Blue Jays' Kikuchi making adjustments, solidifying position as fifth starter

BRADENTON, Fla. — Growing up, Yusei Kikuchi regularly threw five bullpens a week. At least 100 pitches each. Sometimes 200-300. He grew so accustomed to it that he still mixes in the occasional 300-pitch bullpen throughout his off-seasons today. He threw one recently. It can take as long as two hours.

“In Japan,” Kikuchi said Tuesday, after throwing a mere 51 pitches over three hitless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, “that’s normal.”

So, safe to say these early spring training outings aren’t about building up workload for Kikuchi. Rather, they’re about refining his approach, gaining a feel for control and command, and continuing to gain familiarity with the new breaking ball he learned two weeks ago.

That’s not a typo. Literally two weeks ago, Blue Jays pitching strategist David Howell pulled Kikuchi aside and asked him if he’d considered changing the angle on his slider. Same grip. Same velocity. Same intent. Just a slight adjustment at the point of release.

The result has been the pitch Kikuchi has rode through seven scoreless, one-hit innings across three outings this spring, racking up 9 strikeouts against three walks along the way. He threw it 18 times Tuesday, using it to set up split-changeups down-and-away from right-handed batters, and fastballs up in the zone to both sides of the platoon.

Interestingly, that fastball operated as an out pitch for Kikuchi Tuesday, producing both of his strikeouts and four whiffs on seven swings. In his second time facing the Pirates this spring, Kikuchi figured hitters might be sitting on the off-speed stuff he’d flummoxed them with 10 days prior. So, he reversed his approach.

“It’s good when he's finishing hitters with it late up in the zone. I think he was locating it the way he does to play off of his other pitches today,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I think when he's using it in tandem with his breaking stuff, it's going to be just fine.”

That’s a promising development in a spring full of them for Kikuchi, who would have to suffer a profound setback at this point to not open the regular season as Toronto’s fifth starter. 

Mitch White has resumed throwing bullpens after his spring build-up was delayed due to a right shoulder impingement, but, with three weeks until camp breaks, he’s yet to even face live hitters, let alone appear in a game. At this point, White beginning the season on the injured list wouldn’t surprising.

Zach Thompson is next up after White, but he has all three of his minor-league options remaining and could start the year as rotation insurance at triple-A. Thomas Hatch is likely to be in Buffalo with him, as are Drew Hutchison and Casey Lawrence, neither of whom currently reside on Toronto’s 40-man roster.

But although Schneider said his club would likely be settling on its rotation order to begin the season within the next week, he’s not yet ready to declare Kikuchi officially a part of it.

“Not officially,” Schneider said. “I think everything that he's done so far has put himself in a really good spot to do so. Three really good outings, another one today. Interesting to see [the Pirates] again for the second time. I thought he was great. He's put himself in a pretty good spot. … He’s doing exactly what we had hoped for him to do right now.”

Fair enough. No reason to make any decisions or announcements until absolutely necessary. But it’s clear where this is going. 

Of course, pitching before 5,000 sleepy septuagenarians in Bradenton is a little different than doing so before 40,000 surly spectators in Boston. Same goes for facing hitters finding their timing early in March vs. those knowing the results count come April. And until he faces that kind of stress and intensity, there will remain questions as to just how transferrable Kikuchi’s spring success will be in a regular season environment.

But, to his credit, Kikuchi’s demonstrated a solid process behind his results. That includes the new breaking ball he’s taken so quickly too, and the way he’s navigated challenges on the mound. 

“Today, the shape of the slider was kind of hit and miss. So, he ended up really leaning on his splitter, which was really, really good,” said Rob Brantly, who caught Kikuchi Tuesday. “It's just what we had today. And he was able to navigate that great and stay competitive.

“His fastball was electric today. It's one of those fastballs where it feels like halfway to the plate it hits a second gear. I don't know if it was just because we were adding in the splitter and it was playing off the fastball really well that made it look extra jumpy. But it was electric.”

Nailing in-game adjustments like those is a very positive indicator for Kikuchi coming off a season when he struggled to correct issues on the fly. The whiffs, strikeouts, and scoreless innings through his first three outings are great. But the Blue Jays will be most pleased with how Kikuchi’s produced them.

He’s leaned into the depth of his arsenal when one pitch or another isn’t working, finding ways to continue missing bats, generating weak contact, and getting outs. He’s followed up his walks with first-pitch strikes to the next hitter. And he’s maintained his tempo and rhythm when things don’t go his way, managing the pitch clock effectively and trusting his catchers while avoiding excessive shaking and overthinking.

The true test will come in the first week of the season, when Kikuchi tries to carry his success over into games that count. But until that opportunity arrives, he’ll continue taking every fifth day as an opportunity to improve, to iron out any kinks. He could throw you a 300-pitch bullpen any day of the week. The focus now is locating all those pitches for strikes.

“I've got to attack the hitter. Just pitch by pitch. That’s the main focus that I have,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Keito Ebino. “It's easy to say, but it's kind of hard to do. So, I guess I'll work on that.”