A Real Question Toronto’s Fall Baseball in the starting bullpen
If the Toronto Blue Jays, which are competing for a wild card, make the postseason, who will be the first starter.
It’s Kevin Gausman, but I don’t think I’ll disagree. Gausman started the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on the 21st (Korean time) and pitched six innings with three hits and no runs.
Toronto, which won five consecutive games with a 6-1 victory, remained in second place in the AL wild card with 85 wins and 67 losses. As suggested by FanGraphs, Toronto has an 84.5 percent chance of advancing to the postseason, which means that it will play fall baseball if possible.
Gausman leads the league’s strongest rotation.
Gausman has 12 wins and 9 losses, 3.29 ERA and 232 strikeouts in 178 innings in 30 games this year. He is tied for seventh in the AL with multiple wins, sixth in ERA, first in strikeouts, seventh in hitting percentage (0.236), and 11th in WHIP (1.20). Last year, the first season of his transfer to Toronto, he posted 12 wins and 10 losses, a 3.35 ERA, and 205 strikeouts in 31 games, and he seems to have found stability this year.
MLB.com said, “Through Gausman’s good pitching, the Blue Jays can find the blueprint for October,” adding, “He’s throwing really well regardless of how Gausman’s past wrongs have affected his pitching now. It remains an overwhelming season in the history of the Blue Jays.’
Toronto manager John Schneider said, “First, his pitching moves me every time. Second, he really has the demeanor to overwhelm the game,” he said. “Doesn’t let moments of crisis or situations grow. That’s why he’s great,” he praised.
The reporter’s perspective and the director’s evaluation are not different.
Who will be the next starter. It’s hard to distinguish superiority. Three pitchers are similar.
First of all, Chris Bassett pitched 185 ⅔ innings in 31 games, posting a heavy figure as Gausman with 14 wins and 8 losses, 3.78 ERA, 166 strikeouts, 0.237 hit rate, and 1.21. In the second half of the year alone, he marked 6 wins and 3 losses in 12 games and an ERA of 3.20, making it more stable. He is tied for second in most wins in the AL, fourth in pitching innings, and 13th in ERA
Jose Berrios is also the most outstanding performance since coming to Toronto in the second half of 2021. He pitched 178 innings in 30 games, posting 11 wins and 10 losses, a 3.49 ERA, and 168 strikeouts. The ERA decreased to 3.50 in the first half and 3.47 in the second.
Yusei Kikuchi is also shooting a career high. He pitched 158 ⅔ innings in 30 games, 10 wins and 6 losses, 3.74 ERA, 170 strikeouts. He can have his first inning of regulation and an ERA in the three-run range since entering the Major League Baseball. The ERA, which was 4.24 in the first half, improved to 3.03 in the second half alone.
There are four postseason starters. If he is eliminated from the best-of-three wild card series, he does not need to start four.
The essential question arises. What position can Ryu Hyun-jin take in the postseason, who has returned to the team in the second half of the season and is pitching well. If the existing four starters finish the season in good health, Ryu Hyun-jin will not be included in the postseason rotation. If so, it is a bullpen, but also has a strong bullpen.
Toronto ranks first in the AL with a 3.75 ERA and fourth in the bullpen with a 3.65. The combination of starters and bullpens is the most outstanding team. In the postseason, Ryu Hyun-jin has room to play two to three innings as the timing of pitcher replacement is fast, which could increase his dependence on the bullpen. However, that is also a method of hiring if the starter collapses before the third or fourth inning.
The Toronto bullpen has a clear set of wins, including Eric Swanson (28 holds, 3.16, 1.09), Tim Mazaya (22 holds, 1.24, 1.18), Lee Mi Garcia (17 holds, 4.09, 1.30), Trevor Richards (11 holds, 4.75, 1.34), Jordan Hicks (6 holds, 2.25, 0.90), Genesis Cabrera (6 holds, 2.57, 0.90), and closer Jordan Romero (35 saves, 2.45, 1.16).
There is also a realistic question. We should first consider whether we can put the burden of a big game on the veteran who has just returned from Tommy John Surgery 안전놀이터
