The Toronto Blue Jays sit atop the American League with a 91-65 record largely thanks to the contributions of star players like Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and David Price. While those players have made the biggest contributions, there are three unlikely players in particular whose breakout seasons have helped catapult the club to the top of the standings.
Marco Estrada
I personally thought it was hard to comprehend what Blue Jays were doing when they traded first baseman Adam Lind to the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason for Estrada. They gave up an excellent platoon bat for a spot starter who allowed the most home runs in the league. Estrada pitching at the Rogers Centre seemed like a bad idea.
He’s allowed 22 home runs this season, which is bad, but Estrada has been a solid middle of the rotation starter the Blue Jays desperately needed.
In 27 starts (33 appearances) Estrada has won 13 games with a 3.15 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP and a 3.4 WAR – plus almost threw a pair of no-hitters this season alone.
Batters just haven’t been able to touch Estrada, hitting an AL worst .206 against him, placing him ahead of big names like Sonny Gray, Max Scherzer, and Dallas Keuchel. He does have a decently high 4.40 FIP, but as Jasper Bosman of Bluebird Banter wrote, Estrada’s been defying stats. Using his changeup effectively, Estrada has commanded his pitches well enough to be among the staffs most consistent pitchers, and has earned a shot to start a playoff game for the club.
Now I can’t believe the Blue Jays gave up only Lind for him.
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