Blue Jays to skip Sanchez's start Wednesday due to 'a little fatigue'

Aaron Sanchez, the 22-year-old right-hander thrust into the rotation this spring, won't take the mound as scheduled for the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

Instead, the Blue Jays will recall Scott Copeland from Triple-A to start the series finale against the Miami Marlins, giving their prized rookie a bit of a breather as they look to secure an eighth-consecutive victory.

"He's a little bit sore, overall soreness," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told Jamie Ross from MLB.com. "Backing off one turn through the rotation, it'll be fine. Just a precautionary thing."

Sanchez, who made 24 relief appearances for Toronto last season, stumbled through the first few weeks of the 2015 campaign, but boasts an impressive 2.57 ERA with a 4.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last four starts. The young hurler has averaged roughly 103 pitches per outing since the beginning of May, however, after logging just 133 1/3 cumulative innings last season, prompting the Blue Jays to skip his turn.

"He's a hardworking guy when he's out there - there's zero finesse to him," Gibbons said. "He's chopping up some innings, went the into the ninth the other day. He's got a little fatigue. Figured we can't afford to lose him, so back him off a start. He'll be good to go the next go-around."

Sanchez, the 34th overall selection in the 2010 draft, owns a 3.55 ERA (108 ERA+) over 11 starts this season while managing the fifth-best ground-ball rate (58.1 percent) among qualified starters.

Copeland, meanwhile, made two relief appearances for the Blue Jays earlier this season, allowing no earned runs on two hits and two walks over three innings. In eight appearances (seven starts) for Triple-A Buffalo, however, the 27-year-old right-hander crafted a 1.97 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP across 45 2/3 innings.

To make room for Copeland, the Blue Jays optioned infielder Munenori Kawasaki to Triple-A.