Blue Jays bring youthful squad north for Opening Day

The 2015 edition of the Toronto Blue Jays will have something no previous team has ever had – two players who weren’t even born the last time the Blue Jays made the playoffs way, way back in 1993. That’s not a dig at the team that holds the longest playoff drought in professional sports as much as it is a sign of just how young the team is.

With Opening Day just five days away, the Blue Jays all-but-finalized their 25-man roster on Tuesday and it includes a pair of 20-year-old pitchers in the bullpen in Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna. Both youngsters turned heads in spring training and earned roster nods, at least to begin the season. But they’re not alone. Mixed in with greybeards like R.A. Dickey, 40, and Mark Buehrle, 36, are a number of players who aren’t old enough to grow beards.

Castro and Osuna both impressed this spring against tough competition. They each pitched 10 innings and struck out nine batters. Castro only walked three and gave up two runs while throwing fastballs in the high 90s. Osuna walked three but surrendered just one run.

Joining Castro and Osuna on the pitching staff are three starters under 25, including rookies Aaron Sanchez, 22, and Daniel Norris, 21. Sanchez made his big-league debut last July in the bullpen but will move to the starting rotation this year due to the knee injury to Marcus Stroman. The lefty Norris is one of the Blue Jays’ top prospects and made one just one September start last year but shone in spring training striking out 29 batters, walking just five, and giving up only 21 hits in 24.2 innings. Opening Day starter Drew Hutchison is just 24 but is downright seasoned compared to Sanchez and Norris with 43 career starts under his belt.

The batting order has two more rookies in Dalton Pompey and Devon Travis. Pompey was expected to make the team as the starting centrefielder and has high expectations after he shot through four levels of ball in 2014. But Travis was a bit of a surprise. He was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers for Anthony Gose in November but had never played above Double-A and was part of a crowded battle for the second-base job. Travis and Pompey led the Blue Jays in spring-training at-bats and certainly earned their roster spots. Travis slashed .351/.393/.456 in 57 at-bats, while Pompey slashed .333/.390/.519 in 54 at-bats.

There will be considerable pressure on all of the young players, too. This is not a rebuilding team, but a team considered to be contenders in an American League East that is no longer the best division in baseball. The Blue Jays will need the young players to show they can handle the big leagues in order to complement stars like Jose Bautista, and Josh Donaldson.

The Blue Jays play two games in Montreal this weekend against the Cincinnati Reds before heading to New York to face the Yankees on Opening Day. There is still one roster decision to be made. If the Blue Jays elect to carry an eight-man bullpen Liam Hendricks will be on the team, if not utility infielder Ryan Goins will get the final spot.

Here’s what the Blue Jays lineup should look like on Opening Day:

1. Josey Reyes, SS
2. Russell Martin, C
3. Jose Bautista, RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion, DH
5. Josh Donaldson, 3B
6. Justin Smoak, 1B
7. Kevin Pillar, LF
8. Dalton Pompey, CF
9. Devon Travis, 2B

Bench: Dioner Navarro, Steve Tolleson, Danny Valencia

Starting rotation:

1. Drew Hutchison
2. R.A. Dickey
3. Daniel Norris
4. Mark Buehrle
5. Aaron Sanchez

(Don’t put too much stock in the numbers or current order of the starters. It’s designed in part to mix the soft-tossing Dickey and Buehrle in around harder throwing starters and there will be attempts to slightly limit the innings of Sanchez and Norris throughout the year. While Hutchison is the Opening Day starter, it sets up Dickey to be the starter for the home opener on April 13.)

Bullpen: Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Todd Redmond, Marco Estrada, Roberto Osuna, Miguel Castro, Colt Hynes

Disabled list: Michael Saunders, Maicer Izturis

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Ian Denomme is an editor and writer for Yahoo Sports. Email him at denomme@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter.