It’s been a tough season for the Blue Jays so far.

With a record of 18-24 entering last night’s game against the Rays, the team has faced injuries, inconsistencies, and bad luck aplenty on and off the field.

The Blue Jays’ starting pitching has been a tale of two seasons, a mix of solid outings and some low outings mixed in between. The Blue Jays have used 10 different pitchers to start games this season, with three of those serving as openers out of the bullpen.

One of those potential bright spots that came out of nowhere this season has to be left-hander Patrick Corbin, whom the team signed to a 1-year, $1 million contract back on April 3rd. Corbin was signed as additional insurance for the rotation when the injuries started piling up early in the campaign.

Since then, Corbin is actually fifth on the Blue Jays’ pitchers in WAR (0.7), and has now earned a spot in the starting rotation for the team going forward. With a 3.93 ERA across 34 1/3 innings of work, it’s interesting to see how one of the statistically worst starters over the last decade is suddenly serving as a great stopgap in a major league rotation.

The positives about Corbin are that he generates a lot of whiffs on his pitches. Especially his slider, which batters are only hitting .181 against, to go along with a .200 xwOBA and a 40.6% strikeout rate. With a whiff rate of 38.6%, he is really making opposing batters chase his slider, whether it’s down and away or dropping in the strike zone. It’s one of Corbin’s best pitches, and he has been using it the most this season to try to work his pitch counts.

The other top pitch for the left-hander this season has been his sinker, which boasts a +2 pitching run value. Hitters might boast better numbers off the pitch compared to his slider, but he uses it effectively to mix up the counts while also dropping in a changeup on occasion, which boasts a strong 31.6% whiff rate as well.

While Corbin’s track record is not ideal over the past few seasons, he is generating outs consistently, and that is what the team needs if they want to try and win more games from now on.

With Eric Lauers’ time in Toronto all but finished, the team needs to get creative and fast with how to salvage the season. Corbin has provided them with a pathway to do that.

With the next couple of series against the Detroit Tigers, the New York Yankees, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Jays will need all the help they can get going forward from anyone with injury replacements not on the horizon anytime soon.

Off The Roster is Toronto sports. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, this is the go-to morning conversation for everything happening in the 6ix – Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and everything in between. From breakout performances and questionable trades to throwback jerseys, viral moments, and the stories fans are actually talking about—it’s smart, sharp, and never scripted. Live weekday mornings on the Nation Network YouTube channel and available wherever you stream podcasts, the show delivers real opinions, real chemistry, and real Toronto energy. Missed an episode? Catch up anytime. Off The Roster—The new sound of the 6ix.