Aaron Loup in 2013

 

The Jays bullpen looks pretty well set for the 2013 season due to existing contract options and the 'business' side of the game. However, there are early whispers of question marks in this years' pen.  We have some guys that may be feeling less than 100%, and there are some guys that still need to prove their ability to be what the Jays need right now.  Should a spot open up in the pen, the Jays have extra depth with their 2012 Rookie of the year on stand-by in AAA: Aaron Loup.

2012 was a season in which, due to an unfortunate string of injuries, a number of rookies were called up to the big league club for the first time.  Among rookie call-ups were Anthony Gose, Moises Sierra, Adeiny Hechavarria, Drew Hutchison and Chad Jenkins. Of all that were called up, when the dust had settled, it was rookie-reliever Aaron Loup who received the club-house votes for Blue Jays 2012 Rookie of the year. When Luis Perez was forced to exit the line-up for Tommy-John surgery, 24 year-old Aaron Loup stepped in and posted a 2.64 ERA and 0.913 WHIP over 33 games and 30.2 innings pitched.  His SO/9 innings wasn't overly impressive at 6.2, but he maintained a SO/BB of 10.5... which is phenomenal given the overall moderate number of strikeouts. That's only 2 walks given up by Loup over his 30.2 innings of work compared to 21 SO's.

Although John Farrell opinions are currently taboo to quote in Jays-land right now, the 2012 skipper with an eye for pitching did have this to say of Aaron Loup: “You’re looking at a left-hander with a low-90s fastball, a breaking ball that’s very effective that has really shown effectiveness against right-handers as well. But it’s his poise and his presence that allows him to maintain not only composure, but the ability to execute,” Farrell said. “Even when he gets into hitters’ counts, he’s been able to locate down and away from a left-hander and he’s not shown any tentativeness, no matter who he’s facing, the name on that player’s back or the ballpark in which he’s pitching.”   

Aaron Loup was not a highly touted or coddled prospect. Loup was a 9th round pick in the 2009 draft, and given a measly (in terms of draft dollars) $100,000 signing bonus. He's generally flown under the radar through the minor-leagues, although he has been a consistent performer with a AA All-star appearance under his belt.  At the time of his call-up in 2012 it seems it was a generally unexpected move; Chad Beck or Travis Snider would have been more likely candidates. Of Loup's call-up, Farrell himself admitted: “I don’t know that we were fully expecting a guy that wasn’t talked about as much as others in the system come up and be as consistent as he has."

Being a first time call-up in 2012,  Loup has a few more options left on his contract; the Jays can call him up and send him down with relative ease. Maybe Loup deserves to be with The Blue Jays right now based solely on performance. At this point in time, although Loup is coming off a very productive 2012 campaign, someone has to be released from the Blue Jays entirely (or placed on the DL) to make room for Aaron at the MLB level. So unfortunately for Loup, the numbers game means he will likely start the season in AAA.  If any of the current incumbents of the big-league club should falter though, you can bet Loup will probably be the first call-up we see. Given the Jays used 34 different pitchers last season, it's reasonable to expect we'll see Loup sooner than later Although we'd all like to hope the current pen will be perfect and healthy, it'll be interesting to see how Loup's 2012 success carries over into 2013 when that call does come.