Borucki earning his keep with Blue Jays

The opportunity for Ryan Borucki was created by a parade of Blue Jays starting pitchers headed to the disabled list. But good luck getting rid of him now.

The 24-year-old left-hander has been so impressive through the first three starts of his big-league career that it will be difficult to find a way to demote him to Triple-A if the rotation suddenly gets healthy.

Of course, with the protracted rehab stints of 60 per cent of that rotation — Aaron Sanchez, Marco Estrada and Jaime Garcia are all sidelined — Borucki is needed right now anyway. So far, the rookie southpaw from Illinois is earning his keep and then some.

“He’s a guy that you know once he gets here, he’s probably not going to want to let it go,” Jays pitching coach Pete Walker said of Borucki. “That’s where his mind is and certainly his stuff backs it up.”

That it does. Borucki has already logged 16 strikeouts in his first three starts, the second-most by a Jays pitcher through three games.

“When you are left-handed and you can locate your fastball with movement and keep hitters off balance, you can be effective in this league,” Walker said.

None of those assignments has been easy. Already Borucki has faced the World Series champion Astros and the New York Yankees.

Up next on Friday in Boston is a start against Red Sox with their best record in the majors.

And full credit to Borucki for making the best of his chances.

“Borucki is one of our prized young guys, but that’s how you make it in this game,” Jays manager John Gibbons said. “Somebody gets hurt and they get a long look and take advantage of the situation.”

Both Sanchez and Estrada threw prior to Wednesday ’s game at SunTrust Park — but won’t return to the rotation anytime soon.

Sanchez (finger), according to Walker, “is not quite where he needs to be yet.”

Estrada (hip) hasn’t been placed on the DL, but it’s unlikely he’ll be ready for his next scheduled start Saturday.