Blue Jays getting exactly what they hoped for from Kevin Gausman

The season is young, but so far is looks like the Blue Jays made a wise decision by signing Kevin Gausman, who has pitched at an ace level so far in 2022.

There were mixed reactions from Blue Jays fans when Gausman signed in Toronto, mostly because of the circumstances around his deal. At the same time that Gausman was joining the Blue Jays on a five-year, 110 million dollar pact, the club was losing their 2021 Cy Young award winner in Robbie Ray, who agreed to a five-year, 115 million dollar contract with the Seattle Mariners. It’s not that we weren’t excited about Gausman’s signing, it was just a bittersweet few days as teams scrambled to sign players ahead of the expiry of the last CBA.

So far, that decision looks very good for Ross Atkins and the Blue Jays’ front office, as Gausman has been sensational over his first five starts as a Blue Jay. He entered Sunday’s outing with 1-1 record, a 2.19 ERA, and a 1.104 WHIP over four starts that covered 24.2 innings. On Sunday he took it up another notch against a powerful Houston Astros offence, throwing 7.0 innings and giving up two earned runs, and just six hits allowed. He also struck out 10 more batters to bring his season total to 41 over 31.2 frames.

All of the numbers I’ve already mentioned are encouraging enough, but the most impressive part is that Gausman has done all of this without walking a single batter. As I said, he’s now thrown 31.2 innings this season, and he’s still yet to walk a batter as a Blue Jay. In addition to not allowing a walk, he has yet to serve up a home run ball either.

As the Blue Jays look to truly find their stride, one of the reasons they’ve been able to get off to such a good start is because of the performance of most of the pitching staff. The rotation has been a mixed bag, but Gausman has been a well-needed veteran anchor.

He had great numbers with the Giants over the past couple of seasons, and the Blue Jays even tried to sign him in the past, but there was some concern over the way he finished the 2021 campaign. So far those concerns look to be unfounded, and it’s hard to imagine the right-hander pitching a whole lot better than he has thus far, especially in the context of a short Spring Training, learning to work with new teammates, coaches, and catchers, and everything that went into this past offseason.

Thankfully the Blue Jays were able to win yet another tight game on Sunday, giving Gausman a well-deserved win for his efforts. The Blue Jays won yet another series with their victory on Sunday, and they’ll head to New York for a three-game set with a 15-8 record.

It takes a team to find that kind of success, but thankfully Gausman is doing his part and then some.