Yusei Kikuchi’s initial year in Toronto was not without its challenges. While he demonstrated his potential as a promising starting pitcher in some games, he had several matches where everything fell apart, resulting in his eventual demotion to the bullpen toward the end of the season. Ultimately, he finished the season with a 5.19 ERA, having played in 32 games, including 20 starts. This came just after he signed a lucrative $36-million contract for a period of three years. It remains to be seen if Kikuchi can maintain his current form once the games start to count, but his performances in March have been encouraging thus far.

Mitch Bannon from Sports Illustrated is predicting Kikuchi will strikeout 175 batters this season.

“ For all of Kikuchi’s struggles in 2022, strikeouts were not one. The lefty finished with 123 Ks in 100.2 innings and lead the Jays in K/9. His 27.3% strikeout rate was better than Luis Castillo, Zack Wheeler, Yu Darvish, and Shane Bieber’s.

The high strikeout rate was aided by a stint in the bullpen to the end the year, and the Jays would trade Ks for consistent innings from their fifth starter, for sure. But, if Kikuchi’s preseason tweaks help him find enough stability to provide Toronto even 140 or 150 innings, the high strikeout totals will naturally come.

I even toyed with 200 punchies for this Kikuchi prediction, but I’m not sure he’ll get the required innings. Even if the southpaw brings reliability this year, I doubt Toronto pushes him three times through the order often. Kikuchi will probably get the Ross Stripling treatment to start the year, and if he performs anywhere near Stripling level, the Blue Jays will be thrilled.”

Kikuchi has been fully focused on securing his spot in the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation during Spring Training. With an impressive performance across six starts and 18 innings, he has allowed just two runs, cementing his position as the team’s fifth starter. Despite his success, Kikuchi remains determined and has his eyes set on an important outside event. His consistency and solid pitching have earned him high praise from his manager, John Schneider, who is confident in Kikuchi’s abilities going into the regular season.