3 Blue Jays who are proving their Spring Training stats were flukes, 3 who were legit

Chris Bassitt

Chris Bassitt was one of the Jays big offseason free agent signings to replace the departed Ross Stripling in the starting rotation. Bassitt had been a solid, veteran MLB pitcher of nine years, in which he has amassed a career ERA of 3.52, ERA+ of 116, WHIP of 1.20, with 783 strikeouts in over 859 innings pitched. So one can say, he has been one of the more consistent and reliable starters in the majors for quite some time.

However, during Spring Training this year, it may have been because he was suiting up for the Jays’ ballclub for the first time, or perhaps he may have been trying something new, as he was hit around big time in his five appearances. Bassitt left Spring Training with an ugly 5.60 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, giving up 11 earned runs in just 17.2 innings pitched, while opponents were teeing off of him with a .300 batting average. That presented some worries in the fanbase if that was indeed the version of Bassitt the Jays got. What made it even worse was the fact that he was shelled for nine earned runs, including four home runs in his season debut against the St. Louis Cardinals, sending panic shockwaves through Jays’ nation.

Luckily, Bassitt quickly settled down from there on, reverting back to his true form for pretty much the rest of the 2023 season up until now. Since his disastrous season debut, Bassitt has accumulated a strong 10-4 record with a 3.35 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, .225 opponents batting average, with 37 walks and 112 strikeouts over 118.1 innings of work. That is pretty much more in line with his career numbers, showing that his unexpected sub-par performance during Spring Training was indeed just a fluke.