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<\/p>\nA row of lockers rests at the back of the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 spring clubhouse, tucked between hallways leading to the coaches\u2019 offices and the sauna. It\u2019s not a coveted spot, with constant foot traffic and misplaced ping-pong shots skittering by. But the young starting pitchers assigned to those lockers in the early days of spring training could be crucial to Toronto\u2019s success in 2026.<\/p>\n
The Jays have big-league rotation depth, with eight established starters after the signing of Max Scherzer. But the next wave, including CJ Van Eyk, Grant Rogers and Chad Dallas, will surely be called upon, too.<\/p>\n
The Jays required 15 starting pitchers last year, forced to dip into waivers and free agency to get by. This year, they hope the young pitchers seated at the back of the clubhouse will help them survive the long season and avoid midseason Spencer Turnbull signings. Here are some notes on Toronto\u2019s next wave of starting depth.<\/p>\n
RHP Grant Rogers<\/p>\n
Walking off the mound following his first big-league spring outing, Rogers clapped twice and stared to the sky. He ended the inning with a lazy fly ball off the bat of Aaron Judge, winning a seven-pitch battle against the reigning American League MVP.<\/p>\n
Rogers, in many ways, is the same guy the Jays drafted in the 11th round in 2023. He\u2019s still 6-feet-7, still throws a bunch of pitches and still relies on deception more than raw stuff. But there\u2019s one clear difference. His shoulder-length locks are gone.<\/p>\n
Rogers was out with Ricky Tiedemann and Chad Dallas last spring, and the trio talked about Tiedemann\u2019s buzz-cut look. It was so easy to maintain, Tiedemann said. When the young hurlers got back to their apartment, Tiedemann took out the trimmers. Initially, it was to cut Dallas\u2019 hair, but Rogers, a soft-spoken giant, was quickly talked into a new style.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved my curls,\u201d Rogers said after his first spring start. \u201cBut it took a span of like five seconds. I was like, \u2018All right, let\u2019s do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The fresh look worked for Rogers. His fianc\u00e9e liked it, the righty said, and it kick-started the best season of his professional career. The 24-year-old posted a 3.47 ERA across 28 starts, earned a promotion to Double A and was one of just six minor-league pitchers to surpass 150 innings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw tremendous growth in his ability to sequence pitches and change patterns,\u201d Blue Jays director of pitching Justin Lehr said, \u201cthe second time through the lineup. So just looking for more of the same and challenging, hopefully, with a higher-level ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rogers possesses a sinker, slider, cutter, splitter and curveball and can vary the grips and shapes on those pitches within starts. None grade out as elite pitches or live in the upper 90s. But it\u2019s innings-eating potential that has Rogers close to the big leagues this year.<\/p>\n
The righty is a bit of a throwback to an era before velocity and stuff models were king. His upside is a career like Chris Bassitt\u2019s, providing many valuable innings without blowing up radar guns. If the Jays need someone to soak up innings this year, Rogers appears set to step up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can provide good innings,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI can provide long games. I can get outs. I can get a double play.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n CJ Van Eyk is \u201cone of the more gifted guys we have in the system,\u201d according to the Blue Jays\u2019 director of pitching. (Kim Klement Neitzel \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
RHP CJ Van Eyk<\/p>\n
\u201cEl mejor tiempo de mi vida.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what Van Eyk called his Mexican Winter League experience \u2014 the best time of his life. It\u2019s easy to see why.<\/p>\n
Fans chanted cheers that Van Eyk couldn\u2019t quite understand, and dancers filled the field ahead of first pitch. His Opening Day start against Charros de Jalisco was the first time Van Eyk had to crank his PitchCom volume up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Triple A,\u201d Van Eyk said, \u201cyou never really have to turn the PitchCom up to 20.\u201d<\/p>\n
But more than enjoying raucous crowds and on-field dancing, Van Eyk savored 2025 because of newfound consistency and health. Since joining the Jays\u2019 organization in 2020, he\u2019d never made more than 20 starts in a season due to Tommy John surgery, a lengthy recovery and other minor setbacks.<\/p>\n
The righty nearly doubled his career-high workload last year with 33 starts across the minors and winter ball. He earned a promotion to Triple A, posted a 3.04 ERA in his last 11 outings, and carried the success into nine more outings with \u00c1guilas de Mexicali. He\u2019s 27 years old, hardly a budding prospect. But Van Eyk has long been a guy the Jays dreamed on, if healthy, and he finally showed durability in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has an amazing arm talent,\u201d Lehr said. \u201cProbably one of the more gifted guys we have in the system.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tampa, Fla., native posted a 2.90 ERA in Mexico, ranking No. 5 among starters with at least eight outings. He specifically worked on his sweeper shape and sinker location to help attack righties more effectively. The Jays and Van Eyk hope it\u2019s finally a year he can build on. If the Jays need to summon a minor-league starter early, Van Eyk could be one of the first guys up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really impressed with the way he capitalized on those learning experiences in winter ball,\u201d Lehr said. \u201cKind of looked like this really finished product, which he looks like now.\u201d<\/p>\n
RHP Chad Dallas<\/p>\n
After 2023, Dallas was named the Blue Jays\u2019 minor-league pitcher of the year. The 2021 fourth-round pick posted a 3.65 ERA with high strikeout totals and earned his way up to Double A. He seemed primed to establish himself as a potential big-league starter but stumbled in 2024 and underwent Tommy John surgery in September that year.<\/p>\n
The right-hander, with a burly moustache and the nickname \u201cCheese,\u201d made his return to the mound Feb. 23, throwing 1 2\/3 shutout innings for the Jays. He relies on a sweeper, fastball and cutter. The velocities on all three pitches returned to his 2023 norms, and all earned whiffs in his brief spring outing.<\/p>\n
Dallas may not be ready to haul heavy like Van Eyk or Rogers, as he continues to build back from Tommy John, but he could be a bulk reliever or shorter starter for the Jays at some point this year. The Jays want to keep him as a starting option, but his pitches could play better as a multi-inning reliever.<\/p>\n
Other names to know<\/p>\n
The rest of Toronto\u2019s upper-minors prospect pitching depth includes Lazaro Estrada, Adam Macko, Fernando Perez, Gage Stanifer and Austin Cates. Estrada and Macko are closest to the majors, but both could be more long relievers than long-term starters.<\/p>\n
The Jays are attempting a starter transition for Alex Amalfi, who posted a 4.41 ERA mostly in relief last year. He made five starts in the Arizona Fall League last year, posting a 9.95 ERA, but the Jays, Lehr said, think his four-pitch mix could work in the rotation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A row of lockers rests at the back of the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 spring clubhouse, tucked between hallways…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":525182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85,5161],"class_list":["post-525181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}