Why Kevin Gausman and Daulton Varsho were the Blue Jays co-MVPs in May

After a 14-16 record in March and April, the Toronto Blue Jays went 16-12 in May to help steer the ship in the right direction this season. The two players who were at the helm of this turnaround were starting pitcher Kevin Gausman and outfielder Daulton Varsho. Both players were exceptional all month long, and without them, the Blue Jays might already be saying goodbye to their playoff hopes this season.

Varsho came off the injured list on April 29 and it felt like he immediately started to make up for lost time. He brought some much-needed pop to this lineup, hitting seven home runs in the month and driving in 18 runs. While his strikeout rate (31%) and overall slash line .207/.240/.543 were below league average, when he did put the ball in play, it came at opportune times with a rOBA of .320, an OPS+ of 112, and added 0.7 WPA in just 24 games.

As expected, the Gold Glove award winners defensive metrics were on point as well, accumulating 2.5 defensive fWAR while making some highlight reel catches.

While his stats at a glance don’t jump off the page, one has to remember that the Blue Jays were second to last in the league in power throughout April. Then along came Varsho and he ignited this group who belted 38 home runs in May, the fifth most in the Major Leagues. They were also 13-8 in the games where he was in the starting lineup.

Although Varsho was placed on the 10-day injured list this past weekend, what he brought to the team in the past month cannot be overlooked.   

Not to be outdone though was staff ace Kevin Gausman who made some history in May. Gausman became just the sixth pitcher in MLB history to have at least 33 strikeouts in one calendar month without hitting a batter, throwing a wild pitch and walking one batter or less.

Hitters were kept off-balance all month long as they managed just a .215/.221/.364 slash line against Gausman. The 34-year-old right hander gave up just 26 hits in the month, with only nine of those going for extra-bases. He made five starts and gave up three runs or less in four of those outings, finishing the month with a 2.81 ERA over 32 IP, while the Blue Jays went 3-2 when Gausman took the mound.

They really should be 4-1, because on May 3, Gausman has arguable his best start of the season when he threw six innings of shut out ball, while striking out nine and giving up just one hit. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays lost 5-3 to Cleveland.

Gausman pitched into the sixth inning in every start this past month. That includes a game where he went eight strong innings on May 26 against Texas, holding the Rangers to one run on a home run, while striking out six in a 2-1 Blue Jays win, which kick started their recent five-game winning streak.

With Gausman leading the rotation and Varsho stabilizing the batting order, the Blue Jays fought their way back over the .500 mark on the season.