With the date for pitchers and catchers to report closing in on baseball fans around the globe I took an in-depth look at the Toronto Blue Jays starting pitching depth last week.

Today I would like to add to that article by analyzing the Jays bullpen depth as well.

The Toronto Blue Jays, as most baseball fans know, are in the process of rebuilding a franchise that did not live up to expectations under former general manager JP Ricciardi.

With new general manager Alex Anthopoulos under the helm with his new philosophy of acquiring young, controllable players to help aid the franchise for years to come the Jays will need to mix in such players with key veterans to establish a bullpen that two years ago was one of the best in baseball.

On the Jays current active roster the Jays have 13 possible players who could vie for a bullpen job.

Those names are Jeremy Accardo, Shawn Camp, Jesse Carlson, Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Kevin Gregg, Dirk Hayhurst, Sean Henn, Casey Janssen, Josh Roenicke, Brian Tallet, Merkin Valdez & Zechry Zinicola.

The Jays also have non-roster invites Lance Broadway, Willie Collazo, Rommie Lewis & Steven Register competing for jobs.

Dirk Hayhurst is out with injury for a good portion of the season so we will keep him out of this equation.

That leaves 16 possible arms to compete for seven bullpen spots.

I will break down each pitcher on the roster (not going to dwell into the non-roster invitees) individually to see if a fit is there for Toronto as a member of its bullpen.

Jeremy Accardo (RHP, RP) (6th MLB Season)

Undrafted.

Acquired from San Francisco Giants in 2006 for Shea Hillenbrand & Vinnie Chulk.

Career MLB Statistics: 7-16, 3.81ERA, 199G, 0GS, 38SV, 51SVO, 203IP, 191H, 92R, 86ER, 16HR, 7HB, 74BB, 150SO, .249AVG, 1.31WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 0-0, 2.55ERA, 26G, 1SV, 1SVO, 24.2IP, 23H, 8R, 7ER, 2HR, 2HB, 17BB, 18SO, .267AVG, 1.62WHIP

Jeremy Accardo was the human yo-yo of the Toronto Blue Jays organization last season as he was consistently brought up to the Major League bullpen only to be sent back down to the Triple A affiliate after a short stint.

Accardo is a hard throwing right hander with a mid 90’s fastball, an above average slider and a split finger pitch that drops out of the zone with late movement.

Accardo has closer experience as he was former manager John Gibbons go to guy in 2007 when BJ Ryan was on the shelf.

Accardo notched 30 saves in 35 opportunities for Toronto that season, but has not been given the chance to return to that success since.

Last season Accardo was in manager Cito Gaston’s doghouse according to multiple media reports. An early season altercation between the two could have led Gaston to not use the strong reliever.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos has let it be known that he would like Accardo to be given a much better chance in this year’s bullpen as Accardo could be a valuable commodity for the Jays this season.

Projection to begin 2010: I personally see a determined and more focused Accardo this spring who will win himself a spot in Toronto’s bullpen.

I highly doubt he will fill the closer’s role or even a set-up role, but he could become a formidable seventh inning guy or a tough matchup against opposing right handed hitters when needed.

Shawn Camp (RHP, RP) (7th MLB Season)

Drafted in 16th round, 500th overall of 1997 Entry Draft by San Diego Padres

Signed by Toronto as a minor league free agent in 2008.

Career MLB Statistics: 15-20, 4.74ERA, 295G, 7SV, 14SVO, 349.2IP, 412H, 207R, 184ER, 39HR, 25HB, 106BB, 257SO, .297AVG, 1.48WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 2-6, 3.50ERA, 59G, 1SV, 1SVO, 79.2IP, 73H, 36R, 31ER, 7HR, 4HB, 29BB, 58SO, .245AVG, 1.28WHIP

Shawn Camp was a workhorse last season out of the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen. Cito Gaston went to Camp 59 times last season, the second most appearances in Camp’s career.

The side winding right hander features a sinking fastball with a ton of movement as well as a sweeping slider and an improved changeup.

Camp struggles against lefties and has a hard time when pitching on back to back days, but has proven himself a weapon in Toronto’s bullpen.

Camp induces a lot of groundballs which helps Toronto create double play opportunities when the team is in trouble.

