2 weeks Ago
The start of the 2025 MLB regular season has been a mixed bag for the Toronto Blue Jays , who have fallen on tough times recently. After starting the season 12-8, they have lost five games in a row to drop their record to 12-13, and are now three games behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees . There are a number of players whom the Blue Jays are waiting on to get hot and reach the level of production they have become accustomed to producing.
Atop that list is free agent signing Anthony Santander, who owns a .189/.264/.
295 slash line through his first 106 plate appearances. The lineup has been experiencing a power outage to begin the season with only 13 home runs. Second baseman Andres Gimenez, whose career high for homers in a season is 17, is currently leading the squad with three.
Toronto’s lack of offensive production has put a ton of pressure on the pitching staff to perform at a high level. For the most part, they have answered the call, with one player performing at a career-high clip out of the gate. That would be veteran Chris Bassitt, who is in the midst of an incredible bounceback campaign after a disappointing 2024.
With a 98 ERA+ and -0.1 WAR last year, it was fair to wonder if he was at the downturn of his career. Entering his age-36 season in 2025, he may have been viewed as nothing more than a backend of the rotation innings eater.
However, he has far exceeded even the most optimistic of expectations , turning into the team’s ace over the first month. Bassitt experienced his bump in the road of the campaign during his most recent start against the Houston Astros , a 5-1 loss in which he threw 5.1 innings, giving up seven runs and one walk, resulting in four earned runs.
Despite that, he still owns a stellar 1.88 ERA on the season and has struck out 34 batters in 34.2 innings.
To go along with only five walks, he is having the best season of his career in terms of strikeouts and walk ratios in Year 11. His 28.6% strikeout rate and 5.
0% walk rate would both be single-season bests. Unlocking that kind of production at this stage of a career is unprecedented, but the Blue Jays are certainly thrilled about it. Bassitt is anchoring what is a sneaky good pitching staff Toronto has put together.
They may not feature many big names, but as a whole, they are getting the job done with the staff producing 3.0 WAR and an ERA+ of 108. Recommended Articles.
