Shane Bieber pitches well in no-decision on Sunday

He gave up consecutive homers to Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith and Taylor Trammell in the fourth. Bieber, back from elbow inflammation, averaged 91.7 mph with his fastball, which is also right where he was in his Triple-A starts. That’s down about one mph from his seven starts post-Tommy John last year but still slightly better than his 91.3 mph average from 2022 and ’23. Ideally, he’ll get a little stronger as time goes on, but it’s not something to count on. Really, though, with his ability to locate, he can be effective where he is now. He just wasn’t sharp enough today. He has a couple of rather favorable starts coming up at home against the Rangers and in Seattle. If he’s not considerably better in those, then his status as a mixed-league SP should be reevaluated.

Bieber was supposed to come off the IL to start Sunday against the Cubs, but that outing was postponed due to rain. The 31-year-old will instead make his season debut Tuesday against the Astros after missing the first two-plus months while recovering from his elbow ailment. Bieber is not the same dominant option he was for the Guardians a few years ago, but he’s a solid fantasy option who deserves roster consideration now that he’s healthy enough to bolster the Toronto rotation.

It’ll be made up on August 6. There’s actually a ton to unpack here from a fantasy fallout standpoint. Toronto’s scheduled starter, Dylan Cease, will presumably take the ball for Monday’s series opener against the Astros. That would delay Shane Bieber’s return from the injured list for his season debut until Tuesday’s showdown in the Rogers Centre. Cease would close out a two-start week with a showdown against the Rangers at home. Meanwhile, Shota Imanaga gets the ball on Monday against the free-falling Mets as a part of a two-start week that wraps up with a road tilt against the Brewers.

Bieber has been brought along very cautiously after experiencing renewed inflammation in his elbow over the offseason and is finally ready to contribute to the Blue Jays. Despite his struggles during his minor league rehab assignment, Bieber has enough of a track record that he could wind up being an impact addition for fantasy purposes.

Schneider added that Bieber has been built up enough from a pitch count standpoint that they feel confident he’s ready for his season debut, if he’s feeling ready from a physical standpoint coming out of Wednesday’s final rehab start where he threw 80 pitches for Triple-A Buffalo. The 31-year-old former fantasy ace’s return seems inevitable with Max Scherzer returning to the injured list with back spasms. There’s enough reason for fantasy managers to stash Bieber, despite some lackluster results of late in the minors, based on how he looked during last year’s postseason run.

Bieber’s velocity was good, sitting around 92 mph with his four-seam fastball, but he threw just 48 of his 80 pitches for strikes and walked four hitters while striking out two. His next start could likely come with the Blue Jays, but we’d feel a whole lot more confident if he had good command today.

Bieber is aiming to build up to roughly 75 pitches in his next rehab outing and appears to be close to returning to Toronto for his season debut. The 31-year-old looked sharp his last time out, striking out four over five shutout innings last Thursday. He’s isn’t too far away from making it back to the majors.

Bieber scattered five hits and one walk on the day while striking out four. The 31-year-old hurler threw 62 pitches in the game (46 strikes) while averaging 91.4-mph on his fastball (topping out at 93-mph). It’s unclear if he’ll need another tune-up in the minors before he’s cleared to rejoin what’s suddenly becoming a crowded Jays’ rotation.

The 31-year-old right-hander struck out three batters in the contest and didn’t issue a base on balls. The important note is that he got up to 59 pitches (40 strikes) in the game. He’s going to need at least one additional rehab start after this one and the Jays may want to see him have some better results in a minor league setting before bringing him back into the rotation mix.

Bieber will make his third rehab outing this weekend after allowing five runs over 2 1/3 innings last Sunday for Low-A Dunedin. The 30-year-old remains a few weeks away from returning to Toronto’s rotation after having his throwing progression delayed due to offseason forearm and elbow issues.