Projection to begin 2010: Camp won over manager Cito Gaston last season and with Gaston’s noted attitude towards using his favourite players more often than he really should I do not see Camp coming out of Spring Training with anything other than a spot in Toronto’s bullpen.

The veteran right hander is also priced right as he recently avoided arbitration by signing a one year, $1.15 million contract.

Jesse Carlson (LHP, RP) (3rd MLB Season)

Drafted in 15th round, 440th overall of 2002 Entry Draft by Detroit Tigers.

Signed by Toronto as a minor league free agent in 2007.

Career MLB Statistics: 8-8, 3.52ERA, 142G, 2SV, 5SVO, 127.2IP, 108H, 53R, 50ER, 13HR, 6HB, 42BB, 106SO, .230AVG, 1.17WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 1-6, 4.66ERA, 73G, 0SV, 3SVO, 67.2IP, 67H, 37R, 35ER, 7HR, 3HB, 21BB, 51SO, .258AVG, 1.30WHIP

After coming out of nowhere in 2008 to have one of the best seasons by a middle reliever in all of baseball, Jesse Carlson came back to earth last season.

Carlson got off to a great start, but as the season went on the numbers began to rise.

Some could attribute Carlson’s rising numbers due to overwork (73 appearances last season), while some would say that American League hitters began to figure out the young left hander.

Either way Carlson is very useful out of the Jays bullpen.

Carlson features a sidearm delivery. He shields the ball well from hitters making it difficult to pick up the oncoming pitch. Carlson features a very good slider that buckles knees along with an average fastball/curveball mix.

Carlson uses his slider as his out pitch and even likes to begin counts with it to get ahead of hitters.

Carlson is also another favourite of manager Cito Gaston out of the bullpen which can be a bad thing at times as Gaston’s devotion to Carlson can equal overwork for the pitcher.

Projection to begin 2010: Carlson, like Camp should walk out of Spring Training with a bullpen job. Carlson & Camp were Toronto’s most used and healthiest relievers all of last season which put them in Gaston’s favourite book. I’d be surprised if Carlson walks out with anything but his exact role of last season.

Carlson also comes very cheap as he is currently running on a one year, $408,700 contract.

Scott Downs (LHP, RP) (11TH MLB Season)

Drafted in 3rd round, 94th overall in 1997 Entry Draft by Chicago Cubs.

Signed as a free agent by Toronto in 2004.

Career MLB Statistics: 22-23, 3.92ERA, 312G, 50GS, 1CG, 1SHO, 16SV, 30SVO, 509.1IP, 519H, 249R, 222ER, 55HR, 22HB, 194BB, 398SO, .264AVG, 1.40WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 1-3, 3.09ERA, 48G, 9SV, 13SVO, 46.2IP, 46H, 18R, 16ER, 4HR, 2HB, 13BB, 43SO, .251AVG, 1.26WHIP

Since signing on as a free agent with the Blue Jays in 2004 Scott Downs has been one of the best relievers in all of baseball.

Downs was at his best setting up the ninth inning for former Jays closer BJ Ryan in 2008 and has also done an admirable job of closing when called upon.

Last season although effective Downs struggled at times, mainly due to numerous foot injuries.

Downs features a sidearm delivery across his body while throwing a decent low 90’s fastball and a huge sweeping curveball that can really jam right handed hitters and fool lefties.

Downs is an essential part of Toronto’s bullpen in any role given to him and will compete with Jason Frasor & Kevin Gregg in Spring Training for the vacant closer’s role.

Projection to begin 2010: Unless injury occurs Downs will be part of the Jays bullpen no matter what. The only question surrounding Downs will be if his role is as closer, closer by committee, set-up man, or a role player who shuts down tough hitters.

Jason Frasor (RHP, RP) (7TH MLB Season)

Drafted in 33rd round, 987th overall in 1999 Entry Draft by the Detroit Tigers.

Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jayson Werth in 2004.

Career MLB Statistics: 19-23, 3.78ERA, 342G, 32SV, 44SVO, 355IP, 304H, 155R, 149ER, 31HR, 12HB, 152BB, 324SO, .232AVG, 1.28WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 7-3, 2.50ERA, 61G, 11SV, 14SVO, 57.2IP, 43H, 17R, 16ER, 4HR, 2HB, 16BB, 56SO, .209AVG, 1.02WHIP

Jason Frasor had his breakout year last season with Toronto.

