Toronto
fromBlueJaysNation
4 hours agoBarger, Varsho among Blue Jays off to slow starts offensively
Toronto Blue Jays' offense struggles despite strong pitching, with key players like Barger and Varsho underperforming early in the 2026 season.
His fastball in particular was excellent. It has solid vertical movement and great velocity with big extension. In 2025, the swinging strike rate was among the best in the league at 15.6%, while the ideal contact rate was a great 31.3%. His cutter was a reliable strike-getter and also limited hard contact.
In an unbelievable display of "bend-don't-break" pitching, the Kentucky staff allowed St. John's to put runners on base in eight of the nine innings and still walked away with a shutout. That is incredibly hard to do. Between Friday's Jaxon Jelkin gem and Saturday's bulldog of an effort, the Cats have now allowed just one unearned run in 18 innings against the Red Storm.