Blue Jays First Half Surprises

During spring training, we’d heard that Roberto Osuna could very well be a bullpen option with the big league club. It seemed odd that the Blue Jays would be considering this with a 20 year old starter who hadn’t pitched higher than A+ Dunedin. But, situation being what it is and the Blue Jays failing to pick up any type of help during the offseason, Osuna was thrust into the role.

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And, he hasn’t looked back. In fact, thanks to the struggles of others, he might be leaned on as the closer of this team. That is of course, unless the Blue Jays can pick up a closer in the next few weeks.

So far, he’s 1-3 on the season with 4 saves. His ERA sits at 2.25. He’s striking out 9.9/9 innings, which is good for 28%. Hitters are having very little success against him at .185 and only able to make hard contact 23.5% of the time. His WHIP is very low at 0.93.

When called upon, he’s brought a calming force into the game many times over. Can anyone really say that they expected this from Osuna? Maybe the Blue Jays will say they did. They felt confident enough in him to start him with the big league club. That confidence has only become greater. John Gibbons seems to turn to Osuna in important situations. A lot. Osuna’s totaled 40 innings pitched thus far.

Now, what this means for his future remains to be seen. Will the club ignore that he was supposed to be a starter? Will they continue his bullpen success? Time will tell. For right now, though, Roberto Osuna is one of the pleasant surprises of the 2015 season thus far.

Would you say he’s been THE surprise of the first half? Cast your vote in our poll at the end!

Next: The BABIP Machine!