Prior to the season Frasor learned to throw an effective changeup that completely changed the way he pitched.

The addition of the changeup seemed to give Frasor more confidence with his other stuff which has always been good.

Frasor went from mop up duty to Toronto’s closer and most effective bullpen pitcher within the year, recording a career high seven victories and a career low ERA of 2.50.

Frasor features a mid 90’s fastball, average slider & curveball and an excellent changeup.

Projection to begin 2010: Frasor was destined to compete for a closer’s spot this spring with Scott Downs.

That was until the recent acquisition of Kevin Gregg.

Frasor figures to still compete with Downs & Gregg for the vacant closer’s role, but with Gregg’s experience I foresee Frasor and Downs combining to fill the set-up man role in the eighth inning.

Either party could come in to finish out games when Gregg needs rest or if Gregg falters sometime throughout the season.

Kevin Gregg (RHP, RP) (8TH MLB Season)

Drafted in 15th round, 435th overall in 1996 Entry Draft by Oakland Athletics

Signed via free agency by Toronto.

Career MLB Statistics: 23-27, 4.10ERA, 343G, 8GS, 85SV, 107SVO, 476.1IP, 436H, 232R, 217ER, 50HR, 22HB, 193BB, 437SO, .240AVG, 1.32WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 5-6, 4.72ERA, 72G, 23SV, 30SVO, 68.2IP, 60H, 38R, 36ER, 13HR, 3HB, 30BB, 71SO, .229AVG, 1.31WHIP

The recent acquisition of Kevin Gregg boggled the mind of fans in Toronto as Gregg goes against what general manager Alex Anthopoulos was hoping to accomplish with his game plan of acquiring young (Gregg is 31), controllable players to build around.

At first glance baseball people thought Gregg would receive a mediocre one year contract with the plan of flipping him to a contender for prospects if he closed well for Toronto.

However, Toronto inked Gregg to a one year deal with options for not only a second year, but a third year as well, which makes it seem like Toronto wants to keep Gregg around.

Some baseball analysts assumed that with the addition of Gregg that either Jason Frasor or Scott Downs would be on the move via trade, but both players are entering camp and will be competing with Gregg for the closer’s spot.

So in the end it seems like the Jays actually want Gregg as part of their bullpen.

Gregg has had some productive years as a closer, most notably in his time with the Florida Marlins in 2007 (32SV in 36SVO, ERA 3.54).

Gregg also had a decent year in Florida in 2008 securing 29 saves in 38 opportunities but lowering his ERA of the previous season to 3.41.

Gregg spent last season with the Chicago Cubs opening up the year as their closer.

Gregg was prone to the long ball last season allowing 13 which lost him his closer’s job to Carlos Marmol.

Gregg is predominantly a closer and came to Toronto because of the opportunity to fill such a role.

Gregg features a low 90’s fastball & an excellent curveball/slider mix. Gregg has had his problems with control in the past, but he generally keeps the ball in the strike zone while striking out a lot of batters and keeping a low hit total.

Projection to begin 2010: With the kind of money the Jays spent on Gregg I foresee him opening the year as Toronto’s closer.

If Gregg can keep the ball inside the ball park and continue to get batters out while maintaining a lower hit than innings pitched total he will be exactly what the doctor ordered in the ninth inning for the Jays.

Sean Henn (LHP, RP) (6TH MLB Season)

Drafted in 26th round, 788th overall in 2000 Entry Draft by New York Yankees.

Claimed off waivers from Baltimore Orioles by Toronto in 2009.

Career MLB Statistics: 2-9. 7.56ERA, 60G, 5GS, 0SV, 2SVO, 81IP, 99H, 73R, 68ER, 14HR, 5HB, 64BB, 62SO, .301AVG, 2.01WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 0-3, 7.53ERA, 20G, 0SV, 2SVO, 14.1IP, 15H, 12R, 12ER, 2HR, 1HB, 12BB, 15SO, .273AVG, 1.88WHIP

Sean Henn was a low risk, waiver claim by the Jays early in the offseason towards the end of 2009.

Henn has not had a good Major League career in stints with the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins & Baltimore Orioles.

The tall lefty stands 6’4 and weighs 225lbs and features a fastball that tops out at 92mph with a slider and a changeup in his repertoire.

