The Toronto Blue Jays have played 15 games this postseason – four in the ALDS, seven in the ALCS, and four so far in the World Series – and right-hander Louis Varland has taken the mound in all but two of those contests.

One of the Jays’ prized trade deadline acquisitions this past summer, Ross Atkins sent rising outfielder Alan Roden and prospect Kendrys Rojas to the Minnesota Twins for Varland and his six years of control, with Varland slated for free agency in 2031.

Possessing a four-seamer that can hit 100 MPH and a knuckle-curve that keeps hitters off balance, Varland has been called upon in a variety of scenarios for the Jays this postseason. The right-hander has mostly been used in high-leverage situations, coming out of the bullpen when manager John Schneider is looking to keep the game close, but they also used him as a starter when the Jays turned to a bullpen game against the Yankees in Game 4. This was the game that sent the Bronx Bombers home.

Varland has been on both sides of the coin this postseason, pitching some really tough innings that resulted in a positive outcome for the Jays, but also on the opposite side, where the other team has gotten to the Jays’ reliever. One of those moments was the mammoth home run that Aaron Judge generated in Game 3 of the ALDS, putting the Yankees back into the game and eventually handing the Jays the loss. However, he bounced back to lead the Jays through that bullpen game, allowing just a single (to Judge) across 1 1/3 innings while striking out Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm before being lifted in the second inning.

Through 13 outings, Varland owns a 4.50 ERA across 14 innings of work, striking out 16 batters compared to 13 hits, three walks, and seven earned runs with four homers allowed. He’s generated a 1.14 WHIP, and opposing bats own a .241/.293/.500 slash line with a .793 OPS.

He’s thrown 224 pitches this postseason, and his 12 2/3 innings (not including the start) are the most amongst the remaining Jays and Dodgers bullpen arms, with teammate Jeff Hoffman slotting in at 10 innings. Varland’s 14 strikeouts are tied for second with Hoffman as well, while Brewers fireballer Jacob Misiorowski still leads the grouping despite bowing out in the NLCS.

Statistically, his six outings in the ALCS were his best. He allowed just four hits and two earned runs across seven innings of work while striking out eight Mariners batters, appearing in all but one game. He hasn’t found the same success in the World Series (five hits and three earned runs through three innings), but that number could improve over the next two guaranteed games, especially since the likelihood of Schnieder turning to Varland is incredibly high.

The right-hander sits very high on Schnieder’s ‘Circle of Trust’ down in the bullpen; it feels like the bullpen phone just heads straight to Varland’s personal cell phone at this point in the postseason. If the Blue Jays are going to secure the World Series, Varland will likely take the hill at least one more time before the series is over; twice if there is a Game 7 back in Toronto.

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