MLB Power Rankings: Which pitching rotation is the best in baseball?

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TORONTO, ON – MAY 24: Marco Estrada #25 of the Toronto Blue Jays exits the game as he is relieved by manager John Gibbons #5 in the fifth inning during MLB game action against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Rogers Centre on May 24, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Marco Estrada;John Gibbons /

26. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have a pretty solid rotation at first look. At first thought, there’s Marcus Stroman. Behind him rests the reliable J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and the formidable Aaron Sanchez.

But in 2018, it’s been anything but solid.

Stroman was a mess before he hit the DL (0-5, 7.71 ERA, -0.7 WAR). The rotation took a big hit even when he went down, and that’s saying something.

The veteran Happ has actually performed quite well this season, with a 3.84 ERA and 7-3 record. He’s struck out a lot of batters, too, with 79 through 65.2 innings.

He’s likely to be a hot commodity should the Jays’ decide to sell, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post theorized.

Unfortunately for the organization, they’ve seen the decline of the still-promising Aaron Sanchez.

After a seventh-place finish in AL Cy Young voting in 2015, his ERA has increased from 3.00 to 4.25 and now 4.77. In 60.1 innings this year, he’s walked an alarmingly-high 35 batters.

Estrada, on the other hand, has seen a severe dip in production dating back to last season. He finished 2017 with a 4.98 and has snowballed into 2018 with a 5.68 mark. He’s allowed 12 long ball’s in 11 starts.

The team probably wasn’t expecting too much from Jaimie Garcia, and his season has been “typical” of his career numbers. He’s gone at least five innings in seven of his nine starts, but he’s racked up a 4.1 BB/9 rate.