Henn has never pitched more than 36 innings in one season and has consistently had a high earned run average to go along with a high hit and walk total.

Projection to begin 2010: Unless Henn can have a dominant spring I do not see him on Toronto’s roster come opening day. Henn is out of options, which means he is expendable.

Henn would have to pass through waivers if he does not make the team out of Spring Training which means the Jays will lose the lefty if he is claimed.

If Henn were to pass through waivers I foresee him beginning the year in the minors.

Casey Janssen (RHP, RP) (5TH MLB Season)

Drafted in 4th round, 117th overall in 2004 Entry Draft by Toronto Blue Jays

Career MLB Statistics: 10-17, 4.27ERA, 110G, 22GS, 7SV, 12SVO, 206.2IP, 229H, 109R, 98ER, 21HR, 12HB, 55BB, 107SO, .280AVG, 1.37WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 2-4, 5.85ERA, 21G, 5GS, 1SV, 1SVO, 40IP, 59H, 29R, 26ER, 5HR, 2HB, 14BB, 24SO, .341AVG, 1.83WHIP

Casey Janssen is a tough pitcher to judge in my opinion.

The former UCLA project is talented and has proven effective in numerous roles in the past.

Janssen began as a starter for Toronto in 2006 starting 17 games than became an effective set-up man in the eighth inning for the Jays in 2007.

Janssen missed the entire 2008 season with a torn labrum and he has not been the same since.

His role has been a mystery. Is he a starter? A long reliever? A set-up man?

Only Janssen will be able to answer these questions.

Projection to begin 2010: As it stands it looks like Janssen will come out of Toronto’s bullpen and with his past experience combined with a strong spring I foresee him filing one of Toronto’s spots, most likely as the right handed version of our long reliever, especially now considering Scott Richmond has succumb to injury before spring even begun.

However, Janssen looks to be near the bottom of the bullpen depth chart and will most likely be competing for one of the final bullpen spots available.

Josh Roenicke (RHP, RP) (3RD MLB Season)

Drafted in 10th round, 294th overall in 2006 Entry Draft by Cincinnati Reds

Acquired from Cincinnati Reds along with Edwin Encarnacion & Zach Stewart for Scott Rolen.

Career MLB Statistics: 0-0, 5.56ERA, 29G, 0SV, 34IP, 38H, 22R, 21ER, 2HR, 2HB, 18BB, 39SO, .281AVG, 1.65WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 0-0, 5.23ERA, 24G, 0SV, 0SVO, 31IP, 32H, 19R, 18ER, 2HR, 1HB, 16BB, 33SO, .267AVG, 1.55WHIP

Josh Roenicke came over to Toronto in the Scott Rolen deal at last season’s trade deadline and was immediately penciled into the Jays bullpen.

The young righty did not fair well to begin his Blue Jays career and spent most of the season low on the depth chart mainly mopping up games.

Roenicke has excellent stuff featuring a power fastball that normally sits in the mid 90’s but can reach the high 90’s on occasion & a cutter that resembles a slider due to it’s movement.

Roenicke needs to develop a third pitch to add to this repertoire if he is going to add to his effectiveness.

Roenicke can be a tad wild at times allowing a lot of walks (16BB in 31IP in 2009), but when he can locate his power stuff he is very effective as a strikeout pitcher (33SO in 31IP in 2009).

Projection to begin 2010: Although Roenicke was in Toronto’s bullpen last season I do not see the same scenario for the youngster.

He is just 26 years old and has options left so I foresee him beginning the year in Triple A working on a third pitch and getting a call up if an injury occurs.

Brian Tallet (LHP, SP/RP) (9TH MLB Season)

Drafted in 2nd round, 55th overall in 2000 Entry Draft by Cleveland Indians.

Career MLB Statistics: 14-17, 4.29ERA, 189G, 31GS, 0SV, 3SVO, 369.1IP, 353H, 189R, 176ER, 34HR, 19HB, 168BB, 274SO, .252AVG, 1.41WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 7-9, 5.32ERA, 37G, 25GS, 160.2IP, 169H, 99R, 95ER, 20HR, 6HB, 72BB, 120SO, .268AVG, 1.50WHIP

Brian Tallet spent the majority of the 2009 season as a starter for the Blue Jays as the team struggled with injuries to the rotation.

