Dustin McGowan went from one of the most promising prospects in the Toronto Blue Jays system, to a player trapped in a whirlwind for the last couple of seasons, due to a variety of injury trouble. Currently on the long trek back to the big leagues, McGowan finds himself with the Dunedin Blue Jays (A) of the Florida State League. McGowan has spent his entire season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, and has suffered a couple of setbacks due to his most recent injury, a shoulder ailment. Today we try to answer the question, will Dustin McGowan ever make it out of single A?

After missing both the 2009 and 2010 seasons with first Tommy John elbow surgery, and then a shoulder injury, Dustin McGowan finally entered into rehabilitation action earlier this month. To date, McGowan has played in four games for the Dunedin Blue Jays, losing two decisions, while boasting an earned run average (ERA) of 4.91 and striking out 7. To put the ERA into perspective, in two of McGowan’s full three seasons as a starter for the Toronto Blue Jays, his best ERA was 4.08.

In the four games that he has pitched in this season, Dustin McGowan has improved during each outing. However, by the rate at which he is pitching, and our estimation, we believe that McGowan may still be a few years away from fully recovering and making it back to the MLB. The real question is, will the Toronto Blue Jays stay the course and help McGowan live out his dream of becoming an MLB pitcher again, or will they release him at the end of the season?

As it stands right now, it seems as though the Blue Jays are willing to help McGowan recreate his dream of returning to the MLB. Amongst both fans and broadcaster’s alike, the general consensus, is that if McGowan does return to the big leagues, it will be as a relief pitcher. In the four games that McGowan has played in this month, he has pitched 7.1 innings. His longest outing was his most recent, coming on July 15th, when he pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless ball, while conceding 1 hit 1 walk and striking out 3. These numbers suggest, McGowan could either work as a set up man or a long reliever but not a closer.