Article: Jays Centre Pitcher of the Month: May 2025

[Mike LeSage]

Last month we celebrated Yimi García, Jeff Hoffman and Chris Bassitt. This month those two relievers combined to blow five saves and Bassitt posted the highest ERA of the regular starters. I’m not ready to consider the Curse of the PotM just yet, but the pitchers we highlight today might want to take an extra training day as a precaution.

Honourable Mention: Michael Stefanic - 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H
On a hot day in Florida with the Rays on their way to handing Toronto their worst defeat of the season (so far!) the Jays were looking for someone to stop the bleeding. That someone was Michael Stefanic. Primarily used as a middle infielder, Toronto asked him to dial into his inner Ohtani and take the mound. Mixing a slider that averaged 61mph with a 62mph curve Stefanic sat down the three Rays he faced. He then led off the next inning with a single - something no other Jays pitcher has done this year.

May Pitchers of the Month

#4 - José Berríos - 36 IP, 14 ER, 37 K, 13 BB, 3.80 FIP
Berríos has thrown more innings than any other pitcher this month. He’s also given the Jays a chance to win by throwing a quality start in five of his six appearances. All other Jays pitchers combined to throw five quality starts over the 22 non-Berríos starts. His fWAR is second among the starting pitchers and his durability is unmatched. Given the revolving door of relievers the team is working through, being able to count on Berríos for 6 innings every start is a luxury.

#3 - Brendon Little - 13.1 IP, 0 ER, 16 K,  7 BB, 3 holds
Of the Blue Jays pitchers with zero earned runs given up in May (incredibly there are seven), Little has done it while having the most appearances (12), innings pitched (13.1) and batters faced (48). In April Jesse Burrill highlighted how nasty Little’s curveball is, and while he’s throwing it almost 50% of the time, opposing hitters can’t seem to do much with it. He’s also got a wild pitch, a hit batter and just enough walks to be a candidate for "effectively wild”, but as long as he’s keeping runs off the board he’s got a place here.

#2 - Yariel Rodríguez - 17 IP, 1 ER, 18 K, 3 BB, 4 holds
Rodríguez has been so consistent out of the pen this month. He’s made 13 appearances and only given up one run. In seven of those appearances Rodríguez was asked to throw more than one inning and has picked up four holds in the process. Little and Rodríguez have had a real ‘whatever you can do, I can do better’ month coming out of the ‘pen and given how close their performances have been, I wouldn’t quibble if you wanted to flip them in the rankings here. The additional workload tips the scale in Rodríguez’s favour for me.

#1 - Kevin Gausman - 32 IP, 10 ER, 33 K, 1 BB, 2.74 FIP
In his first start of the month on May 3rd in the bottom of the first inning Gausman issued a walk to the Guardians’ Carlos Santana. He would face 119 batters after that without issuing another walk. In addition to limiting the walks, Gausman also gave up the fewest home runs and fewest earned runs of the Jays main starters. On May 21, Gausman went 7 innings of three-hit shutout against the Padres and put up a 0.4 WPA (Win Probability Added) which was the highest mark by a Jays pitcher to that point in the season. Then, on four days' rest, he went back out against Texas and upped the high water mark to a 0.5 WPA with 8 high leverage innings against the Rangers leading the Jays to a 2-1 win (his 3rd of the month). Leo Morgenstern talked about the Jays' need for an ace, and this month Gausman reminded us of what he is capable of. He’s our Jays Centre Pitcher of the Month.

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[Owen Hill]

Kevin Gausman - 32 IP, 10 ER, 33 K, 1 BB, 2.74 FIP

Are we on #AceWatch with Gausman again? I think we might be.

[Simon Li]

51 minutes ago, Owen Hill said:

Kevin Gausman - 32 IP, 10 ER, 33 K, 1 BB, 2.74 FIP

Are we on #AceWatch with Gausman again? I think we might be.

He might just be finding his splitter again, the splitter stuff+ in his last four starts is 106, compared to 97 for all the starts prior.