Yimi García continues to dominate out of the Blue Jays bullpen

The right-hander has held opponents to a .080 average and owns a 0.46 WHIP on the campaign while posting an 11.7 K/9 and a 1.8 BB/9. Opposing teams have authored just a .103 BABIP and a .312 OPS while ranking in the 99th percentile in xBA (.152) and chase percentage (40.2%) and the 98th and 97th percentiles on xERA (1.81) and K% (34.0) respectively. On a struggling Jays bullpen, García has been a focal point of positivity for a solid arm that manager John Schneider can turn to in pressure situations.

Last night, Schneider turned to García in the bottom of the eighth against the Baltimore Orioles with a 2-2 tie and the right-hander shoved on the mound.

He was able to get Cedric Mullins to strike out on an 87 MPH slider foul-tipped into Alejandro Kirk’s glove before setting down Jorge Mateo and Gunnar Henderson, both via whiff. Mateo was set down on a nasty sweeper out of the zone down and away while Henderson’s walk back to the dugout came via a swing and miss on a low changeup, with the former Rookie of the Year swinging over the top of the offspeed offering. Through 14 pitches, García pitched 10 strikes on the day.

It was a monumental point in the game, as the game went into extra innings before Toronto took the lead in the 10th inning and Jordan Romano closed the door, earning the win on the day after pitching two innings.

To get to that point, the Jays had to call on García to get the job done, and he continued to overpower opposing batters with his arsenal, all of which boast either a zero or positive value in terms of run value. No opponent has been able to put his mid-90s fastball in play while opponents own a .200 average or below on his other offerings.

Looking ahead, the Blue Jays will need García to continue his current trend given a large portion of the club’s bullpen staff is struggling to live up to expectations outside of a few other names.