How the Blue Jays' bullpen has fared as an overall unit

"Aside from a few outliers like Jeff Hoffman and Brendon Little, the Blue Jays have a solid footing with their relief corps through the first quarter of the season. Their ERA of 4.18 ranks 18th in MLB, and their opponent batting average of .247 ranks 27th, but that doesn't paint the full picture of the overall body of work the Jays have put forth to date."

"Considering the increased workload (due to a vast number of injuries and early exits from starting pitchers), Toronto's bullpen has amassed the sixth most innings in the majors. That gives their relievers the fifth highest fWAR in MLB at 1.8. Blue Jays relievers also rank fifth in baseball with a 25.5% strikeout rate."

"Due to some catastrophic meltdowns this season, the Blue Jays have the 28th-ranked bullpen by Win Probability Added, but it's encouraging to see their relief corps has the top-ranked bullpen by xFIP. It's not as though their relievers have been torched badly by opposing hitters this year, which means things should stabilize over the duration of the campaign."

"Varland has been a godsend for the Blue Jays' bullpen the moment he arrived in the clubhouse after last year's trade deadline. One of the best relievers in baseball this season, the Minnesota native has calmed the fears of Blue Jays fans by bringing some much-need"

Toronto’s bullpen has been a surprisingly positive part of the roster after limited offseason changes beyond signing Tyler Rogers. Through the first quarter of the season, the relief corps has posted a 4.18 ERA and a .247 opponent batting average. Injuries and early starting-pitcher exits have increased bullpen workload, leading to the sixth most bullpen innings in MLB. Relievers rank fifth in fWAR with 1.8 and rank fifth in baseball with a 25.5% strikeout rate. While bullpen Win Probability Added ranks 28th due to a few major meltdowns, the bullpen ranks first by xFIP, suggesting opponents have not been consistently torched and performance may stabilize. Louis Varland has been a key contributor since arriving after last year’s trade deadline.

Read at BlueJaysNation