Francis ready to fully embrace life as a starter

The zen master of the Blue Jays starting rotation sounds happy and comfortable building up as a true starter in the first few days of Spring Training.

While Francis is technically competing with Yariel Rodriguez for the number five spot in the Blue Jays rotation, the prevailing wisdom is that Rodriguez will begin the year in the bullpen for the Jays.

That suits Francis just fine. He states that he feels more like himself as a starter as opposed to in the bullpen.

Francis had an insane end to 2024. In his last nine starts, he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning twice, and had a 0.58 WHIP during that span.

The key to Francis' success will be his change-up, which has a reputation of sneaking up on batters and catching them off-guard.

If he can pick up from where he left off last season, the Blue Jays will have a very deep and effective rotation.

On Thursday, Francis was seen chatting to Max Scherzer, getting advice and tips from the future hall-of-famer.

Francis went 8-5 last year. If he pitches like he did at the end of last season, he could easily win 15 games for the Blue Jays.

Francis is a well-liked player throughout the Blue Jays clubhouse. If he can maintain success, he could find a whole new fanbase as well.