Think of your favorite Toronto Blue Jays teams of yesteryear for me. Take a few seconds. Think of your favorite players, their names, their positions, their strengths.
...
Got some? Good.
I'll venture to guess that the majority of your minds went immediately to the likes of offensive-minded talents. The George Bells and Jesse Barfield's of the 1980's. The Fred McGriffs and Joe Carters of the 1990s, the Carlos Delgados and the Vernon Wells' of the 2000's, and the Jose Bautistas, Edwin Encarnacions, and Adam Linds of our current decade.
While 2016 is no different, as the Blue Jays have a lineup stacked in such a way that it leaves fellow Major League rosters jealous of their run-scoring potential, Toronto's almost unnoticed secret to success this season has also come from their pitching staff, which ranks as one of the top forces in the American League.
This is definitely a foreign route to the boys in blue North of the Border, but it finally makes them a complete, nearly flawless roster. Finally. If we save the exceptions to the rule (a la Dave Stieb, David Cone, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, and David Price for 3 brief months in 2015), the Blue Jays have always seemed to be a very one-dimensional team in their construction. More often than not, in years past if they were going to beat you, they were going to also have to beat themselves. Toronto won many slugfests in their history, usually having to come out on the positive end of a wacky scorecard in which they gave up nine runs, for example, but scored 11. That put a ton of pressure on their offense on a nightly basis, to produce at a pace simply unsustainable over a 162-game schedule.
This season, however, Toronto boasts one of the most dominating, unsung threesomes at the top of their starting rotation, as well as a bullpen pieced together seemingly out of the blue (pun intended). This success has flown (more blue bird puns) vastly under the radar even still as we look ahead towards September. Barring any late-August setbacks, the Jays will enter the season's final month in first place in the top-heavy American League East. Let's dig deeper into their workhorse-like success, along with some of their respective ranks in the American League pitching categories:
1. Starting Pitchers
Marco Estrada: 7-5, 3.20 ERA (10th in AL), 132 innings pitched, 123 strikeouts, .190 batting average against (1st)
J.A. Happ: 17-3 (17 wins ranks 1st), 3.05 ERA (7th), 150.1 innings pitched, .230 batting average against (9th), .850 win %-age (3rd)
Aaron Sanchez: 12-2 (12 wins ranks 10th), 2.99 ERA (5th), 156.1 innings pitched (14th), .230 batting average against (10th), .857 win %-age (2nd)
2. Bullpen
Jason Grilli (acquired from Atlanta mid-season): 1.57 in 30 appearances since joining TOR
Joaquin Benoit (acquired in trade with Seattle in return for Drew Storen): 0 runs allowed in 10 appearances since Trade Deadline
Roberto Osuna: 2.13 ERA, 28 saves in 31 chances (28 saves tied for 4th in AL), 67 strikeouts in 55 innings
The proof is in the pudding. Numbers rarely lie. While Toronto's high-octane offense will receive the fanfare in the morning headlines, it's the men on the mound who get their work done any day they are called upon are the ones who are due just as much respect. If and when the Jays clinch their postseason berth in the coming weeks, they should be sure to give these outstanding men the credit they rightfully deserve. When push comes to shove, pitching looms largest come playoff time, and with this assembly nailing down crucial outs in crucial innings in October, Toronto has its most solid chance at reclaiming a World Series title; a position they have not truly found themselves in, in over two decades.
