The Toronto Blue Jays went full choke mode in the 2022 postseason after an impressive campaign. Heading into 2023, this is still a team that is considered a legitimate World Series contender in the American League, with no shortage of talent both on the mound and at the plate. However, their rotation in particular was inconsistent last season and they will need certain arms to be a lot better in the upcoming campaign if this team is going to accomplish big things.

Without further ado, here are 2 Blue Jays who need to bounce back this season.

Jose Berrios

Surprise, surprise. Jose Berrios has been very consistent since arriving in the big leagues in 2016. After a mid-season trade with the Minnesota Twins in 2021, the Puerto Rican came over to the Blue Jays and quickly made his presence felt in the second half. Then shortly after, Toronto awarded him with a seven-year, $131 million extension in November of 2021. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to expectations in the first season of the mega-deal. 22′ proved to be the worst year of Berrios' career to date, posting a putrid 5.23 ERA in 32 starts. While his 12-7 record didn't look bad, the right-hander basically got shelled every time he stepped on the hill. Berrios also gave up an AL-high 199 hits and 100 earned runs. Not exactly a good look.

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Berrios was brought in to be the potential ace of this staff or at least a reliable No. 2. However, there should be optimism that he'll be a lot better this season. Berris has been a terrific starter for many years, which is why the Blue Jays made this trade in the first place. With fewer games against AL East opponents as well, he should be able to figure it out. It comes down to getting ahead of hitters and locating all of his stuff a lot better. If Toronto is going to make a playoff run, Berrios must be at his best.

Yusei Kikuchi

Yusei Kikuchi is another arm the Blue Jays had high hopes for when they signed him in free agency in March of 2022. After all, the lefty was coming off an All-Star campaign in 21′ with the Seattle Mariners. But just like Berrios, Kikuchi didn't live up to the hype. In 32 games (20 starts), the Japan native compiled a poor 5.19 ERA, walking 58 hitters in 100.2 innings. Toronto even sent him down to Triple-A at one point because he just couldn't figure it out. On a more positive note, Kikuchi has looked sharp early on in Spring Training and the Jays management is completely backing him to be a lot better this year. For the southpaw, he needs to command all of his offerings a lot better and especially pound the zone with the fastball. Whether you throw 100 mph or 90 mph, the heater will get punished if you leave it up. After all, these are big-league hitters.

Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker recently said that Kikuchi's fastball has a lot more life and he's carrying a ton of confidence. Kikuchi has good stuff. The four-seamer can reach the high 90s, the slider has good bite, and the changeup is effective. While he's never been a guy that consistently posts an ERA below four, he is a lot better than what we saw in 2022. As the only left-hander in this rotation, Toronto desperately needs him to put his best foot forward every fifth day.