Blue Jays: All-time ERA leaders list has some surprises

The Toronto Blue Jays have featured many different pitchers throughout their team history. Who has posted the finest ERA marks?

From Dave Stieb to Roy Halladay to Marcus Stroman, the Toronto Blue Jays have featured a lot of quality pitchers over the years. If you’re like me and like to go through leader stats, including pitchers ERA, you might be surprised who appeared in the top 10.

By searching for Blue Jays pitchers, ranked by ERA and WAR, I looked up both all-time and from 2000-2019 courtesy of FanGraphs. I will admit, it was a surprise to see a relief pitcher finish first in Toronto’s all-time ERA leaders.  What’s not surprising to me is that a Hall of Famer finds himself atop the all-time WAR leaders list with 48.6.

Blue Jays All-Time ERA Leaders

1. Tom Henke, 2.48 ERA
2. Duane Ward, 3.17 ERA
3. Dave Stieb, 3.42 ERA
4. Jimmy Key, 3.42 ERA
5. Roy Halladay, 3.43 ERA
6. Doyle Alexander, 3.56 ERA
7. Paul Quantrill, 3.67 ERA
8. Jason Frasor, 3.73 ERA
9. Marcus Stroman, 3.76 ERA
10. Mark Buehrle, 3.78 ERA

*minimum 500 innings, via FanGraphs  

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The one takeaway from this list is that relief pitchers Tom Henke and Duane Ward sit in the top two, respectively. Both Dave Stieb and Jimmy Key are tied with a 3.42 ERA. However, Stieb’s 2873.0 innings pitched is higher than Key’s 1695.2.

Blue Jays All-Time Pitching WAR Leaders 

1. Roy Halladay, 48.6
2. Dave Stieb, 43.4
3. Jimmy Key, 28.1
4. Jim Clancy, 28.0
5. Juan Guzman, 22.6
6. Pat Hentgen, 19.7
7. David Wells, 19.1
8. Tom Henke, 16.2
9. Marcus Stroman, 14.9
10. Duane Ward, 14.8

*minimum 500 innings, via FanGraphs 

Both Halladay and Stieb logged a lot of innings on the mound along with some great pitching. The list here has recognizable names from the past: Key, Guzman, and Stroman.

Blue Jays ERA leaders since 2000

1. Roy Halladay, 3.40 ERA
2. Jason Frasor, 3.73 ERA
3. Marcus Stroman, 3.76 ERA
4. Mark Buehrle, 3.78 ERA
5. Shawn Marcum, 3.85 ERA
6. J.A. Happ, 3.88 ERA
7. A.J. Burnett, 3.94 ERA
8. Aaron Sanchez, 3.96 ERA
9. R.A. Dickey, 4.05 ERA
10. Ricky Romero, 4.16 ERA

*minimum 500 innings, via FanGraphs 

Halladay’s 3.40 ERA has been the best by a Blue Jay since 2000. He’s arguably the best pitcher and player to ever play in Toronto. Halladay’s former teammate, Ricky Romero, came in at tenth. It’s pretty fitting since Halladay mentored Romero before he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Blue Jays pitching WAR leaders since 2000 

1. Roy Halladay, 47.6
2. Marcus Stroman, 14.9
3. J.A. Happ, 11.2
4. A.J. Burnett, 10.2
5. Ricky Romero, 8.7
6. Brandon Morrow, 8.6
7. Kelvim Escobar, 8.5
8. Mark Buehrle, 7.9
9. Marco Estrada, 7.6
10. Brett Cecil, 7.1

*minimum 500 innings, via FanGraphs 

Once again, it’s no surprise to see Halladay at the top of the list. However, the most dramatic change on this list is the significant decrease in WAR. Halladay’s 47.6 WAR is 32.7 points than the next pitcher, Stroman. Surprisingly, relief pitcher Brett Cecil finished tenth at 7.1.