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.
TORONTO, CANADA – JUNE 29: Brett Cecil #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the eighth inning during MLB game action against the Boston Red Sox on June 29, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
Brett Cecil
Cecil has emerged as the club’s go-to reliever in tough situations, which is crazy considering how his season started.
Initially the Blue Jays closer, Cecil allowed three runs in a tied game in Atlanta during April, which made him the whipping boy on the roster. Fan vitriol got so bad, his wife had to quit Twitter. In late June his ERA was near 6, he had been removed as closer and he wasn’t dependable in high leverage situations.
Incredibly, since June 21st, when his ERA was at a season high 5.96, Cecil hasn’t allowed an earned run brining that number all the way down to 2.55. He went 29 straight outings without allowing a run. He’s come in during the clutch for the Blue Jays and has been as lights out as you can be. Featuring a knee-buckling curveball, Cecil has harnessed his control (he’s walked two batters in the last three months) and made batters look stupid. In a completely revamped bullpen, Cecil has lead the charge.
Kevin Pillar
Pillar entered the season as a fourth outfielder, but an injury to Michael Saunders forced him into the starting lineup. Since than he’s been making amazing catch after amazing catch on the regular.
Pillar has done an outstanding job covering ground in center field, but perhaps the most surprising development is his offensive performance. Yes, he still can’t draw a walk to save his life, and swings at almost everything thrown remotely close to the strike zone, but he’s still done an admirable job at the plate.
In 155 games, he’s hit 12 home runs, 30 doubles, and has a .272 batting average. He’s even brought surprising baserunning prowess, swiping 25 bases on 28 attempts. He was named AL player of the week for his contributions last week, a surprising thing to even type. Who knew he would lead the charge in September for a meaningful World Series run? In a lineup stuffed with big boppers, Pillar can be sheltered offensively, but the offence he’s provided has all been a nice bonus.
