3 Blue Jays we were wrong about near the start of the 2023 season
By Edward Eng
José Berríos
After a season to forget in 2022, José Berríos was looking for a fresh start to the new season to silence any of his critics and doubters. But after the first two starts to the season, he looked eerily similar to the Berríos that we saw for almost all of last season, making people think “oh no, here we go again”. Not only were we worried if he ever was going to bounce back, but also if his trade and signing would eventually go down as a huge bust for the Jays.
However, he has appeared to suddenly flip a switch and has now produced impressive starts in five of his last six outings. In doing so, he is beginning to look again like the ace from the Minnesota Twins that the Jays got back in 2021. Over that six-game stretch, he is 4-2 with a 2.97 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .239 OBA, with only eight walks and 32 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched.
With the regained confidence, he is now locating his moving pitches a lot better, coinciding with an extra boost in energy level when taking the mound as seen here.
Slowly, but surely, Berríos is clearing the question mark that he imposed earlier in the season and is beginning to pitch again like a respectable middle-of-the-rotation starter. He has helped stabilize the Jays’ rotation in recent weeks, including helping the Jays to their triumphant sweep of the first place NL team Atlanta Braves this past weekend.
Let’s hope they can all keep it up and help lead the Jays to much more in 2023!