Atkins, Blue Jays believe Kikuchi 'just getting started'

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- By signing Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year, $36 million deal, the Blue Jays continue to evolve the way they approach the back end of their rotation.

In 2018 and ’20, the Blue Jays brought in Jaime García and Tanner Roark to solidify their rotation, hoping they’d eat innings while younger arms grew around them. Neither worked out. Last season brought the addition of Steven Matz, though, who was quietly one of Toronto’s better moves, and Kikuchi’s addition represents another pursuit of similar upside, not just innings.

That’s why Kikuchi landed the contract he did, which exceeded some expectations after he declined his $13 million player option for 2022 and hit the market with an unspectacular 4.97 ERA over three MLB seasons. Kikuchi was an All-Star for the Mariners in ’21 and finally looked to be emerging as a strong mid-rotation starter, but he faded through the second half. The Blue Jays, of course, are betting on the first half, and the flashes of clear talent shown by a pitcher the club has coveted stretching back to his move to MLB in 2019.

“The talent speaks for itself. The weapons are elite,” said general manager Ross Atkins. “We’re very excited about what he’s already accomplished in his career and feel like the future is very, very bright for Yusei.”

Part of that optimism has to live in Kikuchi’s velocity, with a fastball that sat at 95.1 mph last season and can touch the 97-98 mph range. Kikuchi isn’t nearly the same physical presence as Robbie Ray on the mound, but his fastball was actually slightly faster than Ray’s in 2021.

“We are exceptionally confident in the athlete that he is,” Atkins said. “With every acquisition, we’re always excited about joining with the player and hoping that they realize all of their potential and feel that it’s rare for someone of Yusei’s caliber to have accomplished so much thus far in his career in Japan and here. We feel as though it’s just getting started.”

Kikuchi’s success has certainly been tied to that velocity, which is something you’ll be familiar with if you watched many of Matz’s starts last year with the Blue Jays. When he’s throwing harder and attacking hitters, everything else seems to work off of that.

This is a fascinating project for pitching coach Pete Walker, because it’s about further developing some pitches that do have legitimate potential. This is not a veteran who’s coming in to throw 90 mph and force ground balls, but a left-hander fully capable of striking out more than a batter per inning, which he did in 2021. Tuesday in Dunedin, prior to his grand introduction at a press conference, Kikuchi threw his first bullpen session to Danny Jansen, and he liked where his delivery was for this point in camp.

“I think my fastball is my best pitch,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Kevin Ando. “I have three other weapons, as well, but I want to put myself in a good position. Having confidence in my fastball and being aggressive in the zone will definitely help me and make my three other pitches better as well.”

Walker tends to take a similar approach with new pitchers, particularly veterans, and it’s one they’ve tended to appreciate.

“He was an All-Star. He was doing some tremendous things,” Walker said. “He has a tremendous fastball, good splitter and good breaking ball. We have some ideas and some rationale behind our thoughts of course, but right now we just want to get him comfortable, get him throwing like we usually do, then maybe add our two cents at some point.”

Kikuchi will throw his first live batting practice on Thursday to a group of Blue Jays hitters, but for now, he’s still catching up from a long travel day earlier in the week and a whirlwind first full day at the complex. After fielding questions for 30 minutes, Kikuchi posed for photos, surrounded by cameras as a large Japanese media contingent was in town to cover the pride of Morioka, Japan, who starred with the Seibu Lions for nine years before making the move to MLB.

In 2021, Kikuchi opened the year as Seattle’s No. 2 starter, but he’ll only be asked to carry the No. 5 duties for Toronto, maybe No. 4 if a fellow pitcher goes down. The Blue Jays' rotation boasts José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah and Hyun Jin Ryu ahead of Kikuchi, making it one of the deepest and talented in Major League Baseball.

There’s upside for more than just passable innings, though, otherwise the Blue Jays wouldn’t be making such a commitment. With upside comes risk, but that’s necessary as Toronto works to chase a championship, not simply be competitive.