Kevin Gausman just as advertised in first starts as a Blue Jay

By Cole Parkinson
Vauxhall Advance
cparkinson@tabertimes.com

One of the bigger signings the Blue Jays made in the offseason was for right-handed starting pitcher Kevin Gausman. The Jays were rumoured to be in on Gausman the previous offseason, but the pitcher at that point decided to head back to San Francisco — and it is hard  to argue why he did that after another great season, which included a start in the postseason.

In the regular season in 2021, Gausman went 14-6 with a 2.81 ERA, 192 innings pitched, 50 walks, and 227 strikeouts. His ERA+ was 145, his WHIP was 1.042, and his per nines were also very good at 7.0 H/9, 0.9 HR/9, 2.3 BB/9, and 10.6 K/9. All that led to a massive contract in the offseason with the Jays that was five years and $110 million. And so far, he’s been stellar when he’s taken the mound. In three starts so far, he’s put up a 2.89 ERA, pitched 18.2 innings, given up zero home runs and walks, and collected 22 Ks. Sure, it’s early, but getting off to a good start on a new team is incredibly encouraging for Jays’ fans.

This pitching staff was billed as one of the best in the American League, but Hyun Jin-Ryu got off to a bad start and is now on the injured list — which may not be a bad thing as it could give him some time to figure it out.

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