I don’t know about you, but I was pretty surprised when Ryan Borucki was added to the 40-man roster, back in November. I didn’t see Borucki as someone that the Jays were likely to lose in the Rule 5 draft. We don’t even have a picture of the guy.
I mean, he had a pretty good, 2016 season. He finished the season in Lansing, where he had a 2.41 ERA, in 20 starts. 115.2 innings, he allowed 105 hits, just 1 home run, 26 walks and 107 strikeout.
The start of the season, in Dunedin, wasn’t so good, 14.40 ERA in 6 starts over 20 innings, which earned him the demotion to Lansing.
He’s a good lefty prospect, but I wouldn’t think anyone would want to grab a guy out of low A, and be forced to keep him in the majors for the full season.
Ryan turns 23 in March, he’ll likely start the season in Dunedin. Hopefully, this time, not getting a demotion back to Lansing. It would be nice to see him move up to New Hampshire at some point. To me, it seems like a stretch to expect him to make it to the majors, but maybe, if everything went great, he could be a September call up. Lefty pitchers always seem in short supply in Toronto.
He’s a big guy, 6’4”, he throws hard (mid-90s), with a change and a curve to go with it. Lefties like that hard aren’t exactly a dime a dozen. He was number 16 on our prospect list this year.
He’s 23, but he lost a year and a bit of development time, after Tommy John surgery. Last year was his time getting a full season season of work in. If he can stay healthy, he’ll like move up quickly.
I guess the question about Ryan is:
Where will he end the 2017 season?
Honestly, nothing would surprise me, but I’m guessing he spends the bulk of 2017 at Double A New Hampshire. If he does well, who knows? Lefties, who can throw hard, can move up the ladder quickly.