Notes: Stripling's roles; Vladdy raising level

TORONTO -- If there’s one pitcher on this Blue Jays roster who embodies the club’s broader pitching strategy in 2021, it’s Ross Stripling.

With 61 career starts and 87 relief appearances, the 31-year-old right-hander understands the swingman gig. That’s how he entered camp, and when a need arose in the rotation following injuries to No. 1 prospect Nate Pearson and Thomas Hatch, that’s the direction his role swung.

In Monday’s 4-3 win over the Tigers, Stripling threw 68 pitches over 3 2/3 innings and plans to bump that up to 80 pitches over five innings in his final Grapefruit League outing. He’ll open the season in Pearson’s rotation spot and could bounce back and forth between roles a half dozen times by September. He understands the importance of those multi-inning roles, especially when the back end of the bullpen needs a night off.

“That's a really big deal and that's going to be happening all around baseball this year with the short season last year,” Stripling said. “Just speaking for myself, obviously I'm shooting to be a starter, hoping to be a starter, to stay in the rotation all year and have success, but I know that there's value in the versatility and I'm happy to do it. I imagine that that will come up at some point this year.”

Stripling’s outing was a mixed bag with three runs scoring on five hits, but some defensive misplays behind him extended innings. The bright spot for Stripling came in the third when he had runners on second and third with no outs, but struck out three consecutive batters to escape the inning.

Toronto’s group of young depth starters will be part of this solution, too. Anthony Kay, Trent Thornton and T.J. Zeuch are the healthy options for now, and of those, Kay looked sharp in a multi-inning relief role in 2020 before a couple of late stumbles bumped his ERA up to 5.14. Like Stripling, he could do a bit of both.

“I think I did a pretty good job in whatever role they needed me,” Kay said. “I came in for whatever inning they needed last year, so I feel like I’m pretty comfortable with any role they give me. We’re playing 162 games this year, so while you really don’t want to wish for injuries, it’s inevitable. Everyone just needs to be ready and stay ready.”

Vlad the Rocketman
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is scorching the ball in Spring Training and added another double in the sixth inning Monday with an exit velocity of 110 mph.

Guerrero is hitting .520 in Grapefruit League play and, while the big exit velocities have been impressive, the most encouraging trend has been the fact he’s consistently lifting the ball in the air. Ground balls have been an issue for Guerrero in his first two seasons and negated many of his hardest-hit balls, so carrying that trend into the season will be key.

Semien heating up
Marcus Semien is rounding into form just in time, launching his second home run in two days on Monday. Semien took a two-seamer from Tigers’ starter Julio Teheran and launched it 413 to right field, where the wind was blowing out.

“Timing has always been a big one for me, making sure you’re on time with your mechanics," Semien said. "We work on our swing every day and our swing path, but once you get in that game, timing is just not the same as cage work or BP. That’s why these at-bats in the last week will be important.”

Semien later doubled and was brought home by Bo Bichette, and that one-two punch from the middle infield is worth getting used to. Charlie Montoyo has hit Semien second and Bichette third with George Springer in the leadoff spot, so Bichette -- and Teoscar Hernández behind him in the cleanup spot -- should have plenty of RBI opportunities.

Grichuk robs extra bases
The defensive play of the game belonged to Randal Grichuk, who ranged back towards the right-field wall on a Renato Núñez fly ball and made the leaping catch.

With Springer, Hernández and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the outfield, there may not be everyday reps available for Grichuk right away, but when you factor in the DH spot and the potential for injuries throughout the season, this situation should balance itself out. Expect to see Grichuk in right field more often, where the Blue Jays like his defense, and this play shows exactly why.