Blue Jays 40-man Roster Review: Kevin Gausman is the undisputed ace heading into the 2024 season
7 months ago
Kevin Gausman is so good.
This is the 40-man Roster Review, in which we’re going to take a look back at each player on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, and how they performed in 2023, as well as their outlook for 2024.
Gausman signed with the Jays ahead of the 2022 season and had one of the unluckiest, yet still a fantastic season. In 174.2 innings pitched, he had a 3.35 ERA and a 2.38 FIP, along with a 28.3 K% and a career-low 3.9 BB%. Batters had an insane .363 BABIP against Gausman, which explains why his ERA was so much higher than his FIP.
Well, the 32-year-old followed up that impressive 2022 with an even better 2023, posting a 3.16 ERA and a 2.97 FIP in 185 innings pitched, along with a 31.1 K% and a 7.2 BB%. For the first time in his career, Gausman was a finalist in Cy Young voting, finishing third behind Gerrit Cole and Sonny Gray. However, this was the third consecutive season that Gausman received votes for the award. Gausman also made the Second All MLB team.
In fact, the Blue Jays have had a Cy Young finalist in each of the past four seasons since they’ve became competitive. In 2020, Hyun Jin Ryu finished third in voting, finishing with a 2.69 ERA and a 3.01 FIP in 67 innings pitched (COVID shortened season). In 2021, Robbie Ray won it all, posting a 2.84 ERA and a 3.69 FIP in 193.1 innings pitched. Alek Manoah also finished third in the race for the award in 2022, posting a 2.24 ERA and a 3.31 FIP in 196.2 innings pitched.
Was Gausman’s 2023 season the best of the four seasons? Probably not, but he’s their undisputed ace heading into the 2024 season. Speaking of the 2024 season, Fangraphs’ Steamer projects that Gausman will have a 3.49 ERA and FIP in 196 innings pitched in 2024, along with a 27.8 K% and a 6.5 BB%. This would be his worst season since 2020, so I choose not to believe Steamer.
Either way, Gausman is set to be vital in the Blue Jays rotation once again, and it’ll be great to watch his splitter dance once again.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.
ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO
Recent articles from Ryley Delaney
