The Toronto Blue Jays have been underachieving these past couple of seasons. Their front office has recently worked to address some pressing needs, signing and adding power hitter Anthony Santander and some high-leverage relief pitchers.
The lineup continues to boast young sluggers Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who will be looking to have career years to inflate their potential free-agent value. The tone is shifting among Jays fans, and there is renewed belief that the Blue Jays can contend in a very competitive American League East in 2025.
One area of the Blue Jays roster that has been solid for some time is their starting pitching. One through Four, the Blue Jays remain as reliable and consistent as any rotation in baseball. This bears to mind the question and fun debate of who is, or was, the best Toronto Blue Jays Pitcher over the 50 years of their proud history North of the Border. Here is a subjective list that may or may not sit well with Blue Jays fans. Let the debate begin.
The current ace of a solid one through-four Blue Jays pitching staff has led the American League in the FIP category for two of his three seasons in Toronto. When one looks at what is factored into the formula for this increasingly valued stat, it becomes relatively straightforward that FIP helps illustrate a starting pitcher’s total performance.
Add to this Gausman’s AL strikeout crown of 2023, and you will have a battle-tested, bonafide stud at the top of the rotation.
The crafty lefthander won 116 games through his nine years with the Blue Jays. He was a fixture as a starting pitcher during the team’s most successful, division-winning years in 1985, 1989, and 1991, and his final year with the team, 1992. Key was twice an All-Star during his tenure with the Blue Jays, having won the ERA title in 1987, often called “The Juiced Ball Year.”
Key seemed to get better with age. Perhaps one image stays engrained with Jays’ fans who can remember it. His tipping of the cap while walking off the mound to a packed, crazed Skydome crowd after a brilliant seven innings secured a 2-1 Jays victory over Atlanta in Game 4 of the 1992 World Series. It was Key’s final start as a Blue Jay.
Unfortunately, it is entirely unavoidable that Clemens will appear somewhere on this list. Unfortunately, because of the direction the team seemed to take during Clemens’ two years in Toronto and the following years. A case can be made to declare Clemens’ 1997 season as the best of his legendary career.
He easily won the Cy Young Award that year after pitching an incredible 264 innings, striking out 292 over that span and finishing with a 21-7 record. The team, however, did not follow the Rocket’s lead and finished a dismal 76-86. He was able to inflate his stats during his time as a Jay, and we’ll allow him a spot on the list for that reason.
The Blue Jays had high hopes for their 1995 first-round pick out of Arvada West High School in Colorado. To say Roy “Doc” Halladay delivered would be a vast understatement. Halladay was a 20-game winner twice with Blue Jays teams that were never really in playoff contention during his 12 years with the club.
The 2003 American League Cy Young winner led the league in innings pitched three times, laying his claim as the ultimate workhorse of his time. The late Roy Halladay was posthumously inducted into Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Stieb wasn’t just the best pitcher in the American League for three straight seasons (1982, 83,84); he was also arguably the best player then. Leading the league in WAR for those three seasons in succession, Stieb earned the respect of his peers as the starting pitcher for both the ‘82 and ‘83 All-Star games.
A victim of low run support over his entire 15-year span with the club, Dave Stieb remains the club leader in wins, with 175. He flirted with no-hitters numerous times, finally capturing the teams’ lone no-no on September 2nd, 1990. Stieb hits the mark on many modern metrics that determine who is inducted into Cooperstown. He will always be a Blue Jays Legend.
The Blue Jays have a long list of excellent starting pitchers who have battled the best the American League has offered over the years. Honorable mention, in order of service, goes to Jim Clancy, Juan Guzman, Todd Stottlemyre, David Wells, David Cone, Pat Hentgen, Robbie Ray, and Jose Berrios.
The front office has made some moves this offseason that have addressed some areas of need. It will be interesting to see if this will result in more run support and wins for the Blue Jays and their starting pitchers.
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