2 areas where the Blue Jays are excelling, 2 they need to improve

The American League East was expected to be a tight race all season, and there hasn't been anything that's happened in the first 20 games of the 2025 season to dismay those thoughts. All five teams have played good baseball in stretches, but none of them have been able to get hot.

All five teams are excelling in different ways, and the Toronto Blue Jays are no different. But, like all the other teams in the division, there are also some areas where they need to improve. With that in mind, here's how the Blue Jays stack up to the rest of the division in some key statistical categories.

Note: all stats through Monday's games

2 areas where the Blue Jays are excelling, 2 they need to improve

Area the Blue Jays are excelling: Starting pitcher WHIP

The first stat where the Blue Jays have been excelling in in starting pitcher WHIP. Blue Jays starters have a WHIP of 1.16 in 126 1/4 innings. That is the fifth-best WHIP in MLB and outpaces their division rivals. The Rays are sixth (1.20), the Yankees are 18th (1.28), the Red Sox are 20th (1.30) and the Orioles are 29th (1.62). Good starting pitching goes a long way in MLB, and the Blue Jays core four guys have been pulling their weight.

Kevin Gausman went into Monday’s games leading the entire league with a 0.74 WHIP, while Bowden Francis (1.04 WHIP) and Chris Bassitt (1.07) ranked 14th and 16th respectively. José Berríos (1.43) was 34th. They even got a good start from Easton Lucas, who gave up a four hits and three walks across his first two starts before the bottom fell out in his last two.

The other teams in the American League East teams have nine pitchers combined who were in the top-40 of WHIP in the American League. within the top 40 in WHIP in the American League.