Blue Jays to announce opening day starter

While everyone was seemingly a candidate, it always felt like a two horse race between Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman. Given his career and how well his spring has gone, John Schneider had said that Max Scherzer was also being considered.

However, Scherzer's recent thumb injury and upcoming rehab start seemingly leaves him a step behind the other two.

As beloved as Bowden Francis is, he is still relatively green, with only 13 career starts under his belt. Also, his inconsistent spring indicates that he might not be ready to take on the ace moniker. At least not yet.

CChris Bassitt has one career opening day start, which came when he pitched for the then-Oakland A's. His numbers weren't great last year and he seems destined for the three or four spot in the rotation.

Which brings us back to Berrios and Gausman. Both are deserving and capable, though Berrioswould seem to have the edge. In his most recent Grapefruit League start, Berrios was in top form, striking out seven over six innings to bring his spring ERA to 2.35.

Gausman meanwhile, got a late start to spring and currently has just six innings under his belt. While he'll make at least one, possibly two more starts, time is running out for him to be fully amped up.

At the same time, Gausman is one of those players who can work faster once he gets up and running, so nothing should be ruled out just yet.

Taking everything into consideration, it would appear thatBerrios has the slight edge. We'll know for sure by the end of the day.