Toronto Blue Jays Pitchers of the Month - May 2025

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 a middle infielder, Toronto asked him to dial into his inner Ohtani and take the mound. Mixing a slider that averaged 61 mph with a 62-mph 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 threw more innings than any other pitcher this month. He also gave 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 was second among the starting pitchers, and his durability was unmatched. Given the revolving door of relievers the team is working through, being able to count on Berríos for six 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 were seven), Little did 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 still can’t seem to do much with it. He also had a wild pitch, a hit batter and just enough walks to be a candidate to be considered "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, 5 holds
Rodríguez was so consistent out of the pen this month. He made 13 appearances and only gave up one run, picking up five holds in the process. In eight of those appearances, he was asked to throw more than one inning. Little and Rodríguez have had a real ‘anything 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 the bottom of the first inning in his first start of the month, Gausman issued a walk to the Guardians’ Carlos Santana. He would face 119 batters after that without issuing another. In addition to limiting walks, Gausman also gave up the fewest home runs and fewest earned runs of the Jays' main starters. On May 21, Gausman threw seven innings of three-hit, shutout ball 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 eight high leverage innings against the Rangers, leading the Jays to a 2-1 win (his third of the month). Leo Morgenstern recently wrote 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.