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Damiano Palmegiani hit a nuke, Kevin Gausman made his first start of Spring Training, but the Blue Jays fell 4-3 to the Pirates
Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

The Blue Jays ace is back.

On Monday, the Blue Jays played the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Florida, falling to the National League team by a score of 4-3. This was the final game of Spring Training, meaning that the Blue Jays finished with a record of 13-17 with two ties. Not a great Spring Training, all things considered.

Let’s look at some things worth mentioning.

Things worth mentioning

Kevin Gausman made his first Grapefruit League start of the season, finishing with a line of 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, to finish Spring Training with a 3 ERA.

What comes next has yet to be decided, but Gausman averaged 95.1 mph on the fastball, or 0.4 mph more than last season’s average velocity, while the splitter had a 50% whiff rate. Hopefully, he’ll be ready to go during the first series.

Damiano Palmegiani hit his first home run of Spring Training, a 108.4 mph blast that went 428 feet. It wasn’t the best spring Palmegiani could’ve had, as he slashed .143/.294/.357 in 17 plate appearances, but he’s certainly a player to watch this season in Buffalo.

Cavan Biggio hit his fourth double of Spring Training on Monday, giving him a .241/.389/.379 slash line with four extra base hits in 36 plate appearances. It wasn’t a great spring for Biggio, but he did come into it with an injury.

Bo Bichette, on the other hand, had a fantastic Spring Training where he slashed .345/.367/.483 with a homer and five doubles in 60 plate appearances. On Monday, he hit a double, but the power, or lack thereof, is something to monitor.

Kevin Kiermaier also had a great Spring Training, leading the team with four homers and slashing .231/.268/.590 in 41 plate appearances. Hopefully, Kiermaier can hit for a higher average while also continuing to hit for power during the regular season.

Other Blue Jays with a hit were Will Robertson, Daniel Vogelbach, Rafael Lantigua, and Ernie Clement. It was reported on Sunday that both Vogelbach and Clement would make the 26-man roster.

Tim Mayza pitched on Monday finishing with a line of 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K. After finishing the 2023 as one of the best relievers in the game, Mayza finished the 2024 Spring Training with a 6.75 ERA in 5.1 innings pitched. It’s a rather worrisome sign, especially with Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson starting the season on the IL.

Zach Pop is one reliever that could be starting the season with Toronto due to Romano and Swanson’s injuries. On Monday, he finished with a line of 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K to finish Spring with a 4.91 ERA and a 21.6 K%.

Mike Mayers made his organizational debut on Monday, finishing with a line of 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Last Tuesday, he signed a minor league deal with the Jays and he had a 6.15 ERA and a 5.08 FIP in 26.1 innings pitched with the Kansas City Royals.

Wes Parsons finished Monday’s game, finishing with a line of 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, along with averaging 95 mph on the fastball and picking up a 38 whiff%. Overall, Parsons finished the spring with a 4.22 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched, along with 15.7 BB% and K%. Not a great Spring Training by any means, but he could make the Opening Day roster due to Romano and Swanson’s injuries.

The next time the Toronto Blue Jays, it will be for all the marbles, as they’ll head to the cursed Tropicana Field for their first series of the year. You can catch that game on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET. José Berríos will get the ball as the Opening Day starter for the second time in three years.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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