new pitching approach two starts ago against Tampa Bay, as shown by only recording one strikeout in seven innings.  But getting hit for only one earned run, one walk and recording the win seemed to convince him of the benefits of this approach.  His start against the Yankees showed him embracing the new approach to pitching, focusing on control and then when necessary throwing a power fastball to get the strikeout.  The results were obvious. Once again only having one earned run scored against him, walking one batter but this time striking out eight.

Morrow's focus on control, while mixing up his pitches and their speed to keep batters guessing is the same approach that has worked so well for Cecil and Romero, as well as Shaun Marcum this season.  It is integral as a pitcher in the Blue Jays system to develop a change-up. It makes the pitcher far more effective in both handling batters on both sides of the plate and making the fastball more deceptive.  It is hard to argue with the stats that the Jays pitchers have put up so far this season.

Ricky Romero, 5-2, 85.1 IP, 3.06 ERA, 33 BB, 86 K, 1.20 WHIP

Shaun Marcum, 5-2, 81.1 IP, 2.77 ERA, 17 BB, 62 K, 1.05 WHIP

Brett Cecil, 6-2, 57.2 IP, 3.43 ERA, 13 BB, 45 K, 1.01 WHIP,

Brandon Morrow, 4-4, 64 IP, 5.48, 35 BB, 74 K, 1.48

The one who stands out there is of course Brandon Morrow, as his stats are far less flattering than his teammates. However, his past two starts have shown definite improvement. 

What is the most promising of all of this is that Marcum is the oldest of these pitchers at 28.  So not only are they young, but they are also inexperienced. Only Marcum has more than two seasons as a starter in the majors.  This suggests that these young pitchers are likely to get only better, as they gain knowledge of the batters in the league and grow in confidence together. With the Blue Jays young pitchers growing and improving together, the future looks bright in Toronto.