Despite a few terrible performances, hence the high earned run average, Tallet was a very dependable starter for the Jays.

Tallet started a total of 25 games and threw a total of 160.2 innings.

His ability to adapt won him over with management and Tallet, despite an injury will most certainly be on this year’s club.

Tallet is a large specimen on the mound, standing 6’6 and features a very good fastball that cuts in on right handed hitters, a sweeping slurve, a two seam fastball and an excellent changeup.

When Tallet has his changeup working for him he can be unhittable at times, but when Tallet struggles with his secondary stuff he gets into trouble leaving too many pitches in the middle of the plate. This contributes to his high home run totals (20HR allowed last season).

Projection to begin 2010: Tallet will be on the squad, but there have been rumours that the Jays may try him out as part of the rotation as opposed to the bullpen.

With the Jays current abundance of arms Tallet is best suited in my opinion for his normal role of long man out of the bullpen and I think that is where he will be come Opening Day.

Merkin Valdez (RHP, RP) (4TH MLB Season)

Undrafted.

Acquired from San Francisco Giants for cash considerations.

Career MLB Statistics: 3-1, 5.24ERA, 67G, 1GS, 0SV, 3SVO, 67IP, 75H, 43R, 39ER, 7HR, 2HB, 38BB, 53SO, .285AVG, 1.69WHIP

2009 MLB Statistics: 2-1, 5.66ERA, 48G, 0SV, 3SVO, 49.1IP, 57H, 33R, 31ER, 5HR, 0HB, 28BB, 38SO, 1.72WHIP

Merkin Valdez is a new addition to the Blue Jays franchise via a trade with the Giants.

Valdez is famously known in baseball for lying about his name and age early in his career. Valdez originally went by the name Manny Mateo and listed his age as nine months younger than he actually was.

Valdez is a power arm featuring a high octane fastball in the mid 90’s with a decent slider/changeup combo. Valdez is very good at keeping the ball in the park and has the ability to strike out a high number of hitters.

His walk rate, as well as high earned run average is concerning, but the possibility of Valdez as an anchor in the backend of the Jays bullpen is intriguing.

The only problem with the Valdez situation is that he is out of options, so in order for Valdez to remain a member of the Jays he would need to make the team out of spring and stay with them all season, or clear waivers if he was demoted.

Projection to begin 2010: If Valdez impresses in spring and one of Casey Janssen or Jeremy Accardo falters drastically the Jays may take a shot on Valdez and his high powered arm.

Realistically, there is a good chance that he could be demoted and claimed via waivers by another ball club in need of bullpen help.

His stint in a Blue Jays uniform could be a very short one.

Zechry Zinicola (RHP, RP) (Rookie)

Drafted in 6th round, 181st overall in 2006 Entry Draft by Washington Nationals.

Acquired via Rule 5 draft from Washington Nationals.

Career MLB Statistics: None
2009 MLB Statistics: None

Zechry Zinicola was the Jays Rule 5 draft pick this past offseason from the Washington Nationals.

New special assistant to the general manager Dana Brown, formerly of the Nationals organization is the man behind acquiring Zinicola.

Brown was left in charge of the Rule 5 draft and he has always been a fan of Zechry, hence the pickup.

Zinicola is a low risk, high reward option for the Jays costing them $50,000 for the claim.

If Zinicola does not make the team and remain on the Jays roster all season he will automatically be given back to the Nationals and the Jays will gain back $25,000 in return.

I do not know much about Zinicola aside from the fact that he features a decent fastball along with what Alex Anthopoulos says is a really good slider as an out pitch.

The rookie was stuck at the Triple A level with the Nationals and was going nowhere fast.

Projection to begin 2010: Zinicola is a long shot for the bullpen especially considering the excess of arms and considering his scenario I’m sure he will be offered back to the Nationals after spring is complete.

The first crop of pitchers and catchers officially report today, with the Jays pitchers and catcher reporting to camp on the 22nd.

Spring Training is close behind as the excitement of a new baseball season begins to unfold.

Will the Jays bullpen become one of the best in baseball as it did two seasons ago? Or will it be decimated by injury or forced into starting roles and extended innings pitched to succumb for a young rotation?

Jays fans everywhere will have to wait and see perhaps with some of the questions being answered as early as this spring in Dunedin.