Blue Jays Series Preview: Time for the offence to breakout?

Game 3: May 15 – 3:05 ET @ Texas

Aaron Sanchez (3-1, 2.58 ERA, 3.41 FIP) vs.
Cesar Ramos (0-2, 5.11 ERA, 6.57 FIP)

Watching Sanchez start this year has truly been a treat. His velocity is staying high deep into starts, he continues to get plenty of groundballs, his command is improving, and his repertoire continues to diversify as he consistently gets swing and misses. It’s great to see one of the most heralded Jays prospects of recent memory do so well, and now he could sit near the top of the rotation with Marcus Stroman for years to come.

In his latest start in San Francisco, his command wasn’t 100% there, as he walked five batters, but his pure stuff got him out of jams as he only gave up three hits and struck out five Giants.

He’s the type of pitcher that can get away without having his best command because his stuff is that good, so when his command is there, he can be downright dominant.

Along with his great batted ball ratios (20% LD, 59.2% GB, 20.8% FB), he hasn’t been giving up very much hard contact. His hard contact rate of 24.6% sits 15th among all qualified pitchers, sitting right between fellow young stars Joe Ross and Danny Salazar, and above pitchers such as Felix Hernandez, Chris Sale, Stephen Strasburg and Noah Syndergaard.

Take hard contact% for what you will, but it’s unquestionably a good sign to see Sanchez’s name with guys like that.

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As far as Ramos is concerned, I’m not sure what the Jays’ hitters could be asking more for. They get a guy who has been struggling to be a below average major league reliever, nevermind a starting pitcher. If he’s starting, it should be in AAA, so the Jays get a gift here. They need to take advantage of this matchup.

Primarily a relief pitcher through most of his career, Ramos has made one start in three appearances this season and owns a 5.11 ERA over 12.2 innings pitched.