Toronto Blue Jays: Comparing the 2016 Rotation to Now

Marco Estrada and Alek Manoah

In Marco Estrada and Alek Manoah, there lies similarities in statistics, but not stature. Estrada, standing at 6’0, 180 pounds, could most likely be bench pressed by Manoah, who comes in at 6’6” and 260 pounds. Nevertheless, these two pitchers force similar outcomes from opposing hitters.

Estrada’s prime in Toronto saw him pitch to the lowest hits her nine in the league. His mark of 6.7 and 6.8 in 2015 and 2016 earned him an All-Star nod in 2016. The soft throwing right hander did this over an average of 178 innings over those two seasons.

While Manoah came up late as a rookie and managed to throw 111.2 innings, the big righty kept hitters to a 6.2 H/9. This was accompanied by a startling 10.2 K/9, which was a component of pitching which Estrada didn’t exactly have. Marco’s K/9 sat between 6.5 and 8.5 in his two great years as a Blue Jay.

In addition to their abilities to limit base hits, their peripherals relatively line up as well. Both right handers sat in the 75th percentile in whiff percentage, and both were above the 80th percentile in expected batting average. These positive outcomes were supported by particularly good individual pitches from both pitchers. Estrada had his changeup, Manoah has his slider.

Both out pitches are pitches of regularity for the two pitchers. In 2016, Estrada threw his changeup 28.7% of the time. Manoah threw his slider almost the same amount as his fastball, coming in at 27.8%. Both pitchers excel at limiting base bits and rely on their best pitches. Both of these arms limited base hits at an impressive clip.