This Blue Jays pitcher is on pace for a career year

Take yourself back to the the third game of the Blue Jays' season.

You were probably feeling restless.

The game prior, starting pitcher Max Scherzer suffered his latest malady in the form of a thumb injury and the bullpen fell apart after Mad Max departed. The sky felt like it was falling.

Into that void stepped the erstwhile hurler Chris Bassitt. A day after Scherzer left, Bassitt stymied the Baltimore Orioles on that first Sunday of the regular season by tossing six innings of one run ball.

The pivotal moment came in the fifth inning when he struck out Cedric Mullins to strand a pair of runners in the fifth inning in what felt like a very important moment.

And Bassitt has pitched extremely well since. He leads all of baseball in ERA (0.77) and ERA+ (520) along with leading the American League in bWAR (1.4).

What's even more impressive is that he has also shut down the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, two outstanding offenses.

It's a nice change of pace for the Ohio native, who finished last year with a 4.16 ERA in 171 innings. In a Jays uniform, Bassitt has pitched to a 3.67 ERA in 394 1/3 innings pitched over 68 games.

The Blue Jays are off to a great start on the mound as a team. While the headlines have focused on a power outage from the mainstays in the lineup, the pitchers have been contributing in a variety of ways.

It would be insane to expect Bassitt to keep posting these otherworldly numbers, but is there anything that can be carried forward into hopefully his next 25+ starts?

His Baseball Savant page seems to indicate one thing that can cause alarm. Exactly one season after placing in the bottom 3% of MLB with a 117.2 mile per hour max exit velocity, Bassitt has already allowed a batted ball of 116.7 mph.

Hard contact is a worrisome sign, but don't forget the Blue Jays defense is better this year, which should help the team's pitchers.

On the other hand, the most encouraging aspect of Bassitt's early start is the incredible number of strikeouts. Bassitt is showcasing some put away stuff in the early going. His 5.4% walk rate is promising for a pitcher that relies on command and control as much as anyone.

Bassitt's 0.98 FIP and 2.98 xERA make it seem like he'll continue to be a sturdy pitcher as the season goes on. The Blue Jays' rotation has been a strength so far this year, and a large reason for that has been Bassitt's presence at the top of the order.

But there are still plenty of cautionary tales across MLB. Last year Boston's Tanner Houck was one of the league leaders in ERA through four games before finishing the year with a 4.11 ERA in 30 games.

Bassitt getting off to a strong start is important for him since this is the final year of his three-year, $63 million contract. Having said that, Blue Jays fans should be great about the version of Bassitt that's shown up this season.

If there's one thing Bassitt's strong start to the season has proved, it's that Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker doesn't receive nearly enough credit for keeping his stable of arms producing at such a high level.