If I had a vote for the Grapefruit League Cy Young Award, I’d undoubtedly go with Yusei Kikuchi.
Kikuchi tossed five scoreless frames against the Minnesota Twins, scattering just three hits, one walk, and one hit batter while striking out nine. The nine strikeouts represent the highest strikeout total Kikuchi has had in a start as a member of the Blue Jays.
It also came against a reasonably competitive version of the Twins, as they sent out a lineup with Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa batting first and second. Kikuchi struck out Buxton once and Correa twice.
Yusei Kikuchi’s 9th K thru 5. pic.twitter.com/lcxZVizb4s
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 23, 2023
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This was Kikuchi’s sixth outing of the spring and he’s combined to allow just two earned runs over 18 innings while walking 10 batters and striking out 25. As I said, Grapefruit League Cy Young!
Will it translate into the regular season when the games are real and players aren’t half-awake in the heavy Florida sun? Has the pitch clock actually gotten rid of Kikuchi’s yips? Who knows! It’s certainly enjoyable to believe, though.
Other things worth noting from this game… Thomas Hatch’s ERA is down to 9.35 with a clean relief inning, Nate Pearson came into the game and recorded four outs and all of them were strikeouts, Danny Jansen went 2-for-3 with a double, Otto Lopez had a walk and a hit in his first game back from the World Baseball Classic, and prospects Orelvis Martinez and Spencer Horowitz combined to drive in all of the Blue Jays’ three runs.
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