Making the case for this Blue Jays pitcher to be their Game One playoff starter 

Entering the 2025 MLB season, if any Toronto Blue Jays fans were asked who their Game One starter should be if they managed to make it to the postseason, their answer would likely have been Kevin Gausman. After all, Gausman has been the leader of the Jays’ starting rotation for the past four years, given strong, consistent and reliable innings for the most part each time out. 

Following the addition of former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber at the trade deadline and his fantastic debut with Toronto last week, some have already decided that he should be the one to get those honours. However, if the Jays were wise, they actually shouldn’t go with either player but instead, they should start the postseason by sending the biggest, big game pitcher of them all to the mound in Max Scherzer.

Making the case for this Blue Jays pitcher to be their Game One playoff starter 

The 41-year-old veteran should be handed the ball to lead things off for the Jays when this year’s MLB Playoffs begin. After all, Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young winner and former two-time World Series champion, so he definitely knows how to get it done on the biggest stage.

More significantly, Scherzer has been absolutely dynamite for Toronto since coming off the injured list and has been the Jays’ best pitcher in recent weeks. Perhaps his thumb injury from earlier in the season was a blessing in disguise as it has now given him the energy and ability to pitch effectively when it matters most down the stretch. In fact, Scherzer hasn’t given up more than four runs in any of his starts this season, including putting together a string of five consecutive quality starts prior to Monday’s game against the Minnesota Twins.

On the season, the veteran right-hander has posted a 5-2 record with a 3.82 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, along with 61 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched over 12 starts. In his past five starts prior to Monday, those numbers have been even better, with a 2.25 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.

For those that may vouch for Bieber going in Game One, it would put a lot on his shoulders for someone that is just coming back from his Tommy John surgery. As for Gausman, he hasn’t had as much success in the playoffs to date, amassing an 0-2 record with a 4.91 ERA while giving up 14 runs in 25 2/3 total innings in the postseason for his career.

It may be wise to ease the pressure off of both those pitchers so that they can focus on performing at their best and head into the playoffs as the No. 2 and No. 3 pitchers would be the ideal rotation setup. In addition, Scherzer has had the most experience and success of them all in the postseason, with seven career wins to go along with a tidy 3.78 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 30 playoff appearances.