This reliever has been lights out for the Blue Jays

At the start of the season, Mason Fluharty found himself on the outside looking in of the Blue Jays' bullpen picture after he was assigned to Triple-A at the end of Spring Training.

Now, a little more than a month later, the 23-year-old has provided the Blue Jays with some much-needed quality innings in the bullpen. He's sporting a 2-0 record with a 2.25 ERA across 12 games with 11 strikeouts. He's been a reliable option with his solid two-pitch arsenal consisting of a cutter and sweeper.

Why this reliever has been lights out in the bullpen for the Blue Jays

Fluharty also comes equipped with a solid platoon-neutral arsenal while also possessing solid control and command on the mound. The Blue Jays drafted him in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He had a 3.63 ERA with 76 strikeouts in Triple-A last year with the Buffalo Bisons, which put him on the MLB radar for the Blue Jays in 2024.

He made his debut on April 2, and has looked like a bonafide MLB reliever since. He's in the 88th percentile in expected batting average (.197) and the 80th percentile in hard-hit rate (33.3%).

He's used his cutter 62% of the time and his sweeper 38% of the time. He's quickly emerging into a reliable middle-to-high leverage option at a time when the Jays' bullpen is short on arms.

Reliever Erik Swanson has been on the injured list all year, while Nick Sandlin was placed on the injured list after a couple weeks due to a right lat strain. They've also been without Ryan Burr, as he's been on the injured list all year due to right shoulder inflammation.

Fluharty been a pleasant surprise for the Blue Jays and has bolstered their bullpen. Fluharty has only allowed a run in two of his 12 appearances this year, and has also had three multi-inning outings this year, which demonstrates his versatility. It's looking like he's a part of the Blue Jays' young core.

He's also been dominant against right-handed batters. How dominant? Right-handed hitters have gone 0-for-20 against him this year. That's right, every right-handed batter that's faced off against him has walked back to the dugout with their bat in their hand.

If that's not impressive enough, he also recorded a six-pitch, four-out performance this season, demonstrating his confidence and poise on the mound.

Left-handed batters haven't done much better against him, as they only have .235 average against him.

Fluharty opened the season as a dark horse to make the Blue Jays' roster, but he's well on his way to becoming a household name across Toronto. The Blue Jays roster isn't complete, but Fluharty is looked like an organizational win.