Blue Jays: Top-five greatest starting pitchers in franchise history

No. 5 Pat Hentgen

A pitcher with some hardware, Hentgen was drafted in the fifth round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1986 draft. Born just across the border in Windsor, Ontario, Hentgen made his major league debut in 1991. Hentgen became a full time starter in 1993, a season that would see an All-Star selection and him finishing sixth in Cy Young voting. Hentgen was a standout pitcher for his time, as he was relied upon to throw at least 200 innings and routinely fill the strike zone.

The best years of Hentgen’s career came during 1996 and 1997. He threw 265.2 and 264 innings respectively, both of those numbers leading MLB. Those years also saw him lead MLB in complete games, batters faced, games started, complete games, and shutouts. Hentgen was one of the best starting pitchers in the late-90s, winning the Cy Young in that 1996 season.

Hentgen’s career took a bit of a slide after his period of dominance. His 1998 season saw his ERA balloon to 5.17, with a better yet still unremarkable performance the next season. Hentgen would find himself traded to the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 2000 season, the beginning of a four season absence from Toronto. He would return for his second and final stint with the Jays in 2004. It would be an ineffective one at that, as Hentgen pitched to an ERA of 6.95 over 18 games, 16 of them starts.

Hentgen’s 26.8 bWAR places him fourth all time amongst starting pitchers in franchise history, however it was his dramatic highs and lows that keep him in the five spot on this list.

No. 4 Roger Clemens

Clemens only played two seasons north of the border, but they were ridiculous. To quickly put his talent (albeit fueled by PEDs during that era) into perspective, his 20.1 bWAR ranks seventh amongst starters in Jays history, in just two seasons!

The Rocket signed a four-year, $40M deal with the Blue Jays after the 1996 season after cementing himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball history with the Boston Red Sox. His 1997 and 98 seasons were ones for the ages. He won back to back Cy Youngs, leading the AL in ERA, wins, strikeouts, and FIP both of them. His 1998 season also saw him lead the AL in H/9, K/9 and HR/9. 

Clemens requested a trade prior to the 1999 season, as he didn’t believe the Blue Jays to be competitive enough going into that year. Clemens would go on to win two World Series’ with the Yankees, but not after putting up arguably his two best seasons of his career with the Blue Jays. This could at least be true about 1997, as his 11.9 bWAR was the single highest of his career. For reference, Aaron Judge’s mark from last year was 10.6. Clemens’ exploits on the mound trumped that of a 62 homer season.

Clemens’ Blue Jays career wasn’t a long one, but by performance alone it deserves recognition. Clemens is one of the most talented, but polarizing pitchers in the history of the sport, and still represents an interesting blip on the franchise's history.

No. 3 Jimmy Key

Jimmy Key, one of the more underrated arms of the 1980s, was quietly dominant during this time in a Jays uniform. Drafted by the Blue Jays in the third round back in 1982, Key rose to the Major Leagues quickly. His first pro season in 1984 would be out of the bullpen, authoring a 4.65 ERA over 63 appearances, producing a 1.645 WHIP. While early results weren’t encouraging, his second season would quickly prove Key was a force to be reckoned with.

1985 saw Key throw 212.2 innings over 35 total appearances, 32 of them starts. Key’s reputation as a strike thrower wielded effective results. Though his K/9 sat at only 3.6, his low BB/9 of 2.1 and respectable H/9 of 8 resulted in an ERA of 3.00 for his first season as a starter. Key would also see his first All-Star action this year.

Key’s best season would come in 1987, as he led MLB in ERA, WHIP, and H/9, finishing second in Cy Young voting. These would be the best numbers of Jimmy’s career, but he would routinely complete at least 200 innings a season and produce an ERA under 4.50. Key’s consistency, with a bit of star power mixed in, has him as one of the best starters in franchise history, at least the best lefty at that.

No. 2 Dave Stieb

The top spots on this list are very debatable, and either could be considered the best. Personally, I’m putting Dave Stieb as the second best starting pitcher in team history. Drafted in the fifth round of the 1978 draft from Southern Illinois University, Stieb would make his MLB debut the following season. He had a respectable rookie season, accumulating 1.4 bWAR over 129.1 innings and 18 starts. He would make his reputation as a workhorse the next season, throwing 242.2 innings and making his first All-Star game.

Stieb would be apart of seven All-Star games total through his career, and finish as a Cy Young finalist four separate times. Stieb was as stingy as they get, having the best H/9 in the AL on two separate occasions in 1984 and 1985, with a mark of 7.2 and 7.0 respectively. That 1985 season Stieb would also have the best ERA in the AL, with it sitting at a lowly 2.48.

During his prime from 1980-1990, Stieb averaged 231 innings pitched with a 3.29 ERA. A model of consistency through and through, Stieb would even throw the first no-hitter in Blue Jays history on September 9th, 1990, after coming within a single out on multiple occasions.

Stieb’s career would begin to fall off in the 1991 season, when a flurry of back and shoulder injuries held him back. Stieb would struggle to stay healthy the rest of the season, and did his best to contribute to a World Series title in 1992, when he threw 96.1 innings and picked up four wins over 21 appearances.

Stieb would take a hiatus from baseball from 1994-1997, only to return to the Blue Jays in 1998 for one last hoorah. He was able to toss 50.1 innings as a 40-year old, and gives him an interesting connection to the number one on this list.

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No. 1 Roy Halladay

Number one on this list, Doc. A pitcher outside of his time, Roy Halladay was a dominant workhorse who pitched in twelve separate seasons for the Blue Jays, winning a Cy Young and making six All-Star appearances during that time. 

After a promising rookie sneak-peek in 1998 and a solid follow-up campaign in 1999, Halladay would struggle in 2000. After a lengthy revisit to the minor leagues, a reinvented Doc returned with vengeance in 2001. From 2002 on, Halladay would average 214 innings a season, with an astronomically low 1.6 BB/9 and respectable 6.6 K/9. An ERA of 3.13 over that time would produce 130 wins for Blue Jays teams that weren’t particularly noteworthy.

Doc’s consistency and durability were something to behold. He was a Cy Young-caliber pitcher who relied on going deep in games and forcing weak contact, with a variety of pitches he kept around the strike zone. His 48.4 bWAR ranks second all-time amongst pitchers in franchise history. Even more impressive, his 2046.2 innings pitched and 49 complete games both rank third in franchise history. The amazing part of this is how much the game had changed since Halladay produced those numbers, and since when the superior records were held.

Dave Stieb and Jim Clancy were the only two arms to supercede Doc in these categories. Both of whom pitched during the 1980s and both of whom spent virtually their entire career as a Blue Jay. With them given the benefit on both these account, Halladay’s close connection to these numbers is impressive. Halladay found himself in an era of pitch counts, matchups, and increased armcare, though found himself plagued by none until the end of his career.

The late Roy Halladay was a living legend, a model of consistency, and the greatest Blue Jays starting pitcher of all time.