Roberto Osuna has had some struggles off the field this season, but it hasn’t shown in his performance at all this season.
One of the few bright spots on the Blue Jays major league roster, Osuna is having what can be easily declared the best season of his career. His strikeout rates have skyrocketed (2016 – 9.97 K/9, 2017 – 12.50 K/9) and he’s kept his walks at an absurd rate below one per nine innings (0.89 BB/9). He sits among the top closers in the game with the second best FIP among qualified relievers and he’s not going anywhere soon.
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to Blue Jays fans, because he has made batters look silly throughout his career. From his first inning as a Blue Jay, he was able to strikeout two batters (One being a future hall of famer) and made them look silly with his fastball changeup combo.
Since then, he’s added a slider and it’s just as nasty as his other pitches. For examples, just watch two of the swinging strikes from last night’s game, courtesy of the Blue Jays GIF Guru Ian Hunter.
Rajai Davis, Marcus Semien and Ryon Healy were all victimized by Osuna’s slider at some point last night in their at bat last night, but Davis’ to punch him out was one of the best pitches we’ve seen him throw. That’s a true swing-and-miss pitch.
