PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Jesse Litsch understands that, even at his young age, he's being thrown into a leadership role with the Blue Jays. Circumstances have pushed him into the second slot of the club's rotation, and he's suddenly one of the most experienced arms on the staff.

With so many young arms in camp this spring for Toronto and the team on the verge of a youth movement on the mound, Litsch has no problem offering whatever advice he can to anyone willing to stop by his locker.

"I try to do whatever I can," Litsch said on Sunday.

During his two seasons in the Blue Jays' rotation, though, Litsch has learned that the best advice he can give younger pitchers is to look a few stalls down. That's where they can find ace Roy Halladay, who is a fierce competitor and an intimidating presence at times.

Halladay is also one of the best pitchers in the game, and one Litsch has learned a lot from in his brief career with the Blue Jays.

"The younger guys are going to come to me before they come to him sometimes," Litsch said. "I'll tell them straight up, 'Just go talk to Doc. He knows what he's talking about. Obviously, he knows the game. Don't be scared of him.' He's to a point now where I think he knows he's a role model to everyone out there."

That includes Litsch, who turns 24 on March 9. For the second spring in a row, Litsch has teamed up with Halladay on his runs and has been close by his side during team workouts. On Sunday, Litsch made his spring debut, taking the mound against Tampa Bay at Charlotte Sports Park for his first start of Spring Training.

In two innings against the Rays, Litsch allowed one hit -- a first-inning double to Rays third baseman Evan Longoria -- and finished with one strikeout and one walk. He put two runners on base in the first inning, but escaped unscathed. In the second, he created three quick outs and ended his outing by fanning Morgan Ensberg.

It was a solid way to begin his run as Toronto's No. 2 starter.

"I felt good out there," Litsch said. "Just getting off the bump for the first time is always a good one. I just tried to go out there and get after it and get used to the mound again."

Litsch is hoping to see a lot of time on the mound this season. Last year, he logged 196 innings between his time with the Jays and a brief stop with Triple-A Syracuse. Litsch wants to turn in more than 200 innings this season in order to help a rotation that is surrounded by question marks.

Over the winter, Toronto lost A.J. Burnett to the Yankees in free agency, and the club is also without Dustin McGowan (right shoulder) until at least May and Shaun Marcum (right elbow) until next season. Between those three pitchers, the Blue Jays have lost 484 innings from a year ago.

"I would love to go over 200 innings and get whatever's best for the team," Litsch said. "We have a lot of guys that are capable of it, it's just a matter of who holds up, and we're going to see what happens."

Behind Halladay and Litsch, the third rotation spot is currently reserved for left-hander David Purcey. Casey Janssen, Scott Richmond, Brett Cecil and Brad Mills appear to be the frontrunners for the two vacancies at the back end of the staff.

Litsch is aiming to continue the approach that helped him down the stretch last season.

After a rough period between June and July, during which Litsch went 1-6 with a 6.12 ERA over nine outings, the right-hander was sent to Triple-A to retool his pitch arsenal. The changes paid off after he was recalled in late August. Litsch ended the season with nine strong starts in which he went 5-2 with a 1.92 ERA and a .201 opponents' batting average.

While in the Minors, Litsch worked extensively on adding a four-seam fastball, giving him a pitch with a little more velocity. He also worked on relying less on his cutter and more on his two-seam sinker -- a way to make him less predictable for hitters.

"It's good that he finished up strong," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "Once he went down and came back and started using his four-seamer a little bit more and stopped using all those cutters all the time, he became a better pitcher."

Litsch, who went 13-9 with a 3.58 ERA for the Jays in 2008, knows that as well as anyone, and he plans on sticking with the revised approach.

"When I came back up, that is what I put into my game, and it worked," Litsch said. "So I'm trying to just duplicate what I was doing then and trying to put it in now. Right now, the first couple times out, it's going to be a little different. You've got to get used to the mound again and get your body back into pitching shape. And you just try to go out there and keep everything even keel."

That's another one of Halladay's strengths -- and something Litsch has undoubtedly discussed with the ace.

"We have one of the best pitchers in the game," Litsch said. "He's very open-minded. You can go up to him with any questions."