Ryan Borucki

After showing promise across 17 big-league starts in 2018, Borucki missed nearly all of 2019 due to elbow trouble. It began in spring training, with Borucki removing himself from a minor-league game March 20. He opened the season on the 10-day injured list and did not debut until after the All-Star break. The left-hander was clobbered in a pair of starts before landing back on the IL with more elbow inflammation, and season-ending surgery was ultimately deemed necessary to remove bone spurs from the elbow. While Borucki does not throw hard and xFIP and SIERA do not support his strong ratios from 2018, he has a decent changeup and age is still on his side. The Blue Jays have added to their starting staff and Borucki has an option left; he may have to knock off the rust at Triple-A to begin the year, but Borucki will be on the short list for starting opportunities when injuries inevitably hit.

Borucki wears 56 in honor of his idol growing up, Mark Buehrle. Like the former White Sox great, Borucki is a lefty with good command who works quickly and features a changeup. His change had a top-25 swinging-strike rate last season and generated a higher percentage of whiffs than the same pitch from Zack Greinke, Dallas Keuchel, Jeremy Hellickson or Luke Weaver, to name a few specialists. What has been intriguing about this kid is how he has skyrocketed through the system, going from High-A to the majors in under two seasons, and he's done it without skipping much of a beat. His 2018 MLB strikeout rate was below average for a starting pitcher, but he had higher rates throughout the minor leagues. He could be a sneaky play in 2019 in deeper leagues, but with a level of risk that comes from pitching in a division loaded with tough hitting and mostly filled with ballparks with unforgiving run environments.