The Pitching Staff is the Blue Jays’ MVP in 2023

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Pitching Staff is Blue Jays’ MVP

If the previous segment of Pitch Clock was the bad news, this is the good. As David Bastl brings up from the outset, at the time of recording the episode Toronto’s rotation had accumulated 34 quality starts – it has since gone up to 35 courtesy of the 2-0 win over Miami on Tuesday.

This springs many thoughts and queries. Will the quality of the pitching take a dive? Can the bats catch up? Clearly, at this stage of the season, nearly three full months in, Toronto’s rotation has earned its spurs. John Gibbons offers his point of view:

“They’re gonna have to (keep up the good work), but that’s no different than what baseball has always been. The teams that pitch well all year get to the postseason. When the offence gets cold, the pitching staff has to carry you.”

The former Blue Jays manager adds that the opposite is just as true. It’s difficult for a pitching staff to play lights out all season long, night in and night out. There will come more taxing episodes, and when they do, the hitters will need to step up. Even so, the imbalance of the Blue Jays has tempered expectations.

“It’s easier said than done. You know, if two months you’d have said that Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Berrios would pitch as well as they are, everyone would be pretty excited.”

In addition to the two “Gibby” mentions, Kevin Gausman is having a terrific campaign. He’s tallied a 6-3 record, 3.01 ERA, and a whopping 121 strikeouts. If Alek Manoah can find his form again, Toronto could easily have one of the best rotations in MLB.