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Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin salutes the crowd as he walks off the field in the eighth inning of an exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds in Montreal on Friday evening.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

The countdown now officially begins for Day 1 employee Paul Beeston, the undisputed patriarch of the Toronto Blue Jays, whose reign as president and chief executive officer of the American League club concludes at the end of the season.

The Blue Jays begin their campaign Monday afternoon in New York against the Yankees with a revamped lineup saturated with young talent that is being counted on to lead the franchise back to the postseason following a 21-year absence.

But change at the top of the organization might not end with Beeston's approaching departure.

Conventional wisdom suggests that he will be followed out the door by general manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons if the Blue Jays fall flat in their efforts to make the playoffs.

Personnel turnover for the Blue Jays has been extraordinary, as only 10 players remain from the 2014 opening day 25-man roster. But more starting to some heading into a season in which so much hangs in the balance, is that the Blue Jays will open the year with six rookies.

That includes two in the starting lineup in 22-year-old Canadian centre fielder Dalton Pompey and Devon Travis, 24, who will make his major-league debut at second base against the Yankees. Travis has never played at a level higher than Double A, while Pompey, a September call-up from Triple A in 2014, has 43 major-league plate appearances.

Not since the team's inception in 1977, when the Blue Jays featured nine rookies on the 25-man roster, including a record four in the starting lineup, has youth been featured so prominently.

The team's youthfulness in 2015 will also be evident on the mound, where Drew Hutchison will become the youngest opening-day starter in franchise history.

Hutchison will be 24 years 7 months 15 days when he takes the mound at Yankee Stadium. He will nudge ahead of Todd Stottlemyre, who was 24 years, 10 months, 20 days old when he got the starting nod against the Texas Rangers in 1990.

Rookies Aaron Sanchez, 22, and Daniel Norris, 21, have bulled their way into the five-man rotation with strong performances in spring training.

The two remaining members of starting rotation are R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle, 40 and 36, respectively.

There will also be a number of inexperienced new arms in the bullpen, whose overall lacklustre performance last year has been blamed for the Blue Jays eventual third-place finish in the American League East after spending two months in first place earlier in the season.

In Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna, the 2015 Blue Jays bullpen will include two 20-year-old hurlers who have never played higher than A-ball.

To put their age in perspective, neither of these players were born when the Blue Jays last made the playoffs, in 1993, when they won the World Series.

Osuna is so under-the-radar that he doesn't even have a picture displayed on his player page at MiLB.com, the official site of Minor League Baseball.

Anthopoulos's bold youth movement has not gone unnoticed by pundits south of the border.

"I don't know if TOR will win, but AA wins the Cojones Award," Tweeted ESPN national baseball writer Buster Olney after word started to spread.

While many will suggest that Anthopoulos is taking a calculated risk by going with so many unproven players in the lineup, the GM said all the rookies had solid performances in spring training and deserve their spots on the opening-day roster.

"I think they're all good players," Anthopoulos said. "We had a chance to trade all of them in the off-season.

"These players have all earned the right to be on this team. I think a lot of them have a chance to have very good years."

On deck

Toronto is 19-19 in opening-day games; 10-6 at home and 9-13 on the road. This will mark the third time Toronto has started the season against the Yankees, an American League East rival. The Blue Jays lost in both of the previous matchups, the last time a 3-2 setback in the Bronx in 2008 with Toronto starter Roy Halladay absorbing the loss. All games are at Yankee Stadium.

Monday, 1:05 p.m. (ET): Toronto RHP Drew Hutchison (0-0, 0.00) vs. New York RHP Masahiro Tanaka (0-0, 0.00)

Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. (ET): Toronto RHP R.A. Dickey (0-0, 0.00) vs. New York RHP Michael Pineda (0-0, 0.00).

Thursday, 7:05 p.m. (ET): Toronto LHP Daniel Norris (0-0, 0.00) vs. New York LHP CC Sabathia.

Predicting the season

American League

East: Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox*, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees

Central: Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox*, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins

West: Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers

American League champions: Chicago White Sox

National League

East: Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Miami Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies

Central: Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs*, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers

West: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres*, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies

National League champions: Washington

World Series champions: Washington

(*Wild card)

Robert MacLeod

American League

East: Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays*, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays

Central: Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins

West: Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners*, Oakland Athletics; Houston Astros; Texas Rangers

American League champions: Detroit

National League

East: Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins; New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies

Central: Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals*, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds

West: Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres*, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks

National League champions: Washington

World Series champions: Washington

Cathal Kelly

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